TextNow, a tech company headed by CEO and UW alum Derek Ting (BASc ’10), unveiled a statue at its original site in the David Johnston Research & Technology Park on Sept. 17 to celebrate surpassing $1 billion in lifetime revenue without venture capital.
“This is a really proud moment for all of us. This places us among a rare group of companies with only one early seed round,” Chief Operating Officer of TextNow, Lindsay Gibson, stated at the event.
From left to right: Derek Ting, Jim Balsillie, and Lindsay Gibbons (Photo credit: Alex Kinsella)
Co-founded by Ting while he was studying computer engineering at UW, TextNow is mostly known for its app-based phone service available in Canada and the U.S. The company grew from Ting, his co-founder, and their co-op student working out of his student apartment in 2009 to employing more than 200 people in 2026, with headquarters in both Waterloo and San Francisco, out of which he works.
The idea for TextNow came to Ting when he set out to create his own co-op that would fulfill three requirements: it had to be fun, close to campus, and profitable so he could pay rent and afford off-campus treats. Ting also sought to text and call without paying hefty phone carrier prices. Combining his desire for making his own co-op with his interest in free phone service, TextNow was born. “I think the University of Waterloo is very unique in the sense [that] it prioritizes both academics [and] real-life experience… I think that emphasis of 50 per cent academics and 50 per cent going to the real world getting a real job… was extremely valuable,” he explained.
Created by Canadian artist Philippe Pallafray and titled “Équilibre Oblique,” the statue consists of three components: two russet steel cubes that have a stainless steel ball placed between them. Together they represent the evolution of an idea into first a tangible start-up, then a successful company. Pallafray intended for the steel ball’s reflective surface to allow passersby to see themselves in the possibility of creation. “People [getting to] see what others have built, learn from their experience, and begin to imagine what they can build themselves… is what makes this beautiful sculpture so fitting,” guest speaker Jim Balsillie said.
“While [TextNow] came a long way, and our ambitions have grown a lot [from] being able to pay rent and buy a slice of pizza to disrupt the telecom, a lot of things also haven’t changed. We’re still here to have fun. We’re still here to make money,” Ting said.
“I’m really grateful to have [gone] to [UW]; it taught me a lot of important things and I don’t think I’d be here if it wasn’t for UW,” Ting emphasized. Reflecting on his experience of returning to Waterloo, Ting says it was “nice to just go back through the memories of where we came from and look at just how far we came.” Looking ahead to future endeavours, the company envisions that “every one in ten phone numbers in the U.S. will be TextNow phone numbers.”
