Operator
She ran the marketplace
As CEO she took Voice123 from a Queens studio to a business that paid for itself within six months and hit $1M in annual revenue by year two.
Previously, in Flushing, Queens…
Tania Zapata
Tania Zapata co-founded Voice123 and ran it as CEO, co-founded Bunny Studio and Torre, and invests in startups across Latin America and the US. She founded The League of Extraordinary People with Alexander Torrenegra.
How did Tania Zapata start Voice123?
Alex and Tania hacked Voice123 together in 2003, because Tania wanted to be a voice actress and getting cast was a mess. In 2002 she was a radio hopeful in New York, working as a sales associate at Banana Republic. Casting ran through casting directors, agents, studios and paymasters. One so-called talent agent charged her about $1,000 for a photo shoot, then disappeared with the deposit.
They worked from a 380-square-foot studio in Flushing, Queens. Alex coded on nights and weekends. Tania built the supply side: more than 10,000 voice actors' email addresses, collected between Banana Republic shifts, ready to invite the day the site opened.
Voice123 launched on June 13, 2003. Three days later they started running pay-per-click ads, and within hours a client posted the first job. That October, after the first paid memberships came in, Tania quit Banana Republic to run Voice123 full-time, as CEO.
The agent got paid whether or not she got cast. We built The League so we only look good when something ships.
Tania Zapata's career, year by year
- 1994
Bogotá to Miami
She moves to the US from Bogotá and later works as a traffic manager and radio host at a Spanish-language station in Miami.
- 2003
Voice123
Co-founder and CEO for its first two years: self-sustaining within six months, $1M in annual revenue by year two.
- 2006–2016
Chief People Officer
Ten years running the people side of the company behind Voice123 and, later, VoiceBunny.
- 2009
Film school
BFA in Film and Video from the City College of New York.
- 2012
VoiceBunny
Co-founded with Alex and Lucho Molina, launched at a New York Tech Meetup, renamed Bunny Studio in 2019.
- 2013
Endeavor
Selected as an Endeavor High-Impact Entrepreneur; Endeavor's leadership program at Stanford followed in 2014.
- 2021
Exit
Voice123 sells to Backstage and TA Associates, 18 years after launch.
- 2023–2025
Back in the CEO chair
CEO of Bunny Studio, then chairwoman of Bunny Inc. from August 2025.
Tania Zapata at a glance
- From
- Bogotá, Colombia
- Co-founded
- Voice123 (2003), Bunny Studio (2012), Torre, The League of Extraordinary People
- Ran as CEO
- Voice123, Akily, Bunny Studio
- Today
- Chairwoman, Bunny Inc. (Bunny Studio, Bunny Creative, Bunny Labs, Bunny Social)
- Investments
- Investor or advisor to 25+ startups across Latin America and the US; with Alex, backed Cornershop and VivaReal
- Recognition
- Endeavor High-Impact Entrepreneur
- Education
- BFA, Film and Video, City College of New York; Endeavor Leadership Program, Stanford
- Board
- Children's Creativity Museum, San Francisco
Not everything worked. Her own site lists Akily, Language123, Casting123, Letmego and Localo as ventures that didn't make it, and calls them her “best education.”
What are Bunny Studio and Torre?
Bunny Studio is a marketplace for creative work, and Torre is a job network. Bunny started in 2012 as VoiceBunny, for buying voice-overs, and grew into more than 100 creative services for over 50,000 clients. Tania co-founded it, ran it as CEO from 2023 to 2025, and now chairs Bunny Inc.
Torre is the AI-native network for finding work and talent that Alexander Torrenegra runs as CEO. Tania co-founded it and advises it.
What does Tania Zapata bring to The League?
Twenty-plus years on both sides of a hiring marketplace: first as the actress trying to get cast, then as the CEO matching actors to clients. Then she started backing other founders.
People
She ran the people side
Ten years as Chief People Officer at the company behind Voice123 and VoiceBunny. Our AI hiring service hires on what people have shipped, not pedigree.
Investor
She backs founders
Investor or advisor to more than 25 startups. With Alex, she backed Cornershop and VivaReal.
On day 91 of a 90-Day Placement, you can extend, hire the operator full-time, or take it from here. Matching people to work is what Voice123 did from its first day.
Mission briefing
Frequently asked questions
Who is Tania Zapata?
An entrepreneur and investor from Bogotá, Colombia. She co-founded Voice123, Bunny Studio, Torre and The League of Extraordinary People, and ran Voice123 as CEO.
Was Tania Zapata the CEO of Voice123?
Yes. She ran Voice123 as CEO for its first two years. She quit Banana Republic in October 2003, the month after Voice123's first paid memberships, to do it full-time.
What does Tania Zapata invest in?
Startups in Latin America and the US. She has invested in or advised more than 25 startups, and with Alex she backed Cornershop and VivaReal.
What is Tania Zapata's role at Bunny Studio today?
She has been chairwoman of Bunny Inc., the parent of Bunny Studio, since August 2025. Before that she was Bunny Studio's CEO from 2023 to 2025.
Where these facts come from
- Tania's voice-acting goal, the $1,000 photo-shoot agent, Banana Republic and her shifts there, 10,000+ email addresses, the June 13, 2003 launch, the first job hours after the June 16 ads, and quitting to become CEO the month after Premium memberships started. Voice123: Our founding story
- The 380-square-foot studio in Flushing, Queens, the chain of casting middlemen, and Tania becoming full-time CEO in the fall of 2003. Gravy for the Brain
- Arrival in Miami in 1994, the Miami radio job, Voice123's June 2003 launch. Fox News
- Voice123 founded in 2003 and sold to Backstage and TA Associates in September 2021; Bunny Studio co-founded in 2012 with Lucho Molina. Wikipedia
- CEO of Voice123 (2003–2005), Chief People Officer (2006–2016), co-founder of Torre (2016), Akily CEO, Endeavor Entrepreneur (2013), Stanford Endeavor program (2014), City College BFA. Torre profile
- Bogotá origin, Voice123 revenue milestones, Bunny Studio history and client count, chairwoman since August 2025, 25+ startups, museum board, failed ventures. taniazapata.com
Keep reading
Alexander Torrenegra
Alexander Torrenegra, co-founder
Alexander Torrenegra co-founded The League, Voice123 and Bunny Studio, runs Torre, has been a shark on Shark Tank Colombia and Mexico, and co-wrote Remoter.
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