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[-] Fedizen@lemmy.world 10 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

If she wanted to do this she'd change her name and disavow her inheritence.

[-] merdaverse@lemmy.zip 24 points 1 day ago
[-] Godric@lemmy.world 10 points 22 hours ago

Stephen King's child at least doesn't write under the name "King" to avoid nepotism. I can't read the actual paid article because just going off headlines is apparently OK here, but it doesn't seem like she's trying.

Her chip on her shoulder is a tiny one she blows out of proportion, like so many "problems" of the uber-wealthy.

[-] frog_brawler@lemmy.world 4 points 21 hours ago
[-] Godric@lemmy.world 4 points 19 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

The first time I had a friend reccomend him, I gave them a funny look, thinking they were talking about Joe Hill the musician and labor organizer XD

Edit: I'm sick of people mentioning musicians without songs; here's Preacher and the Slave, from which we get the term "Pie in the Sky".

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RHyGpFncovU

Performed by the late Utah Phillips, as Joe Hill was executed a good 110 years ago.

[-] ecvanalog@lemmy.world 2 points 4 hours ago

There’s a great ballad of Joe Hill by Phil Ochs.

[-] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 day ago

well, there's a website I'm never going back to. that layout is just offensive. and this is after after dismissing the cookies popup

[-] softwarist@programming.dev 4 points 20 hours ago

Homie do you rawdog the internet without an adblocker??

[-] mrgoosmoos@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 hours ago

I haven't set up a browser adblocker on that computer, as I've never really found the need. pihole usually takes care of everything well enough

[-] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

"Wow, what does your startup do?"

"It synthesizes mining crypto by capturing efforts from Microsoft users trying to uninstall bloatware in Windows 11"

[-] oh_@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago

With what money did she start the business then? Get the F out of here with that crap. Also, so original, going into AI like everyone else.

[-] Jankatarch@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

And the "connections" which is just fancy-speak for "rich friends."

[-] 0ddysseus@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

Same way daddy did it

[-] ecvanalog@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago

Phoebe Cates>>>>>Phoebe Gates

[-] KingPapaDaddy@lemmy.world 3 points 22 hours ago

Yep. That's exactly who I thought. Then I saw the picture and thought, "wow she hasn't aged a bit!"

[-] Aequitas@feddit.org 419 points 2 days ago

Relevant:

"Entrepreneurship is like one of those carnival games where you throw darts or something.

Middle class kids can afford one throw. Most miss. A few hit the target and get a small prize. A very few hit the center bullseye and get a bigger prize. Rags to riches! The American Dream lives on.

Rich kids can afford many throws. If they want to, they can try over and over and over again until they hit something and feel good about themselves. Some keep going until they hit the center bullseye, then they give speeches or write blog posts about "meritocracy" and the salutary effects of hard work.

Poor kids aren't visiting the carnival. They're the ones working it."

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 2 points 21 hours ago

In addition to the multiple throws, and in addition to the direct nepotistic help, there is also just the osmosis effect. How many people would give their right arm to get basic mentoring from Bill Gates? Just knowing someone who’s succeeded at something gives you a massive cultural window into that thing and how to nail it. This kid is delusional. If she wants to do something totally on her own she should be a movie director or race car driver or flower arranger. What’s that? Starting up a tech company? Ohh… how original.

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago

A coworker of mine left to start his own startup. He claimed that the IPO of an old employer gave him a little bit of cushion to work with, and he was going to take his shot. I wished him well. It was a crazy dumb app idea. But you never know.

I do remember thinking “gee and he just had a baby too, what a time to take a risk.” I later learned that he had married old money. The second he had a kid with her, he couldn’t lose.

[-] Yprum@lemmy.world 75 points 2 days ago

What an awesome comparison.

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[-] Typhoon@lemmy.ca 84 points 2 days ago

Phoebe Gates wants her $185 million AI startup to succeed with 'no ties to my privilege or my last name'

But you have no problem with the $35 million they gave you? That's part of your privilege. You say you want to succeed without it while stuffing your pockets with it.

[-] MBech@feddit.dk 12 points 1 day ago

If she really wants to show the world how good she is, and non-privileged, she can change her name, get into community college while working a minimum wage job, and then start a multimillion dollar business on her own from her savings, without getting carried through life by her father.

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 19 points 1 day ago

shes basically like the rich people that think they are independant and living on thier own, but thier parents give them a credit card to do pay whatever she wants on her own,.

[-] Tollana1234567@lemmy.today 18 points 1 day ago

you arnt independtly wealthy, if you have a "credit card" from your wealthy family and you are living on your own. same goes for CV/RESUME.

[-] lambalicious@lemmy.sdf.org 201 points 2 days ago

no ties to my privilege

it's an AI startup

$185 million

Something does not compute, in a Microslop sort of way.

[-] ConstableJelly@piefed.social 59 points 2 days ago

“I have a chip on my shoulder,” she said, describing her drive to prove she can win over private equity in Silicon Valley based on merit, not inheritance or legacy ...[T]he young founder hasn’t taken money from her parents for Phia. Instead, she’s insisted on raising outside capital even as some investors remain fixated on her personal life instead of her business venture.

I appreciate the sentiment, but it would be delusional to think her ability to "win over private equity" was divorced at all from her father's legacy and last name. And actually, I'm not sure I appreciate the sentiment. In 2026, merit is way down the list, like scrawled sideways in the margins, of things that matter to private equity.

[-] CogitoCool@lemmus.org 12 points 1 day ago

It's certainly delusional. I've been active in the innovation space for ~25 years, and for most normal people it's taking a massive risk. Here, she's not ending-up on the street if the venture flops, so the risk is low.

So merit my ass, it's easy to take a risk if it's not real risk, i.e. I agree and don't appreciate the sentiment.

[-] Donkter@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Real question: what on earth does "on the street" mean in the tech startup world? Because I have a strong suspicion that "on the street" means just going to work a normal job like 300 million other people even despite personal anecdotes of one or two people who literally became homeless.

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[-] FilthyHands@sh.itjust.works 61 points 2 days ago

I asked copilot and it assured me this is all above board.

[-] Botanicals@lemmy.world 39 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Well I guess as long as she has a 'chip' on her shoulder

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[-] OriginEnergySux@lemmy.world 19 points 1 day ago

She will ALWAYS have help lol

[-] Hegar@fedia.io 42 points 2 days ago

"Child of prominent pedophile has an AI startup" is such a vibe right now.

[-] UnspecificGravity@piefed.social 68 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

She just wants to be treated like any other totally unqualified person whose mom gave her commencement speed and got handed 100 million dollars to start up a made up company.

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[-] manuallybreathing@lemmy.ml 40 points 2 days ago

The featured article under this is titled

Hailey Bieber and Kris Jenner back Phoebe Gates’ fashion tech startup Phia in $8 million seed round

hilarious stuff

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[-] luthis@lemmy.nz 64 points 2 days ago

She's going to be another super villain in ten years isn't she

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[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 92 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Is this the same entitled bitch who got a $1,000,000 ranch as a present?

Maybe pay some fucking taxes, Phoebe.

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[-] thesmokingman@programming.dev 37 points 2 days ago

The shopping assistant plugs into browsers like Chrome and Safari to compare prices and surface deals across tens of thousands of retail and resale sites in real time. It essentially serves as your own personal deal finder: Say you’re looking at a $200 dress from Anthropologie, Phia can find and compare prices at secondhand sellers to help customers find a better price.

Gates and Kianni first brainstormed startup ideas in their Stanford dorm room, cycling through concepts before landing on a consumer tool that included Gates’ interest in women’s empowerment (likely modeled after her own mother) and Kianni’s sustainability focus.

I don’t think a coupon tool that wastes excessive resources is either empowering or sustainable.

[-] Whats_your_reasoning@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I'd be concerned about monied motives driving suggestions. Even if it starts out neutral, how can we as consumers be sure it won't become corrupted? Enshittification is par for the course these days, I'd be extremely wary about relying on an app to tell me real, unbiased price info unless its mechanisms and sources are (and remain) completely transparent.

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[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 50 points 2 days ago

To be fair to whoever she is, it must have been impossible for them to not to have grown up completely bonkers out of touch. Not without some serious awesome parenting.

Which is why she did not.

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[-] TheTiltster@feddit.org 61 points 2 days ago

An "AI shopping company". Yes, that´s just what the world needs.

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[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 35 points 2 days ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Reading this, I was reminded of how Nicolas Cage is part of the Coppola family but changed his name, I was told, so that he could “make it on his own.”

I looked that up and it turns out to be a complete lie. He actually changed his name to conceal the fact that he was not making it on his own.

EDIT to clarify if this was confusing: he was given roles by his uncle Francis Ford Coppola. This is nepotism aka “not making it on his own,” but with special help from family. To conceal the nepotism, his name was changed.

From Wikipedia:

At age 15, he tried to convince his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola, to give him a screen test, telling him "I'll show you acting." His outburst was met with "silence in the car."[20] By this stage of his career, Coppola had already directed Marlon BrandoAl PacinoGene Hackman and Robert De Niro. Although early in his career Cage appeared in some of his uncle's films, he changed his name to Nicolas Cage to avoid the appearance of nepotism as Coppola's nephew. His choice of name was inspired by the Marvel Comicssuperhero Luke Cage and composer John Cage.[21][22]

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

I miss when actors used to be some random boxer a director met in a Cuban bar or the drunk tank, instead of the executive producer's nibling or some fucking baronet.

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 2 points 22 hours ago

I mean nepotism is hardly a new problem :)

[-] Godric@lemmy.world 1 points 22 hours ago

True lol, it's never not been, it's hardwired into humans, but it was nice when certain industries were new and there wasn't so much buildup for the enthrenchment

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this post was submitted on 23 Feb 2026
402 points (100.0% liked)

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