Phoebe Gates, the youngest daughter of Bill Gates, has shared how growing up in the spotlight as a “nepo baby” left her struggling with insecurity, especially during her time at Stanford University.
In a recent episode of her podcast, The Burnouts, Phoebe opened up about the pressure of proving herself in the shadow of her father’s success.
At just 22, she recalled feeling the need to constantly prove her worth, as if being the daughter of a tech giant automatically made her seem less accomplished.
Talking with her close friend and business partner, Sophia Kianni, Phoebe reflected on how these insecurities affected her at Stanford, where she studied Human Biology, and how she worked hard to carve her own path.
“I had so much insecurity and such a desire to prove myself at Stanford. I came in, I was like, “I’m so privileged, I’m a nepo baby”, like I had so much insecurity around that. I feel it’s so hard when you’re a freshman in college because you have no experience. You have nothing,” she said.
Despite her father’s immense wealth and influence, Phoebe Gates shared an unforgettable experience of rejection. She recalled how she was “flat-out rejected” from a business class after presenting her first pitch – a concept for Bluetooth-enabled tampons that would track women’s health status throughout their periods.
“This was our first big failure of many, many, many,” said Phoebe. “I don’t think it’s really a shocker that we got flat-out rejected from this class – they asked us, “What problem does this solve? How would it make money?” We couldn’t answer those questions.”
She further added that despite her father’s initial hesitation, she understood his concern and appreciated his protective nature. However, she felt strongly about her vision and wanted to follow her own path.
Phoebe is now excited to move forward with Phia, her digital fashion platform, and is ready to prove that she can succeed on her own terms.
“I remember even when we wanted to start the company, him being like, “Are you sure you want to do this?’” she shared. “Because both of my siblings were incredibly intelligent and took very typical career paths – my brother’s a genius, my sister has two kids and a horse-back riding career and is in residency [as a Junior Pediatrician] – but there wasn’t this adverse risk of failure.”
Phoebe, along with her siblings Jennifer and Rory, will inherit only a small portion of their father’s fortune, as Bill has decided to allocate the majority of his wealth to charitable organizations.
“So my parents were really cautious when I was like, “I want to do Stanford abroad and do this remotely and finish up my degree and do the start-up.”
The 22-year-old continued, “They were very much like, “You need to finish your degree. You don’t just get to drop out and [start] a company.” Which is so funny because my dad literally did that – that’s like the reason I’m able to go to Stanford, have my tuition paid.”
According to Forbes, Gates’ decision to drop out of Harvard after three semesters in 1975 played a key role in his building an estimated $107 billion fortune.
Phoebe also mentioned that, even though she shares a close bond with her father, she doesn’t have many memories of him discussing Microsoft with her.
“I literally never remember my dad talking to me about the start of Microsoft. I literally mostly just remember him talking about the Foundation,” she said.
Rather than relying solely on the knowledge passed down from her father, Phoebe emphasized that she’s focused on securing her own future through hard work and dedication.
“I really like the results we’re seeing – and this is not just true for business, but any career you’re in: it is just the result of habits.”
Source: The Burnouts Podcast
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