Ignite Startups: The Future of Voice AI for Businesses with Will Bodewes | Ep245

Episode notes

In 1890, entire rooms of people were hired to do math. Their job title was literally “computer.” Then machines showed up—and the job disappeared. Now imagine something similar happening to the humble business phone call. Every day, millions of calls go unanswered. A customer tries to book a service, schedule an appointment, or ask a quick question… and gets voicemail. For businesses, that’s not just inconvenient—it’s lost revenue. In this episode of Ignite Podcast, Brian Bell sits down with Will Bodewes , co-founder and CEO of Phonely , a startup building AI voice agents that answer business phone calls and handle real conversations with customers. The goal isn’t just automation. It’s conversion. From Small-Town Wisconsin to Building AI Companies Will’s path into startups didn’t begin in Silicon Valley—it began in a tiny town in northern Wisconsin. So small, he jokes, that his family made up about 1% of the population . Growing up there meant a limited set of winter activities: drinking beer, snowmobiling, or cross-country skiing. Will chose skiing—and got good enough to compete at the NCAA level . But endurance sports weren’t the only extreme challenge he pursued.