Most 12-year-olds are busy balancing school, homework, and hobbies. Mana Jampala is balancing all of that while building an AI startup with customers across multiple countries.
The young entrepreneur is the founder of Voxa, an AI-powered voice assistant designed to help businesses manage customer calls around the clock. The platform answers incoming calls, schedules appointments, responds to customer queries, records orders, and follows up with customers, allowing businesses to stay connected even when staff members are occupied.
Mana's interest in technology started at an early age. After experimenting with Scratch, she began learning Python at just nine years old. Over the next few years, she expanded her knowledge of artificial intelligence and software development, gradually transforming her coding skills into practical business solutions.
The idea behind Voxa came from a simple observation. While visiting her father's workplace, Mana noticed employees regularly missed customer calls because they were busy serving people already in the office. Those unanswered calls often translated into missed business opportunities. Instead of treating it as an unavoidable problem, she decided to build technology that could solve it.
Today, Voxa is being used by businesses in Canada, India, and Cambodia, demonstrating how a solution inspired by one everyday challenge can find relevance across different markets. The AI assistant is particularly useful for small and service-based businesses that rely heavily on customer communication.
Despite her achievements, Mana says one of her biggest challenges has been convincing people to look beyond her age and focus on the product itself. Yet she continues to refine the platform while pursuing her education.
Her journey is a reminder that innovation doesn't depend on age. It begins with curiosity, grows through consistent learning, and succeeds by solving problems that matter. Sometimes, the biggest ideas come from the youngest minds.
Filed by
Startup Unplugged
