Gates Heir’s Shopping App Took Credit for Sales It Didn’t Drive

· Bloomberg ·

1 min read Original article ↗

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Phia, an advertising startup co-founded by Phoebe Gates, daughter of billionaire Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, bills itself as a “personal shopping assistant” that helps users find the lowest prices on a broad range of clothes and fashion accessories.

Download the Phia tool onto a web browser, use it while shopping and — voila — the so-called extension can quickly find discount codes for products. Businesses like these, known in industry parlance as affiliate marketing programs, typically collect a commission from retailers that make the resulting sale.