From Dorm Rooms to $8 Million in Funding: Life Lessons from the Founders of Phia

About this episode

In the debut episode of Ambition 2.0, host Amanda Goetz sits down with Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni—the visionary co-founders of Phia, the AI-powered shopping assistant backed by Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sheryl Sandberg, and other major investors.

From meeting as college roommates at Stanford and launching Phia as a class project to raising an $8M seed round for their company, Phoebe and Sophia have been through it all together. They get candid about building a tech startup from scratch, navigating friendship as co-founders, and learning how to set boundaries to avoid burnout.

They open up about:

• The real meaning of work-life balance (and does it even exist?)

• Why personal branding is a superpower for founders

• The “ground rules” that keep their friendship—and business—thriving

• Lessons from their fundraising journey and startup leadership

• The creative philosophy behind their own podcast, The Burnouts

Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or just love a good founder origin story, this episode dives deep into ambition, friendship, and what it takes to build something groundbreaking.

(00:00) Intro

(03:50) The origin story of Phia

(05:18) Building the Phia team and shaping company culture

(11:50) Raising $8M with high-profile investors

(14:15) Friendship “ground rules” for co-founders 

(23:10) Burnout, boundaries, and balance

(28:42) Work-life balance

(30:45) Why personal branding matters more than ever

(32:00) Rapid-fire questions

(38:23) Advice for aspiring entrepreneurs

GUEST LINKS

Phoebe Gates: https://www.instagram.com/phoebegates/ 

Sophia Kianni: https://www.instagram.com/sophiakianni/ 

Phia: https://www.instagram.com/phiaco/ 

The Burnouts Podcast: https://www.instagram.com/theburnouts/ 

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Amanda Goetz: https://www.instagram.com/theamandagoetz/ 

https://girlboss.com/pages/ambition-2-0-podcast 

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DISCLAIMER

This episode is sponsored by Semrush. 

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#Ambition2Point0 #PhoebeGates #SophiaKianni #PhiaAI #GirlbossPodcast #WomenInBusiness #AIShopping #Startups #FemaleFounders 

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