Trio makes it big
Jan 19th, 2004
MetroNews Toronto
For the founders of Tel-
Can, what began as a quick
moneymaker has now become
a thriving telecommunications
company.
“It started as a part-time
job, a way to make some
money . . . We thought it
would be a one-week or twoweek
job,” says executive
vice-president Siva Sanmuga.
Sanmuga graduated from
the University of Waterloo in
1997. His co-founders, Anton
Mendoza and Mamoon
Rashid, graduated the following
year. By that time,
TelCan had been up and running
for two years.
As students, they juggled
running a small business as
well as attending school. Initially,
they were running the
business out of Mendoza’s
basement.
“There was a big learning
curve at the beginning . . .
Our background is civil engineering,
and we went into
telecommunications. That
was the good thing about
going to the University of
Waterloo; they teach you
how to be entrepreneurial,”
says Mendoza.
As the company grew a
customer base, and moved
out of Mendoza’s basement,
the work gradually became
easier. The Business Development
Bank of Canada provided
some much-needed
understanding of the business
world.
The company developed
services as new customers
expressed different needs.
Most of TelCan’s services are
aimed at giving small businesses
a big business feel.
“It’s about confidence,”
says Sanmuga, “if a customer
calls a company and someone
actually picks up the phone it
seems less professional.”
TelCan’s services provide
voice mail for multiple lines
that can be checked anywhere
in the world via the
Internet. They also set up
toll-free numbers, and the
lines necessary to run phone
card companies.
With more than 10 000
clients, TelCan now provides
more than 10 million minutes
of service a month. According
to its engineers, the
company has the ability to
provide three times that. For
more visit www.telcan.ca
KEVIN RABJOHN
FOR METRO TORONTO