By Elise Mackanych
Supporting students across disciplines to flourish in the creative world of art and design is a top priority at Academy of Art University. School of Interaction & UI/UX (IxD) alum Evie Wang (M.A. ’24), founder and chief marketing officer (CMO) of startup Retell AI, a platform developing voice AI agents to use in customer service, is a perfect example of that. As CMO, Wang oversees the company’s marketing strategy, including website updates, managing social media, optimizing SEO, and building the Retell community. In addition, she oversees Retell’s product design to ensure easy-to-use client access.
Recently, Wang spoke with Art U News about her journey to launching Retell AI during her time at the Academy.
At the Academy
After working as a product designer for three years, Wang attended the Academy, majoring in UI/UX design. It was in her courses that Wang was able to expand her marketing and design knowledge. She also learned the skills necessary to thrive in a post-academic environment. Several notable takeaways from her time at the Academy include learning how to create a website, understanding CSS coding, and gaining marketing expertise.
“Studying at [the Academy] was a fantastic experience,” said Wang. “I’m incredibly grateful for the instructors and classmates I met there. Several courses were instrumental in my growth. For instance, in Fred [McHale’s] portfolio class, I learned how to create a website. During my first semester, I acquired front-end CSS coding skills. Ross [Patrick’s] class on marketing and campaigns helped me understand how to build effective strategies. These classes equipped me with valuable insights into both marketing and design, which are crucial for my role as CMO at my company.”
IxD Director Fred McHale explained how the Academy is focused on setting students up for their future careers.
“Our UI/UX department equips students for successful careers through a dynamic curriculum that emphasizes both foundational product design principles and cutting-edge technologies. We collaborate closely with industry leaders to ensure our program aligns with the evolving needs of the job market,” said McHale. “This connection is reflected in our advisory board, comprised of experienced professionals, and our faculty of working designers who bring real-world insights to the classroom.”
Additionally, AI concepts are tightly woven into IxD so students can become accustomed to the tools from an early stage.
“We integrate AI concepts into our course curriculum—this includes concepts around using AI to create content for our design work as well as how we can integrate AI features into our product designs in a way that benefits users. There are many unique challenges that come up with both of our approaches,” explained McHale. “First, students must understand the ethical and legal implications of utilizing AI tools to create content for their designs. Second, students must understand the generative AI design principles so that they can integrate AI technology into their products in a way that helps users. We always want to make sure our product design students understand the ‘Do No Harm’ design principle, and this understanding is even more crucial with the advent of generative AI.”
A startup success story
Wang’s time at the Academy was pivotal in preparing her for her CMO role at Retell AI, but she didn’t always see that in her future.
During Wang‘s time at the Academy, she and her team began working on a real-time translation tool. With the growth of livestream shopping on social media ads, they wanted to boost Chinese business growth with the help of livestreaming. However, after joining Y Combinator (a venture capital firm and startup accelerator), they realized the market was too small. Wang’s team discovered an opportunity to produce AI-powered phone calls, so they transitioned their focus to a product that became Retell AI. Both projects were initiated before Wang graduated from the Academy in May 2024.
“I’ve always enjoyed exploring new ideas and creating things, but starting a company wasn’t initially part of my plan,” shared Wang. “It wasn’t until I was accepted into Y Combinator that I seriously considered it. Becoming a founder has been an incredible experience and has significantly shaped my life… It’s made me realize how important quick learning and self-teaching are. There were so many things I didn’t know, like how to do SEO, run Google Ads, or launch a product on Product Hunt. I’ve had to learn fast and keep improving, which has been a huge growth experience.”
Retell AI confronts a major problem in customer service calls: wait times. Instead of waiting hours to speak to a representative, Retell’s voice AI agents are always available and have over a 50 percent resolution rate. Retell’s agents automate phone call tasks such as receptionist work, customer support, and sales calls.
“For us, AI is just a tool. The real goal is solving problems. We found out how LLM (large language models)-based technology could enable fast, low-latency voice AI agents, so we decided to focus on the AI route.”
Recently, Retell AI gained $5 million in funding and was featured in New York City’s Times Square. After a positive product launch, the company received hundreds of inquiries from investors, and they now plan to feature the company on billboards in San Francisco.
While Wang believes voice AI to be a transformative market in the upcoming years, it wasn’t only the logistics of the company that led to its growth; it was the people.
“What set us apart to investors was our strong team,” said Wang. “Each of us has significant experience in tech, with a proven track record of building successful products. This gave investors and angels confidence in our ability to execute and deliver results.”
With plans to continue growing the startup, Wang is focused on building a strong team that believes in Retell AI’s mission.
“Our top goals are building exceptional products and creating a great company, scaling our annualized revenue beyond the $4M we’ve achieved in just nine months while continuing to provide outstanding customer value,” said Wang. “To achieve these goals, we’re focused on hiring the best talent and fostering a team that believes in and loves our mission.”