Voice calls, phones, messaging, and the tools we use to communicate in today’s fast-paced world are pervasive. We often pay little attention to them – until they’re broken or no longer serve the needs of a growing business.

Many of these tools are cumbersome. They often come with limitations, complicated hardware, software, and confusing licensing requirements. And they’re rarely (if ever) integrated.

What if there were a better way? Anil Sedha and his team at WHIISL knew there must be. So they built one!

The Realization

Anil Sedha is the founder of WHIISL Inc., a tech start-up in the Ascent stage of the North Forge Founders Program. He thought there must be a way to make voice & messaging easier to use, turn them into efficient tools for his customers, and help them become more profitable. He recalls many discussions with customers at CloudGenie, his IT consulting and services company:

“Many of my customers had concerns about their voice and messaging solutions. They were looking for better software for voice – better software for messaging. We spoke a lot about next-gen capabilities that their current solutions didn’t have – and I wondered: what if we provided these solutions for them?”

And So Began WHIISL

It’s been said that the best way to start a business is to solve a problem that someone else has. If you want to scale it, solve a problem that many have.

The Goals

Anil recalls thinking about the initial goals for WHIISL: “When we first started, our goals were simple,” said Anil. “My thought was to provide an integrated voice and messaging dashboard. I also wanted something that would offer advanced capabilities that could grow with them in the future. I wanted to remove the complexity that many of these solutions have. We wanted to reduce cost and complexity for our customers – so it’s a cloud-based solution.”

“The WHIISL system integrates the VoIP and messaging solutions in one interface (a single pane of glass) for ease of management. But the voice and messaging modules can be separated if desired.” We also have broadcast capabilities, so you can send a voice or broadcast a message to hundreds or even millions of people.”

“For reporting, we have a robust analytics dashboard which provides the current and historical reports. Also, as part of our telecom solutions provider mandate, we follow all CRTC and FCC regulations.”

How Does it Work?

The technological heart of WHIISL is a robust web-based app. But there are plans to evolve with an advanced mobile app. Version one of their mobile app is ready and is undergoing testing by some customers. Anil described some of the capabilities with a recent example: “We had an engagement with one of the political parties. During the last federal election, we sent a full broadcast to their entire database. It was a full broadcast, but it was interactive and many people responded. Our solution allows a full broadcast and then an individual reply, so when people respond, there’s an AI-driven chatbot. And it also utilizes an AI-driven focus to connect that respondent with a live person. It all works in your phone’s regular native messaging and phone apps; if you are on a desktop, you can use a browser.”

Anil described some of the advantages of the new mobile app: “it will provide an enriched and more secure experience. Let’s say you are using your own device, but you’re working with company information. They want that information deleted from the personal device when that person leaves, and of course, it will make the reporting more straightforward. The new app will use the device’s native text and call apps for greater simplicity.”

The Pivot (sort of)

Many founders and their teams experience a moment of realization or a need to shift focus, a pivot. The pivot with WHIISL was a bit different: “We experienced an expansion rather than a pivot into a new direction.” Anil explains: “We started with a very singular focus. When we showed it to some customers (and potential clients), they saw immense value in it and started giving us feedback. We had many requests for more features that could benefit business growth.” “So instead of doing all that and muddying the waters without proper focus, we decided to focus on a business use case strategy. Thus our pivot is more of an expansion because we have developed a few new business use cases. As the mobile app launches, we’ll also build in some extra features that will become separate products. But they will all use the same platform, so nobody has to download several apps.” Anil continued, “one example is that we’re building a private B2B clubhouse. Everybody feels comfortable sharing private information with people they know and trust. It’s a great way to host company town halls and similar events, making the mobile app more useful and valuable to our customers.”

WHIISL and the Founders Program

Anil and the WHIISL team are in the Ascent stage of the North Forge Founders Program. Originally, Anil entered the Founders program with another startup idea. They decided to form WHIISL in October of 2021 and began working with North Forge to give themselves the best possible chance of success. He learned about the North Forge Founders Program on LinkedIn and remembered how it piqued his interest: “I came across a North Forge post on LinkedIn detailing what they do, how they do it, and how they help the startup community. There aren’t many support groups for startups or technology incubators in Manitoba. North Forge provides a clear and decisive advantage for its founders. They’re well organized, established, and flexible. The Founders Program is robust and well-defined with lots of support.”

From a business knowledge perspective, Anil feels he’s very fortunate. As a senior IT leader with decades of business experience, he feels lucky to have that perspective. But he does wish he’d known more about the program earlier. “It’s beneficial for all founders to understand more about how to form a startup and what they can expect, especially for the younger founders who are starting out. It’s important to know as early as possible how helpful North Forge and the Founders Program can be. It significantly cuts down the learning time.”

When asked about how he’s benefited from the program and the EIRs (Entrepreneurs-in-Residence), Anil was happy to share: “Immensely! There are no words to describe the value of their experience, their background, their expertise – and their insights.” “Early on, I attended two sessions with the mentors and the EIRs, and I asked them to give me direct, blunt feedback, and I’m so glad they did. It opened my eyes to many things. I decreased my learning time for success by almost 50%. After those meetings, I clearly understood where to go with my company. I became very focused and sharp in my approach after these meetings.”

“One more thing I should mention is that I also became a lot more revenue and results-focused. I had a better perspective, and they explained the value of clearly documented goals in the next one to three months versus just progressing at your own pace.”

Anil feels personal accountability is important: “As a founder, you can’t allow yourself to get into a comfort zone. If you want to succeed, and if you want to zoom ahead – to run instead of walk – you need to have a different mindset, perspective, and even a different work ethic. And when you work with like-minded, experienced people, they push you for your benefit, and you benefit immensely. They have nothing else to gain from giving you that feedback. They’re happy to see you succeed, and they’re helping the local entrepreneur community in many different ways. They can see things from the outside and from a different perspective, which is crucial.”

Anil also shared an unexpected benefit of the Founders Program: “we were made aware of a sales playbook strategy that I had never known about. I applied, and we’re now part of that program which provides a sales playbook strategy for a startup training program across Canada. So Instead of building up your business slowly, they help you scale more quickly with a million-dollar sales playbook. It’s a tremendous opportunity that I wouldn’t otherwise have had.”

What’s on the Horizon for WHIISL?

There are many things for Anil and his team to look forward to as WHIISL evolves and grows. “I look forward to greater collaboration and a larger audience for my professional network,” Anil said. “And continued collaboration with the EIRs, growth coaches and mentors to help us build a more strategic business.”

Anil shared some tips for other potential founders: “do not waste time and have a clear, concise idea. Although the program will help you get on the right track, you will save a massive amount of time getting where you want to go. There’s nothing wrong with a pivot or a shift in focus, but the Founders Program will help you to realize whether you’re on the right track and how fast you can get there.”

Anil shared his perspective: “We would not be where we are today without our participation in North Forge. We would have achieved one-tenth of what we’ve achieved so far. We would have been successful, but we wouldn’t have been a forward-looking startup poised for significant growth. We would have been a business but not a successful company. And there’s a difference.”

What’s next for WHIISL? “We plan to complete the next phase of development for the mobile app, and we want to serve 500 clients by the first quarter of 2023,” Anil shared. We’re also looking forward to executing our million-dollar sales playbook strategy.”

Next Steps:

If you’d like to know more about WHIISL or Anil’s experience in the Founders Program, he would welcome a connection on Twitter (@anilsedha) or a message through his LinkedIn profile. If you’re a potential customer for WHIISL and are interested in learning how they can help you grow your business with WHIISL’s innovative voice and messaging solutions, he would love to have a conversation to help support that growth. He can be reached at WHIISL directly via email at sales@WHIISL.com.

Do you have a business idea that you need help with? Tell us about your vision, and let’s meet to chat about it!