The Burnouts with Phoebe & Sophia
Phoebe Gates & Sophia Kianni
As former Stanford roommates and now business partners, Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni share their experience as startup founders and the complexities of being young professionals—from financial literacy, social impact, and navigating networking (ever been hit on through LinkedIn?). With exclusive access to top experts, they offer an inside look at their chaotic lives alongside career insights from their network of thought leaders. Watch The Burnouts pursue their dreams while trying to keep their lives from going up in flames. Will they burn out? We’ll find out.
Episodes
Mentioned books
8 snips
Mar 26, 2026 • 23min
Dating 101 as an Ambitious Woman: How to Seduce Anyone (ft. Chloe Shih)
Chloe Shih, Forbes 30 Under 30 creator and podcaster, offers candid takes on dating and long-term love. She talks couples therapy, Gottman’s warning signs, playful flirting tactics, and the story of how persistence and vulnerability turned a disastrous first date into a lasting partnership. She also reflects on how a healthy relationship reshaped her ambition.
7 snips
Mar 12, 2026 • 50min
Billionaire Makeup Artist Spills All Her Secrets… Find the Right Brow Shape for Your Face and More
Anastasia Soare, founder of Anastasia Beverly Hills and pioneer of modern brow shaping, built a global beauty brand after emigrating from Romania. She explains the golden ratio pencil method for mapping brows. She recalls starting with $5,000, the Oprah moment that changed everything, building products and education, and expanding into global markets and influencer-driven growth.
11 snips
Mar 5, 2026 • 42min
Alex Cooper: What Nobody Knows About Call Her Daddy and my $100M+ Media Empire
Alex Cooper, creator of Call Her Daddy and co-founder of Unwell, turned a podcast into a multiplatform media company. She talks CEO life, how Unwell makes money across ads, TV, merch and live events, and the high-stakes negotiations behind $60M and $125M deals. Short, sharp stories about hiring, incentives, and choosing partners for growth.
9 snips
Feb 26, 2026 • 37min
Celebrity Stylist: How To Stand Out, Style Celebrities — 10-min Morning Fashion Upgrade (Rachel Zoe)
Rachel Zoe, celebrity stylist and fashion entrepreneur known for shaping red‑carpet looks, shares career‑building stories and reinvention. She recounts the Tommy Hilfiger break, high‑pressure on‑set learning, and the psychology of styling. Hear practical tips like a signature uniform, wardrobe essentials, dressing for the job you want, and why diversifying income matters.
14 snips
Feb 19, 2026 • 45min
Multi-Millionaire: You've Been Sold a Lie! Do NOT Lose Your Relationships! (ft. Sahil Bloom)
Sahil Bloom, New York Times bestselling author who left private equity to redesign his life. He recounts the wake-up call that made him quit fast and prioritize time and relationships. Conversations cover redefining wealth beyond money, the Five Types of Wealth, using AI and content as leverage, finding mentors, and practical ways to replace a salary without sacrificing life.
Feb 12, 2026 • 39min
Design Genius: How to Break into the Fashion Industry with NO Degree or Connections— Rebecca Minkoff
Rebecca Minkoff, fashion designer who turned a $3.25/hour internship into a global lifestyle brand. She recounts the Morning After Bag breakout, intensive networking tactics to break in with no connections, surviving a 70% COVID revenue drop, pivoting product and community-first brand building, and choosing strategic partnerships over fast fundraising.
11 snips
Feb 5, 2026 • 40min
Duolingo CEO: How to Make Learning as Addictive as Social Media! Stop Wasting Time!
Luis von Ahn, co-founder and CEO of Duolingo, pioneer of gamified language learning. He tells the origin of the green owl and how it became a viral mascot. He explains using edgy, TikTok-ready marketing and hiring young creators. He discusses making learning as habit-forming as social media, expanding beyond languages, and using AI to personalize learning.
Jan 29, 2026 • 17min
How to Make Money... What We Learned from the Most Successful People in the World
They unpack lessons from top career playbooks, like using in-person meetings to close deals and screening for kindness when hiring. They talk about office energy, small delights that boost morale, and how appearance and routines impact confidence. They also discuss creating a style uniform, prepping for your future self, and priorities for scaling a product and team in 2026.
Jan 15, 2026 • 1h 5min
The Money Expert: 5 Businesses That Can Make You RICH (Without a 9-to-5!) ft. Codie Sanchez
Codie Sanchez, an investor and advocate for overlooked cash-generating sectors, reveals how wealth is often built quietly through 'boring' businesses. She discusses spotting unfair opportunities, her exit from cannabis, and which unsexy industries yield profits. Codie contrasts the value of college versus trade school and offers advice on finding your unfair advantage in your career. She emphasizes the importance of sales skills and negotiating based on value, while underlining the benefits of investing in health and resilience.
19 snips
Jan 8, 2026 • 46min
$400M Investor Explains the Confidence Gap Holding You Back (ft. 20VC Harry Stebbings)
Harry Stebbings, founder of 20VC and a venture investor managing over $400M, shares his journey from law school dropout to influential podcaster. He discusses the confidence gap that holds many back, emphasizing how storytelling and relationships trump raw intelligence. Harry reveals the importance of content in building opportunities and the power of visualization in boosting confidence. He also reflects on mentorship, the traits of great founders, and the need for action over perfection, making this conversation a treasure trove for aspiring entrepreneurs.
