A laundromat. A sushi roll chain. A neighborhood bodega with a billboard featuring a Coachella-esque lineup of celebs who invested in a fashion-meets-AI startup.
These are all things you can find right now on Kenmare Street in Manhattan.
Phia — the online shopping startup cofounded by Stanford grads Phoebe Gates (yes, the daughter of Bill Gates) and Sophia Kianni — is advertising its $35.5 million Series A funding round in the windows of Mott Corner, a deli and convenience store in Nolita.
The blue-and-black ad showcases an "Investor Lineup," including a who's who of entertainment, media, and investing titans: Khosla Ventures, Khloé Kardashian, Mindy Kaling, Shaboozey, Bobbi Brown, Ice Spice, Jay Shetty, and even The Chainsmokers.
Inside and around the bodega, the scene is far less glitzy.
When Business Insider visited the shop, a group of construction workers in hard hats and neon-orange vests were eating lunch. The menu offered New York bodega staples, including chicken fingers and deli meat sandwiches.
There were four rain-splattered white chairs — three plastic and one wood — chained to the side of the building. A rainbow-colored rolling ticker sign listed what customers could buy inside the shop: "WE HAVE SODA," "breakfast, lunch, dinner," and "CIGARETTES," it read.
The store manager said Phia's ad had been up since mid-June. Other companies have advertised in the shop's windows for years, the manager said, but nobody had ever asked him about the ads.
Absent from Phia's ad is any explanation of Phia's consumer product.
The startup, which has raised $43.5 million in two rounds, is positioning itself to consumers as a sustainability-minded AI tool for finding better prices and secondhand alternatives online. During a spot on "Good Morning America," Gates and Kianni called the app a "companion that sits in your browser [that] answers the questions that every consumer asks: 'Should I actually buy this?'"
For fashion brands, the company says it "drives high-intent discovery and connects users to products from brands they're most likely to buy from," according to its website.
Carol Spieckerman, a retail consultant, said the ad may look like a consumer-facing billboard, but she sees a more specific pitch.
"This is business-to-business marketing masquerading as out-of-home advertising," Spieckerman told Business Insider. "The audience isn't random passersby; it's decision-makers at brands and retailers who work in or frequent that neighborhood.
"Phia is essentially saying: 'Look at who believes in us,'" Spieckerman said.
The ad caught the eye of at least one VC in the area.
"Why is there a series A announcement on a deli in Nolita?" wondered Eniac Ventures founder Hadley Harris, who posted a photo of it on X.
Read next
Ben Shimkus is a reporter for the Business News desk. He writes about cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared in Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's also held staff writing positions at The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU with a Master's in journalism in 2024. Email Ben at [email protected] or message him privately on Signal at bshimkus.41.
