The Burnouts with Phoebe & Sophia

He started a podcast in his bedroom before most people land their first job.Now, Harry Stebbings runs one of the most influential platforms in venture capital and manages a $400M fund.In this episode of The Burnouts, Harry sits down with Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni to unpack what actually drives success — and why so many smart, ambitious people stay stuck. From dropping out of law school to building leverage through content, Harry shares the lessons he learned the hard way about confidence, decision-making, and playing the long game.This conversation goes far beyond startups and investing. Harry opens up about the confidence gap holding people back, why men bluff and women wait, and how likeability, storytelling, and persistence often matter more than raw intelligence. He explains how content became one of the most powerful tools in his career, why distribution now shapes opportunity, and how relationships — not resumes — drive the biggest decisions.Harry also reflects on regret, missed deals, mentorship, and the uncomfortable truth that success often comes from taking action before you feel ready. Whether you’re early in your career, thinking about building something of your own, or just feeling behind, this episode offers a rare, honest look at what actually works.Chapters00:00 – The Reality of Entrepreneurship00:40 – From The Social Network to Dropping Out of Law School01:55 – Building a Fund Through Media & Network Effects02:31 – Why Venture Capital Over Being a Founder03:38 – Co-Founders, Breakups & Hard Personal Lessons07:18 – What Actually Makes a Great Founder08:55 – Gender, Confidence & Entrepreneurship14:23 – Mentorship vs Coaching & How to Get Access16:40 – Content as a Distribution Weapon23:29 – Finding Your First True Fans25:18 – Building & Managing High-Performance Teams29:22 – Investment Mistakes & Missed Billion-Dollar Deals31:35 – Vulnerability, Trust & People Skills36:05 – WhatsApp, Fundraising & Relationship Scaling37:30 – Trust, Endurance & Outworking Everyone40:00 – Storytelling, Creativity & the Risk of AI44:16 – Being a Great Investor When Things Go Wrong45:02 – Final Advice: Take the First Step 🔗 FOLLOW USPhoebe GatesSophia KianniHarry Stebbings20VC🔥 FOLLOW THE BURNOUTSInstagramTikTokLinkedIn📲 Support What We’re BuildingPhoebe and Sophia aren’t just your hosts—they’re the founders of Phia, a fashion-tech app helping shoppers find the best prices across retail and resale. Download the app and help us grow.About The BurnoutsThe Burnouts brings you raw, unfiltered conversations with today’s top founders, creators, athletes, and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the show goes beyond the headlines to reveal the real stories behind ambitious careers.Past guests include Paris Hilton, Chelsea Handler, Kris Jenner, Karlie Kloss, and more.Subscribe for the insider playbook to build your dream career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

One day, she was racing Daytona. The next, she was shooting for Victoria’s Secret.NASCAR driver, model, and trailblazer Toni Breidinger is living two worlds, and paying the price to stay in both.In this episode of The Burnouts, Toni sits down with Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni to reveal the brutal, behind-the-scenes reality of motorsports. She opens up about being told she needed $1–2 million just to race, moving across the country at 18 with no funding, and surviving by doing Instacart by day and cold emails by night.Toni breaks down why talent isn’t enough in NASCAR, how social media literally saved her career, and what it’s like being the only woman racing NASCAR full-time—from unequal pay to brand sponsorship politics. She also shares how she navigates modeling in a male-dominated sport, why she turned down six-figure OnlyFans offers, and how she built a sustainable career when every race depends on sponsorship dollars.Whether you’re chasing a nontraditional career, building a personal brand, or betting on yourself when the odds feel stacked against you, this episode is packed with raw honesty, hard lessons, and real strategy.Chapters00:00 – unequal pay & being the only woman in nascar03:00 – starting racing at age 906:30 – realizing racing costs millions09:00 – told she needed $1–2 million to compete11:00 – moving cross-country at 1813:00 – instacart by day, cold emails by night16:00 – how social media saved her career20:00 – brand deals, sponsorships & unequal pay25:00 – modeling, victoria’s secret & sports illustrated30:00 – turning down six-figure onlyfans offers36:00 – funding races & surviving motorsports48:00 – what’s next: the road to the cup series🔗 FOLLOW USPhoebe GatesSophia KianniToni Breidinger🔥 FOLLOW THE BURNOUTSInstagramTikTokLinkedIn📲 Support What We’re BuildingPhoebe and Sophia aren’t just your hosts—they’re the founders of Phia, a fashion-tech app helping shoppers find the best prices across retail and resale. Download the app and help us grow.About The BurnoutsThe Burnouts brings you raw, unfiltered conversations with today’s top founders, creators, athletes, and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the show goes beyond the headlines to reveal the real stories behind ambitious careers.Past guests include Paris Hilton, Chelsea Handler, Kris Jenner, Karlie Kloss, and more.Subscribe for the insider playbook to build your dream career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

He arrived in New York with $100, slept in parks, showered at the YMCA — and went on to invent the tube top, dress Studio 54, and build a billion-dollar fashion empire.In this episode of The Burnouts, fashion icon Elie Tahari joins Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni alongside his son and CEO Jeremey Tahari for a rare, multi-generational conversation about survival, ambition, taste, and legacy.Elie walks through his unbelievable journey: immigrating to New York alone, working as an electrician by day and selling clothes by night, sneaking into a fashion show through a back door, and accidentally creating one of the most iconic garments of the 1970s. From disco dresses to power suits, he explains how watching women on New York streets — not runways — taught him how to anticipate what they’d want next.Jeremey opens up about growing up inside the business, stepping out of his father’s shadow, and eventually taking over as CEO — while expanding the company into real estate, licensing, and global scale. Together, they unpack what it really looks like to work with family, disagree on taste, hand over control, and build something meant to last 50+ years.This episode is about the American dream in its rawest form — luck, hustle, intuition, ego checks, and building success with heart. If you’re building from scratch, navigating family dynamics at work, or trying to define success on your own terms, this one’s required listening.Chapters00:00 – Arriving in NYC with $10001:00 – Sleeping in parks & finding community03:00 – From electrician to fashion hustle04:30 – Inventing the tube top06:30 – Sneaking into a fashion show & landing 250K orders08:30 – Studio 54, disco & early fashion moments11:00 – Dressing women entering the workforce13:00 – Building a fashion empire15:00 – Real estate, licensing & vertical integration17:00 – Father–son dynamics in business19:30 – Taking over as CEO22:00 – Disagreeing on taste & generational shifts25:00 – Persian culture, fashion & femininity27:30 – Leadership, hiring & humility30:00 – Legacy, luck & advice for the burnouts🔗 FOLLOW USPhoebe GatesSophia KianniElie TahariJeremey TahariTahari Group🔥 FOLLOW THE BURNOUTSInstagramTikTokLinkedIn📲 Support What We’re BuildingPhoebe and Sophia aren’t just your hosts — they’re the founders of Phia, a fashion-tech app helping shoppers find the best prices across retail and resale. Try it now → https://www.phia.comAbout The BurnoutsThe Burnouts brings you raw, unfiltered conversations with today’s top founders, creators, and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the show goes beyond headlines to explore the real stories, breakdowns, and breakthroughs that define your 20s.Past guests include Paris Hilton, Tommy Hilfiger, Kris Jenner, Karlie Kloss, and other entrepreneurs redefining our generation.🔔 Subscribe for the insider playbook to build your dream career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Allison Ellsworth went from oil & gas spreadsheets to building Poppi, the prebiotic soda that broke the internet, rewrote the rules on “healthy soda,” and sold to PepsiCo in a multibillion-dollar deal.In this episode of The Burnouts, Allison joins Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni to share how a DIY apple-cider-vinegar tonic from her Texas kitchen turned into the soda of the next generation. She walks through the whole arc: farmers’ markets, Whole Foods, Shark Tank while nine months pregnant, a risky rebrand, and the TikTok storytime that quietly did $100K on Amazon overnight.Allison also gets brutally honest about working with her husband, hiring too slowly while growth rockets, and what happens to your identity when you suddenly have both a Super Bowl ad and an exit. She shares the unglamorous side of lawsuits, burnout, mom guilt, and figuring out “what’s next” when you technically never have to work again.If you’re building a consumer brand, obsessing over content, or just trying to stay ambitious without completely frying your nervous system, this episode is a masterclass in playing the long game — and still having fun.Chapters00:00 – From Texas kid to unexpected founder02:00 – ACV shots, health issues & the Poppi spark04:30 – Farmers’ market hustle → Whole Foods breakthrough06:30 – Shark Tank at 9 months pregnant08:30 – The risky rebrand: Mother Beverage → Poppi11:00 – Launching Poppi during COVID13:00 – TikTok virality & selling out overnight16:00 – Creator-first marketing & celebrity fans19:00 – Flavor wins, flavor fails & building a real soda22:00 – Working with your husband (and being wrong sometimes)24:30 – Sugar, lawsuits & building in CPG27:00 – Inside the PepsiCo acquisition30:00 – Life after the exit & what’s next for Allison🔗 FOLLOW USPhoebe GatesSophia KianniAllison EllsworthPoppi 🔥 FOLLOW THE BURNOUTShttps://www.instagram.com/theburnoutshttps://www.tiktok.com/@theburnoutshttps://www.linkedin.com/company/the-burnouts📲 Support What We’re BuildingPhoebe and Sophia aren’t just your hosts — they’re the founders of Phia, a fashion-tech app helping shoppers find the best prices across retail and resale. Download now and join the community of 800,000+ smarter shoppers.About The BurnoutsThe Burnouts brings you raw, unfiltered conversations with today’s top founders, creators, and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the show goes beyond headlines to explore the real stories, breakdowns, and breakthroughs that define your 20s.Past guests include Paris Hilton, Tommy Hilfiger, Kris Jenner, Karlie Kloss, and other entrepreneurs redefining our generation.🔔 Subscribe for the insider playbook to build your dream career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Founder and creative force Jasmin Larian Hekmat reveals the untold story of how she turned a scrappy side hobby into Cult Gaia, one of the most recognizable fashion brands of the last decade.Before the Ark Bag exploded across Instagram, Jasmin was wiring flower crowns at her kitchen table, hauling a flower cart to festivals, and giving away bags no one would buy. In this episode of The Burnouts, she tells Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni how a single product quietly snowballed into a global sensation and reshaped her entire career.Jasmin breaks down the five years before Cult Gaia “hit,” the moment the Ark Bag went from ignored to iconic, and the relentless creativity that keeps her one step ahead of imitators. She shares how she built a multimillion-dollar business without raising a cent of venture capital, how she protects the brand’s fiercely artful DNA, and why her designs are meant to stop someone in their tracks.From vase purses to playable backgammon clutches to fragrance bottles that feel like sculpture, Jasmin explains how she turns wild ideas into objects people obsess over. She also opens up about motherhood, running a 100 person team, trusting her gut when everyone says no, and staying original in an industry that copies everything.If you are building a fashion brand, dreaming up your first product, or trying to stand out in a crowded industry, this conversation will change the way you think about creativity, community, and staying power.Chapters00:00 The Hobby That Accidentally Started Cult Gaia02:00 The $38 Bag No One Wanted04:00 The Viral Moment That Changed Everything06:00 How She Built a Brand With Zero Investors08:00 Surviving Copycats and Staying Original10:00 Building a Team While Raising Three Kids12:00 The Pressure Behind a “Perfect” Brand14:00 Designing Pieces People Can’t Ignore16:00 What Founders Get Wrong About Success18:00 Lightning Round: Style, Risks, and Reinvention🔗 FOLLOW USPhoebe GatesSophia KianniJasmin Larian Hekmat🔥 FOLLOW THE BURNOUTSInstagramTikTokLinkedIn📲 Support What We’re BuildingPhoebe and Sophia are the founders of Phia, a new fashion-tech app helping shoppers find the best prices across retail and resale. Download now and join the community of 800,000+ happy users.About The BurnoutsThe Burnouts brings you raw, unfiltered conversations with top founders, creators, and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, the show goes beyond headlines to explore the real stories, breakdowns, and breakthroughs that define your twenties.Past guests include Paris Hilton, Kris Jenner, Karlie Kloss, and Tommy Hilfiger.Subscribe for the inside playbook to build your dream career. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.