This 12-year-old founder created an AI-powered receptionist to help small businesses build clientele

In the realm of young entrepreneurship, Mana Jampala stands out as a remarkable innovator. At just 12 years old and based in British Columbia, she has created Voxa, an AI-powered receptionist designed to assist small businesses in managing customer calls effectively. Launched in November 2025, Voxa aims to ensure that companies don't miss out on potential clients due to missed phone calls. The inspiration for Voxa struck Jampala during her visits to her father's workplace, where she observed that a small team often struggled to handle incoming calls amidst their busy schedules. "When I was 11 years old, I noticed they missed a lot of calls," she shared. Though missing a few calls might seem trivial, Jampala recognized the cumulative impact on revenue over time, which spurred her to develop a solution. Voxa operates as a 24/7 voice assistant that not only answers calls but also manages appointments, processes restaurant orders, and summarizes interactions post-call. Remarkably, despite its youth, Voxa is already handling hundreds of calls and is on the verge of securing its first paying customer. Additionally, Jampala has introduced Voxa Agents, a feature allowing users to generate AI agents using simple prompts. "My goal is to bootstrap for a couple of years before potentially joining an accelerator like Y Combinator or A16z," Jampala stated. Her long-term vision includes seeking venture capital to scale Voxa further once it reaches an appropriate stage of growth. Growing up in the age of AI, Jampala developed an interest in technology early on. By the age of nine, she had begun exploring coding through camps and learning Python. Her dedication has been recognized with a special award in a science competition in India and a grant from the Medici Project, which supports student entrepreneurs. While Jampala engages in sports and social activities, she admits that her journey in launching a startup can feel isolating. "I love what I do, but it can be lonely at times, especially since I don't know many peers who are pursuing similar paths," she expressed. Fortunately, she has found a community of like-minded young coders and entrepreneurs online, particularly on platforms like Discord. To develop Voxa, Jampala initially turned to OpenAI's ChatGPT for coding assistance but later transitioned to Anthropic's Claude, finding it more effective for her needs. She prefers breaking down coding tasks into manageable snippets to test and refine each section, resulting in a robust code base that she continues to enhance continuously. Despite the challenges of starting a business at such a young age, including skepticism regarding her age during pitches, Jampala persists. Initially, she faced reactions like, "Wait, how old are you?" or queries about parental involvement. Shifting her approach to online outreach has yielded better results as potential clients seem more focused on the product rather than her age. Jampala's strategy now involves leveraging her network for introductions to potential clients, which she finds more effective than cold calling. Although she acknowledges the apprehensions some businesses have about integrating AI, she remains optimistic. "I believe that in a few months to a year, people will become more comfortable with AI, as many businesses are already implementing it," she asserted.