The fashion industry is the world’s second largest producer of greenhouse gases and environmental pollutants, after only the oil and gas industry. They also exist in waste and excess, already producing enough apparel to wear the next six generations.
Today, two recent Stanford alumni are trying to make fashion more sustainable by improving the second-hand shopping experience.
It was launched on Thursday by 22-year-old Phoebe Gates and 23-year-old Sofia Kiani. fireApps and desktop tools that aggregate second-hand and retail shopping options from the whole internet.
“It’s like the ‘Google Flights’ of fashion,” Kianni told me. “Phia finds the best prices in one click.
She said, “How do you know you’re not scamed? How do you know it’s actually the best possible price? We built the tools we hoped we’d come back when we were in college.”
The pair have just recently graduated from Stanford, but they already have more admiration than many people. Kianni is the founder and youngest UN advisor of Climate Cardinal, the world’s largest youth-led climate nonprofit. Gates interns at British Vogue and became a prominent voice of reproductive rights. Speaking at events such as Global Citizens, he was named last year’s Olds Champion of the Year Reproductive Freedom. She is also the daughter of Bill and Melinda Gates.
Phia is their top priority – they were with the team until 3am the night before our interview that it was buggy – not only are they trying to change the way people shop, but they are trying to be more transparent about the founder’s experience.
In early April, they launched “The Burnouts.” This is a podcast from the Unwell Network of Alex Cooper, founder of Call Her Daddy, documenting the entrepreneurial experience.
“We really felt there was a big gap in the market. If you look at the founder’s podcast, it’s always the experts who sold companies that achieved all this,” Gates told me. “But I was just starting out and wanted someone who was new to me, so I was able to ask all the questions that everyone else found to be ridiculous.”
She said, “One of the things that really mattered to us was to shed light on what the founder’s experience really was.”
Listening to episodes of “burnout” (the title that many of us can relate to) is not “how I built this” but how do I build this in the world? !
In the first episode, Gates and Kiani talk to guest Kris Jenner about some of their hacks, including creating their failed business ideas, including Bluetooth Tampon, as well as fake assistants to give them more credibility.
The podcast reveals the challenges and reality of starting something new, but it is also available on a platform with over 34 million listeners. Talking about yourself is a good promotion for fashion apps.
“The real important marketing is to bring the curtain back on this founder-driven growth and what it’s like to be a founder and learn,” Gates said.
It is important to understand that they are best suited.
“We had all these ideas that were fascinating in these different industries, and this question was that we were the right person to build this.
She said, “This whole industry of fashion technology is attractive to me. Women spend huge amounts of money shopping. And the fact that we don’t offer them a personalized experience because we’re good for their wallets and the world is crazy for me.”
Gates is only grateful for her family, but she is focused on creating her name in the tech world.
This story is part of Nynext, the essential insider insight into innovation, moonshot and political chess moves that are most important for NYC power players (and aspiring people).
When raising funds for Phia, she didn’t look to her parents. (The cap table is private, but Kris Jenner revealed that she is on top of it).
“We don’t want this to be something funded by my family. We want this to be a real company,” Gates told me. “It’s really important to us… I have a lot of privileges from my family, but that’s to have a product that stands in itself.”
Growing up, it was always clear that she would make her own path.
“It was an incredible example for me to see examples of my parents leading my work with my foundation,” she said. “There was never any hope that we wouldn’t let the rest of our lives work.”
Earlier this month, her father highly pointed out that he was not trying to turn his family into a dynasty. Perhaps that’s why Gates and Kiani are trying to make theirs.
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