I’m unwell after hearing the first episode of Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates’s new podcast, The Burnouts. April 1 marked the first episode, and it really did live up to the hype — especially with their conversation about Kianni’s fake assistant that she used through college. Truth be told, it’s a genius idea for content creators.Â
As to be expected with the iconic podcasts featured on Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network, The Burnouts gives fans everything they’ve been looking for in a podcast. It’s even more interesting if you’re a business girl or a content creator and find yourself negotiating your own pay. In Episode 1, Kianni told the story of the fake assistant, “Kobe,” who she used while she was in college.
Spearheaded by Kianni during her Stanford days (where she and Gates went together), she made herself a fake assistant to basically rally for her, something lots of young people find trouble doing themselves. “I wanted to be paid for work that I was doing, and I found it really awkward to ask for money myself,” Kianni shared.Â
She went on to say that she would loop her “assistant,” Kobe, in on her emails, and that trick helped her navigate her way through the years. “Kobe helped me a lot through college, and I definitely think anyone who is in an awkward position where they need to negotiate things should just pretend to have a fake assistant,” Kianni added. After a while, she referred to him as the “chief of staff,” and said she believes his higher title might have been the reason why she made more money then.
Despite Kobe not being around anymore (or so Kianni says), you can’t deny this idea is pretty genius. Especially being in college or in your post-graduate years, it could be hard to rally for yourself. Let’s be real: No one likes to straight-up ask for money, even if it’s a simple Venmo request. But with a fake assistant, you can take the stress off your shoulders and possibly get paid more. I will gladly be taking Kianni’s advice and creating my own fake assistant (thank you, Liam, in advance)!