Being Bill Gates’ kid means there are some pretty big shoes to fill – and his youngest daughter Phoebe is the first to admit she has had some shocking entrepreneurial ideas in the past.
In her new podcast The Burnouts – which she co-hosts with business partner and best friend from Stanford, Sophia Kianni – Gates detailed her first ever invention, admitting she thought it was going to make her the ‘new Elizabeth Holmes.’
Gates, 22, and Kianni, 23, explained they were applying for a class called Lean Launchpad at Stanford, which simulates a real life experience on what it’s like to start a company, when they came up with their initial idea.
‘Do you remember the first idea that we had?’ Gates asked, with Kianni chiming in with: ‘It was your idea!’
Describing it as their ‘first big failure of many,’ Gates revealed they had pitched a Bluetooth tampon.
‘I’m all in this because I’m doing all this [reproductive] health work and I’m also pre-med,’ she explained.
Kianni, who is the youngest U.N. climate advisor in US history, chimed in, agreeing she didn’t think it was ‘that bad of an idea’ – but admitting it had some holes.
The social activist explained Gates pitched it as a way to collect health information from women while they are menstruating.
Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of Bill Gates, admitted she’s had some shocking entrepreneurial ideas
‘What if you could tell if you’re anemic [or] if your hormones are out of balance?’ she explained.
‘All this stuff about yourself every single month and then it’s just an easier way to get instant insights instead of needing to go to the doctor.’
Kianni recalled being impressed by the idea, thinking Gates was a ‘genius.’
‘I thought Phoebe was the real legit Elizabeth Holmes,’ she joked.
Gates agreed, saying: ‘We’re like “it’s going to be so crazy we’re going to be the new Elizabeth Holmes.”‘
Elizabeth Holmes is a fraudulent biotechnology entrepreneur who had achieved widespread acclaim – including from Harvard University and Time magazine – for a phony technology which she claimed would revolutionize blood-testing methods by using miraculously tiny volumes of blood, such as from a finger prick.
However, she was convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2022 following a high-profile trial, and began her 11.25 year prison sentence on May 30, 2023, after being outed as a multi-million dollar pharmaceutical scammer.
Kianni and Gates’ idea ultimately fell flat after they were rejected for the class, with the women acknowledging they had a few gaps in their business plan.
In her new podcast The Burnouts – which she co-hosts with business partner and best friend from Stanford, Sophia Kianni – Gates detailed her first ever invention
Gates, 22, (pictured with her dad in 2022) and Kianni, 23, explained they were applying for a class called Lean Launchpad at Stanford
Elizabeth Holmes is a fraudulent biotechnology entrepreneur who was convicted on four counts of fraud and conspiracy in 2022
‘I don’t think it’s really a shocker that we also got flat out rejected from this class because we didn’t know [some key points],’ Gates recalled.
‘They asked us [what] problem does this solve, how would it make money, and what would it be,’ she listed.
‘We couldn’t answer those questions,’ she added.
Kianni agreed, pointing out they weren’t the ‘right’ people to do it, with one reason being they needed a biotech background.
Gates recalled the ‘final nail’ in the coffin being when they were asked why they were the right people to make the product.
Despite being rejected from the class because of the idea, both women agreed it was a ‘good reality check.’
Kianni added that while the idea ultimately was not a success, they discovered they loved working together.
This led to them co-founding Phia, a digital fashion platform which ‘leverages artificial intelligence to help consumers effortlessly discover the best deals on both new and secondhand clothing and accessories.’