A 13-year-old girl from Shanghai, who has just entered the second year of junior high school, has become an unlikely success story in the world of tech entrepreneurship. Zhu Shuhan, 13, managed to earn 18,000 yuan in just three days by developing a virtual study companion application powered by artificial intelligence.
The young innovator achieved this feat during the national "Markethon" event held in Hangzhou from August 21 to 23, a unique marketing hackathon with no judges or scoring sheets. The only arbiters in this competition were real users willing to spend their money. Over 50 teams participated in the 48-hour event, with victory going to whoever could sell the most AI products. Against all expectations, the third-place prize went to Zhu Shuhan, who secured nearly 90 orders and generated net income exceeding 18,000 yuan in just three days.
The application she developed, called "Zai Chang" (Being Present), serves as a virtual study companion designed to help students stay focused while doing homework. Users can upload a photo of their parents, and the app creates a "virtual parent" who monitors the child's study session through the camera. When the system detects the child playing with their phone or leaving their seat, the virtual parent issues a gentle voice reminder. At the end of each study session, the app generates a concentration report for review.
Zhu Shuhan explained that she deliberately designed the app to be gentle rather than intrusive, saying she doesn't like the idea of "tattling" on children. The inspiration came from her own experiences, as her parents often don't have time to accompany her while she studies, and she sometimes finds herself distracted or secretly playing with her phone. This challenge of knowing what to study but struggling to maintain self-discipline, a problem many adults face, was solved by this young teenager through AI.
What makes her achievement particularly remarkable is that Zhu Shuhan barely knows how to code. She only encountered AI for the first time about a year ago, using natural language to describe her ideas to large language models, which then helped her organize her logic and generate the necessary code. From initial concept to functional core features, she spent only three to four days working intermittently. "AI has shown me that as long as you have a good idea, you can bring it to life," she said.
She set an ambitious goal of selling 500 units during the competition. Although she didn't reach that target, nearly 90 orders and 18,000 yuan in revenue represents a solid "first pot of gold" for a 13-year-old. Half of her success came from the product addressing a genuine need, while the other half came from an unexpected channel: her mother, who is a livestream host on Douyin, helped sell most of the products through live broadcasts and short videos. Zhu Shuhan stated that if people are genuinely willing to pay, she will continue developing the product.
Starting from personal frustration proved to be the best starting point for Zhu Shuhan, but she is not alone in this trend. Another 13-year-old girl, Lyu Sitong, has already developed over 100 AI applications and secured commercial deals worth millions. Her first AI project, "Frog Foreign Teacher," was born from her desire for a 24-hour English practice companion beyond regular school classes. She also created "Little Fox Explains Code," which cleverly explains programming variables using the analogy of a refrigerator for storing vegetables.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old Jiang Muran, a student in Beijing, won the ZGC Beiwei Lobster Competition with his AI entrepreneurship pipeline project called ClawFounder, taking home 200,000 yuan in prize money and 10 billion tokens in rewards. These young innovators share a common trait: they aren't trying to show off technical skills but rather solve real problems they encounter in their daily lives.
In the past, creating a product required learning programming, understanding code, and mastering design. Today, all one needs is the ability to articulate ideas in natural language to AI. AI application development platforms now offer various modules and tools that allow users to combine AI functions like building blocks. The barriers to entry are visibly lowering, and AI is reshaping the rules of this era, enabling ordinary people with ideas and determination to transform their concepts into products and products into tangible value.
These stories demonstrate a fundamental shift in how technology can be harnessed. With AI as an enabler, the gap between having an idea and delivering a working product has narrowed dramatically, empowering even the youngest members of society to become creators and entrepreneurs in their own right.