In the quest to build, improve, or fix anything—be it a product, a service, or a system—there’s one truth that often gets overlooked: owners of a company shouldn't go seek the answer to the executives of the company.
Also, they shouldn't go to the engineers for clarification and explanation, nor they should observe data dashboards and rely on analytics. Instead, if they want to understand how something truly works—and how it doesn’t—they have to go straight to the consumers.
These people are the ones who use the product, and experience it.
Data and the people who work on a project can only show and answer the 'what'. it's the consumers who explain the 'why.'
They’re the ones who can tell where it clicks... and where it cracks.
Consumers' voices are the frontline of the feedback loop because they live at the intersection between promise and performance. They don’t care about how sleek a product's code is or how many hours went into its development. All they know and what they care, is whether it helps them—or frustrates them.
And Bill Gates, the billionaire who is also the co-founder of Microsoft, has a lot to teach to her daughter.
Phoebe Gates, his youngest child from ex-wife Melinda French Gates, appears to have inherited his passion for technology. As a tech pioneer himself, Gates likely felt he could slip right into her world with ease.
But his return to startup life came in a most unexpected form—not as a boardroom advisor, investor, or keynote speaker—but as a customer service agent. For one of the world’s richest and most influential men, it was a humbling and humanizing role.
In a LinkedIn post, Gates shared that he worked a shift at Phia, an AI-powered fashion-tech startup co-founded by Phoebe and her Stanford roommate, climate activist Sophia Kianni. The platform uses AI to help users compare prices of both new and second-hand clothing across more than online stores—essentially trying to become the "Booking.com of fashion," and create a smarter, more sustainable way to shop
In a post shared on LinkedIn, Gates wrote: “When your daughter asks if you’d be willing to work a shift in customer service at her startup, the only right answer is yes.” With that, he joined Phia’s customer experience team for a day to get firsthand insight into how the product truly performs in the real world.
After all, when consumers love something, they’ll tell that in subtle ways: loyalty, word of mouth, or increased usage. But when they hate it, they'll tell everyone—loudly, publicly, and often with screenshots.
That’s insight no internal meeting room and data can ever replicate.
" [...] It’s been inspiring to watch them tackle a massive challenge, rethinking the way we shop, by meeting users where they are."
"And now, I’ll be doing the same."
This move wasn’t just about fatherly support—it was a lesson in leadership.
Gates explained that over the years, one thing has become increasingly clear to him: “The best way to understand how something works—or where it breaks—is to go straight to the people using it.” By fielding user queries, issues, and feedback, he stepped into the shoes of frontline employees and consumers alike—mirroring a growing trend among top CEOs to connect directly with the day-to-day experience of their users.
It’s a tactic previously employed by Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, who drove passengers and delivered food to understand user frustrations.
Gates, now dabbling in fashion tech through his daughter’s venture, is proving that humility and curiosity still drive the world’s most influential minds.
Interestingly, despite his support, Gates previously shared that he deliberately chose not to invest in Phia.
In a podcast interview made earlier, he said he feared becoming too involved and risk micromanaging the project.
"I would have kept her on a short leash and be doing business reviews, which I would have found tricky," he explained. Instead, Gates opted to provide guidance behind the scenes, while leaving the heavy lifting—and funding—to others.
Gates also hinted at his excitement about the experience: “Hopefully, I won’t break anything,” he joked, adding a light-hearted touch to his unusual role.
And perhaps that’s the deeper takeaway—beneath the novelty of seeing a billionaire mogul field customer service tickets lies a reminder that empathy and lived experience remain irreplaceable.
No matter how intelligent our algorithms become or how streamlined our platforms are, they still serve real people with real emotions, frustrations, and expectations. AI take away jobs and create layoffs. They technology may excel in sorting data, automate replies, and predict behavior—but it cannot truly understand the nuance of a sigh in a voice, the tone of an unhappy user, or the warmth of reassurance.
That’s where humans come in.
By placing himself at the frontline, Gates reaffirms a timeless truth: that leadership isn’t about hovering above—it’s about stepping in. It's listening, learning, and adjusting based on what the end users truly feel, not just what the metrics say.
As the world rushes forward into an AI-powered future, Gates’ stint at Phia offers a quiet counterpoint—one that blends technology with humility, and reminds us that progress should never come at the cost of connection.
Because at the heart of every great product isn’t just code. It’s people.
For her part of the marketing and promotion, she also posted the video on her Instagram account.