- Bill Gates worked as a temporary customer service representative at his daughter's startup Phia
- Gates said frontline work gave vital insights into operations and customer experience
- Gates aims to leave his children less than 1% of his fortune, valuing their own success
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates joined his youngest daughter Phoebe's fashion startup as a temporary customer service representative rather than an investor.
Phoebe Gates, co-founder and CEO of Phia, asked her father to work a shift assisting users directly.
In a long LinkedIn post last week, Mr Gates said he was returning to the startup industry by working for his youngest daughter's company.
"I've entered the startup world again..." Mr 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," the tech billionaire wrote.
He called the experience eye-opening and explained that frontline positions offered vital insights into corporate operations and customer experience.
Mr Gates went on to explain his reasoning for considering a customer service position at his daughter's startup: "I've spent a lot of time contemplating how technology can make systems more efficient, equitable, and accessible."
"However, I've learnt over the years that talking directly to the people who use something is the best way to understand how something works," he added.
Speaking about Phia's functionality, Mr Gates added that Pheobe and her co-founder Sophia Kianni have "built an app and browser extension" that makes shopping more intelligent by displaying "the best prices, surfacing secondhand options, and showing lower-impact alternatives" among thousands of online merchants.
Concluding on an amusing note, Mr Gates wrote, "It's been inspiring to watch them tackle a massive challenge, rethinking the way we shop, by meeting users where they are... Hopefully, I won't break anything (no promises)."
Phia is an AI-powered fashion shopping app, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse the costs of high-end new and used products from 40,000 websites.
Earlier this year, Mr Gates said he was hoping to leave his three children less than 1 per cent of his fortune. On the 'Figuring Out With Raj Shamani' podcast, he said the choices made by wealthy families about their legacy mostly depended on their own values.
"It's not a dynasty, I'm not asking them to run Microsoft. I want to give them a chance to have their own earnings and success," Mr Gates said.
