Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is known for many things. From revolutionising the tech space to becoming a marker in history, the Gates family’s advice for young entrepreneurs is upheld with value. Recently under fire for layoffs, the Microsoft founder has a millionaire daughter, too. Phoebe Gates, the Gen-Z in the billionaire clan, launched an AI-powered fashion-tech startup, and her parents had some advice for her.
The 23-year-old entrepreneur recalled that the advice wasn’t related to money, but something as crucial as making or breaking her startup, Phia’s, success. Here’s what the Gates shared with Phoebe before she launched her $8 million fashion-tech venture.
People matter
Humans give a company its life. Sure, founders might be hiring an AI robot in the next decade, or even earlier, but the people with whom you build your dream project matter the most. Recalling this advice, sharing in a Fortune podcast, Phoebe shared, “The people that you choose to build with every single day…that’s what’s actually going to define, you know, whether the product succeeds.”
Since she works alongside her co-founder, Sophia Kianni, Phoebe also reiterated the need to surround herself with like-minded people, often a first step to a startup’s success. Phia, her fashion-tech startup, was launched from her Stanford dorm room and debuted in April 2025. Today, it has attracted over 500,000 users and partnered with over 5,000 brands.
Phia’s $8 million seed funding is led by Kleiner Perkins, with high-profile investors including Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, Spanx founder Sara Blakely, Fanatics CEO Michael Rubin, and eBay. Driven and understood by women, it was one of the non-negotiables for the Gates team.
Career Guidance trumps cheques
Being the daughter of billionaires, it is normal for people to assume that her parents became the first investors in her dream. However, Melinda Gates, worth nearly $29 billion, believes differently.
Unlike Larry Ellison, the man who became the richest man in the world, and enjoyed being at the top of the chart for a day, he invested heavily in his son. Larry was one of the foremost investors in David Ellison’s production company, which is now one of the moguls in the industry.
Working a different philosophy, Melinda Gates, the billionaire philanthropist, revealed that her daughter “got capitalised not because of my contacts, not because of me. I wouldn’t put money into it.” Speaking at the Power of Women’s Sports Summit presented by E.l.f. Beauty, in June, Bill Gates’ ex-wife stood her ground on the philosophy.
Navigating the string of rejections is one of the prime experiences of launching one’s own startup. Phoebe’s father echoed a similar sentiment. Among the high-net-worth individuals, Bill Gates had previously revealed that his children will inherit less than 1% of his wealth when he passes. Being a part of the 99% group, he shares a similar ideology with Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, who wishes to donate 99% of his wealth to charities whenever he passes.
