Bill Gates Encouraged Daughter’s Independence, Skipped Investing in Her Startup

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft and one of the world’s wealthiest individuals, revealed that he has not financially invested in the startup founded by his daughter, Phoebe Gates. Instead, he stated that his focus was on guiding her, rather than funding her company. He shared the reasons behind this decision in a recent interview.

In an interview with The New York Times, Bill Gates recounted his reaction when Phoebe first introduced her new e-commerce venture, the ‘Phia’ app. “I thought, ‘Oh no, now she’s going to ask me for funding,’” he said jokingly. He went on to explain that if he had invested in the company, the dynamics would have been entirely different. “Then I would’ve had to keep her under close scrutiny, conduct regular business reviews. That would have been uncomfortable for me. Maybe I would have remained supportive, yet still questioned whether it was the right thing to do. Fortunately, that situation never arose,” said Bill Gates.

Although he did not invest financially, Phoebe Gates acknowledged that she received guidance and advice from her father on key matters such as hiring staff. She also said that her mother, Melinda French Gates, was supportive of the initiative, encouraging her to raise her own funds. Melinda believed that through this process, Phoebe would gain valuable learning experiences and grow from any potential setbacks. “My mom saw this as a great opportunity to learn and make mistakes,” Phoebe stated.

Bill Gates had previously mentioned on the Raj Shamani podcast that he intends to leave “less than one percent” of his wealth to his children, believing they should stand on their own feet. His decision regarding Phoebe’s startup reflects this philosophy.

The ‘Phia’ app is a free AI-powered shopping browser extension. When users are about to purchase a product, they can click a button within the app to compare prices from over 40,000 retailers. It analyzes whether the listed price is fair, overpriced, or if a better deal is available. Additionally, it recommends alternative products at more competitive prices. The startup currently has a team of four engineers, one operations manager, and one designer. The company aims to generate revenue through affiliate links.