From teen drama star to angel investor, Sophia Bush joins Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni for an unfiltered conversation about building wealth, walking away from toxic systems, and making purpose profitable.

In this episode of The Burnouts, Sophia reveals how a surprise $10,000 angel check into Uber kickstarted her investment journey—and how that single move led to millions. She opens up about the real economics of being a young actress, fighting for equal pay on One Tree Hill, and the dark side of working in Hollywood. Sophia also shares what it means to build power as a woman in business: launching inclusive salons, shaping the future of femtech, and helping fund America's first women-founded bank.

She breaks down the difference between angel investing and venture, gives practical advice for women who want to build wealth without gatekeeping, and explains why doing good and doing well should never be mutually exclusive.

Also: The best financial advice she’s ever received.

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🔍 CHAPTERS

1:20 – From aspiring heart surgeon to unexpected actress

6:45 – The economics of young Hollywood

13:00 – Building an inclusive salon in Detroit

17:20 – Investing in Uber with $10K

20:45 – The power of sweat equity

25:30 – Femtech, abortion access & why periods matter

30:15 – Talking money without shame

34:00 – The group chat every woman needs

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📲 Download the Phia app to start saving money.

Subscribe to The Burnouts for bold, raw interviews with the thinkers, athletes, and founders redefining ambition. Hosted by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni—former Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders—each episode dives into the unpolished truths of building a life and career that matters. This isn’t another founder podcast. It’s what building something in your 20s actually sounds like—unfiltered, in-progress, and a little bit chaotic.

Heiress, icon, mogul, mom—and the original influencer.

In this episode of The Burnouts, Paris Hilton gets real with Phoebe and Sophia about turning a catchphrase into a global brand, the pain behind her activism, and why being underestimated was her greatest advantage.

She opens up about creating the “dumb blonde” persona as a form of power, testifying before Congress as a survivor, and why she believes angel numbers (and small-town nerds) are the secret to everything. Plus: what it’s like running 30 businesses, parenting with purpose, and building 11:11 Media to bring it all together.

This isn’t the Paris Hilton you think you know.

Also: DJ paychecks, ADHD superpowers, and how to spot a fragile man.

🕯️✨ USE CODE "BURNOUTS15" FOR 15% OFF YOUR ORDER ON THE LIMITED-EDITION PHLUR X THE BURNOUTS CANDLE ✨🕯️

🔍 CHAPTERS

1:45 – Inventing the “Paris Hilton” character

5:00 – ADHD and the art of doing everything

9:40 – Playing dumb, trademarking “That’s Hot”

13:15 – From survivor to Capitol Hill

18:00 – Why she’d never date a guy from LA

20:45 – Paris' obsession with angel numbers

24:00 – Advice for building a brand

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Paris Hilton

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TikTok

LinkedIn

📲 Download the Phia app to start saving money: www.phia.com

Subscribe to The Burnouts for bold, raw interviews with the thinkers, athletes, and founders redefining ambition. Hosted by Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni—former Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders—each episode dives into the unpolished truths of building a life and career that matters. This isn’t another founder podcast. It’s what building something in your 20s actually sounds like—unfiltered, in-progress, and a little bit chaotic.

200,000 downloads. A tagline that finally made people “get it.” And a few hard lessons along the way.

In this episode of The Burnouts, co-founders Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni unpack the marketing experiments that helped Phia find traction—from trial reels and creator guides to AI-generated scripts and TikTok reach campaigns. They share what worked, what didn’t, and what they’re still learning about building a brand from scratch.

They also talk about the power of a clear metaphor (“Google Flights for fashion”), the pressure of launching on the same day as a major podcast appearance, and why community has been their most valuable asset.

Also: how Kris Jenner got involved...

📲 Download the Phia app to start saving money: www.phia.com

🕯️✨ USE CODE "BURNOUTS15" FOR 15% OFF YOUR ORDER ON THE LIMITED-EDITION PHLUR X THE BURNOUTS CANDLE → https://go.shopmy.us/p-18806798 ✨🕯

🔍 CHAPTERS

2:00 – Launching Phia the same day as Call Her Daddy

6:20 – Trial Reels: our low-cost growth engine

8:45 – Our best-performing hook

11:15 – TikTok flops, LinkedIn wins, and why Substack matters

13:10 – The hack to community-building

15:00 – How we use AI to write scripts that work

17:30 – The SEO agency mistake we won’t make again

19:10 – The "special sauce" in a marketing hire

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Sophia Kianni

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Subscribe to The Burnouts for exclusive conversations with today’s top founders and culture-shaping entrepreneurs. Hosted by former Stanford roommates turned startup co-founders, Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, this isn’t just another founder podcast—it’s untold conversations and the unfiltered reality of what it takes to build your dream career in your 20s.

Guests include Paris Hilton, Chelsea Handler, Kris Jenner, Karlie Kloss, and more visionaries defining the brands—and blueprints—of our time. Whether you’re dreaming big or building now, these are the conversations that will show you how it’s done (and what no one else tells you).

🔔 Subscribe now to get the blueprint for building your dream career