Phia’s Founders On How Ai Is Changing Online Shopping

When Phia‘s founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni decided to build an AI startup, they targeted an area they understood well: online shopping.

The founders, who met astatine Stanford erstwhile they were randomly paired up arsenic roommates, understood e-commerce because they had spent hours upon hours trying to find nan correct items to grow their wardrobe. And AI, they realized, had nan imaginable to thief group discover, shop and bargain successful caller ways. They besides realized that capacity was a marketplace opportunity.

“There felt for illustration location was this elephantine achromatic abstraction for, like, what should we really buy, and why doesn’t everyone person a individual shopper successful their pocket?” said Gates connected shape astatine TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 connected Tuesday.

The startup emerged from a people task wherever it proved its first demand. But nan work didn’t motorboat to nan nationalist until Phia recovered nan correct product-market fit, Kianni says.

The tool, disposable arsenic a browser hold and app, lets shoppers comparison prices, including for second-hand items, adding a sustainability facet to nan shopping experience.

Phia says it integrates pinch much than 150 second-hand platforms, and has complete 350 cardinal items successful its in-house hunt database. Kianni pointed retired that buying second-hand represents an 80% simplification successful c footprint, compared pinch buying new. Plus, it’s cheaper.

Sophia Kianni, Co-Founder of Phia. Image Credits: Kimberly White/Getty Images for TechCrunchImage Credits:Getty Images for TechCrunch / Getty Images

Kianni said nan work besides helps users understand nan worth of what they’re buying. “If you’re looking astatine a $500 handbag connected Phia, you tin quickly understand, tin you resell that point for $300 aliases $400? Or, connected nan contrary, if it’s a fast-fashion portion and you’re buying it for $100 bucks, is it only reselling for $10? Does it instantly depreciate and suffer 90% of its value?”

The startup is besides processing an AI shopping advisor that will thief users understand worth factors for illustration a bully deal, aliases what an item’s retained worth whitethorn be, arsenic good arsenic manner basics for illustration whether nan point will fresh based connected nan user’s erstwhile orders and returns. The founders said nan sizing insights characteristic is presently successful beta pinch a mini group of users.

The founders person utilized a assortment of strategies to pull an audience, including an ambassador program, making their ain contented astir nan product’s development, and moreover starting a podcast.

“The expertise to get hundreds of thousands of downloads astatine a very debased costs done nan podcast and nan various different distribution vehicles has been really important,” said Kianni.

Plus, Gates said, sharing nan realities of building a startup pinch their assemblage helped Phia’s imaginable users link pinch nan founders and their story.

“I deliberation location was a spot of an ego decease that we had to spell through,” Gates said. “At first, it’s like, ‘I want to look bully successful each of our content.’ But if you want group to prosecute pinch it, and you want to make contented astatine nan measurement that we request to, you request to beryllium capable to conscionable propulsion backmost nan curtain.”

Gates, whose dada is yes, that Gates, acknowledges that she’s travel to nan startup acquisition from a position of privilege, but says they don’t needfully spell to him for advice.

“So, while my dada — I deliberation he’s a brilliant — he’s not nan 1 shopping connected Phia, right? Like, he’s not hunting for nan champion woody crossed different sites. He’s not comparing his wish database items for his outpouring break trip,” she said.