A 13-year-old girl from Shanghai, Zhu Shuhan, has captured widespread attention by earning 18,000 yuan in just three days through an AI-powered application she developed, despite having minimal programming knowledge.
The eighth-grade student achieved this feat during the "Markethon," China's first marketing hackathon held in Hangzhou from August 21 to 23. The competition featured no judges or scorecards, with real paying customers serving as the ultimate arbiters of success. Over 48 hours, more than 50 teams competed to see who could sell the most AI products.
Securing third place was unexpected: Zhu Shuhan, who had just entered her second year of middle school. Her virtual study companion app, "Being Present," generated net revenue exceeding 18,000 yuan from nearly 90 orders. The application allows parents to upload a photo, creating a virtual guardian that monitors children while they study. The system detects phone usage or when the child leaves their desk, triggering voice reminders through the screen. When a study session ends, it generates a detailed focus report.
Zhu Shuhan emphasized her design philosophy: "I don't like tattling, so I wanted it to be gentle and leave children some space." The concept emerged from her personal struggles with maintaining focus while studying, as her parents were often too busy to supervise her. Her solution addresses a challenge many adults also face: knowing what to study but struggling with self-discipline.
Remarkably, Zhu Shuhan barely understands coding. She only began exploring AI a year ago, using natural language to communicate her ideas to large language models, which helped her organize logic and generate code. From initial concept to functional core features, she spent only three to four days working intermittently. "AI showed me that as long as you have a good idea, you can make it real," she explained.
Her success stemmed from two key factors. First, the product addressed a genuine market need. Second, an unexpected distribution channel emerged: her mother, a Douyin livestreamer, helped sell most of the products through live broadcasts and short videos. Although she set an ambitious goal of 500 sales, the near-90 orders and 18,000 yuan in revenue represented a substantial first income for a 13-year-old. "If people are truly willing to pay, I'll continue doing this," she stated.
Zhu Shuhan's story is not isolated. Another 13-year-old girl, Lv Sitong, has already developed over 100 AI applications and secured commercial contracts worth millions. Her first project, "Frog Foreign Teacher," was born from a desire for a 24-hour English practice companion. She later created "Little Fox Explains Code," which simplifies programming concepts like variables by comparing them to vegetable refrigerators. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Beijing student Jiang Muran won the Zhongguancun North Latitude Lobster Competition with his AI entrepreneurship pipeline project ClawFounder, earning 200,000 yuan in prize money and a 100 billion token reward.
These young innovators share a common trait: they build solutions to problems they personally encounter, rather than showcasing technical prowess. The landscape has shifted dramatically—what once required programming expertise and design skills can now be achieved by articulating ideas in natural language to AI systems. With modular development platforms, combining AI capabilities has become as simple as assembling building blocks.
As barriers continue to fall, AI is fundamentally reshaping the rules of creation. It empowers ordinary individuals with ideas and initiative to transform concepts into products, and products into tangible value.