For An Le, math has never been confined to a classroom.
It has been the foundation of her education, her career and, now, her journey into entrepreneurship. After earning a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from a University of Calgary, Le spent a decade working in technology and research and development. But throughout that career, another passion kept following her: teaching.
“I’ve been teaching math courses and engineering courses throughout my undergraduate and graduate years,” Le said. “When I worked as a software engineer building tools to help diagnose heart diseases, I used math to model the blood flow through the heart. Math was a big part of my life, and I continued to mentor junior engineers. Teaching became a very important skill that I developed throughout the years.”
When Le eventually decided she was ready to leave the corporate world and build a business of her own, Mathnasium Learning Centers offered an opportunity to bring those different parts of her life together. In November 2025, she opened Mathnasium of Cochrane in Alberta. Less than a year later, the center has an active enrollment of more than more than 125 students from first to 12th grade and has grown faster than Le initially expected.
Le’s teaching experience began long before she considered franchise ownership. During her second year of university, she worked as a teaching assistant and taught calculus to an architecture student. From there, teaching and mentorship became recurring themes throughout her academic and professional careers.
“I love teaching and providing mentorship to younger generations,” she said.
At the same time, Le had always been interested in entrepreneurship. After approximately 10 years in the industry, she began exploring opportunities that would allow her to build something of her own while remaining connected to the fields she cared about most.
“I always had the desire to be an entrepreneur,” Le said. “I decided I wanted to have a business of my own, either related to education or health care, and I realized Mathnasium fit my vision and interests the most.”
Mathnasium offered a particularly natural fit because it allowed Le to build around the subject that had played such a central role throughout her life. “Not every job could align with the math that I studied, but this was a great opportunity,” she said. “I think math is such an important subject and leads to success in other areas. To have a stronger future, it’s important to build a strong foundation for kids.”
As Le researched opportunities, one aspect of Mathnasium immediately differentiated the concept: its singular focus on math. “It’s hard to find someone that is good at everything, but having a math focus allowed me to focus and provide a high-quality service,” she said. “I am very confident with math, so that was a big attraction for me.”
“When we opened, the economy wasn’t great, and I thought it was going to be a relatively difficult period,” Le said. “But it picked up very fast, and we’ve had a lot of success with our students. With the number of enrollments and the positive feedback from the parents, it’s gone quite well.”
Part of that early success comes from filling a need Le believes was underserved in Cochrane. The center is located next to a recreation center, providing strong visibility among local families, and Le says parents regularly tell her they had been waiting for an educational resource like Mathnasium to arrive in the community.
“We are the only one offering this type of service in the city, so it is quite popular,” she said. “Parents are always telling us that they wish something like this existed before.”
Le has worked to make Mathnasium of Cochrane more than a place students visit for math instruction. “We have had so much positive feedback in the community, and we provide a lot of sponsorships and do a lot of outreach activities,” Le said. “We have also opened our space for free for the community on days we don’t open. People are very glad that we are here.”
That response has also strengthened Le’s belief in Mathnasium’s potential across Canada. “This concept is a very good fit for Canada,” she said. “The education systems in the U.S. and Canada are very similar, and so it’s a natural expansion for the concept.”
Although Mathnasium of Cochrane is still relatively new, Le is already thinking about what could come next. “The demand is growing, and we want to focus on this particular location by improving our high-quality offerings,” she said. “We have the funds available to open another center closer to the Cochrane area if the demand grows. We can make that happen very quickly here.”
After years of studying math, teaching it, using it to solve complex biomedical problems and mentoring others, Le is now using that same expertise to help students in Cochrane build stronger foundations of their own.
And less than a year into business ownership, the response suggests she may only be getting started.
The initial investment required to begin the operation of a Mathnasium franchise is $127,316-$165,846. To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/mathnasium.
Mathnasium
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After a decade-long career using math to help diagnose cardiovascular disease, An Le turned her lifelong passion for teaching into a growing Mathnasium franchise in Cochrane, Alberta.
For An Le, math has never been confined to a classroom.
It has been the foundation of her education, her career and, now, her journey into entrepreneurship. After earning a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from a University of Calgary, Le spent a decade working in technology and research and development. But throughout that career, another passion kept following her: teaching.
“I’ve been teaching math courses and engineering courses throughout my undergraduate and graduate years,” Le said. “When I worked as a software engineer building tools to help diagnose heart diseases, I used math to model the blood flow through the heart. Math was a big part of my life, and I continued to mentor junior engineers. Teaching became a very important skill that I developed throughout the years.”
When Le eventually decided she was ready to leave the corporate world and build a business of her own, Mathnasium Learning Centers offered an opportunity to bring those different parts of her life together. In November 2025, she opened Mathnasium of Cochrane in Alberta. Less than a year later, the center has an active enrollment of more than more than 125 students from first to 12th grade and has grown faster than Le initially expected.
Le’s teaching experience began long before she considered franchise ownership. During her second year of university, she worked as a teaching assistant and taught calculus to an architecture student. From there, teaching and mentorship became recurring themes throughout her academic and professional careers.
“I love teaching and providing mentorship to younger generations,” she said.
At the same time, Le had always been interested in entrepreneurship. After approximately 10 years in the industry, she began exploring opportunities that would allow her to build something of her own while remaining connected to the fields she cared about most.
“I always had the desire to be an entrepreneur,” Le said. “I decided I wanted to have a business of my own, either related to education or health care, and I realized Mathnasium fit my vision and interests the most.”
Mathnasium offered a particularly natural fit because it allowed Le to build around the subject that had played such a central role throughout her life. “Not every job could align with the math that I studied, but this was a great opportunity,” she said. “I think math is such an important subject and leads to success in other areas. To have a stronger future, it’s important to build a strong foundation for kids.”
As Le researched opportunities, one aspect of Mathnasium immediately differentiated the concept: its singular focus on math. “It’s hard to find someone that is good at everything, but having a math focus allowed me to focus and provide a high-quality service,” she said. “I am very confident with math, so that was a big attraction for me.”
“When we opened, the economy wasn’t great, and I thought it was going to be a relatively difficult period,” Le said. “But it picked up very fast, and we’ve had a lot of success with our students. With the number of enrollments and the positive feedback from the parents, it’s gone quite well.”
Part of that early success comes from filling a need Le believes was underserved in Cochrane. The center is located next to a recreation center, providing strong visibility among local families, and Le says parents regularly tell her they had been waiting for an educational resource like Mathnasium to arrive in the community.
“We are the only one offering this type of service in the city, so it is quite popular,” she said. “Parents are always telling us that they wish something like this existed before.”
Le has worked to make Mathnasium of Cochrane more than a place students visit for math instruction. “We have had so much positive feedback in the community, and we provide a lot of sponsorships and do a lot of outreach activities,” Le said. “We have also opened our space for free for the community on days we don’t open. People are very glad that we are here.”
That response has also strengthened Le’s belief in Mathnasium’s potential across Canada. “This concept is a very good fit for Canada,” she said. “The education systems in the U.S. and Canada are very similar, and so it’s a natural expansion for the concept.”
Although Mathnasium of Cochrane is still relatively new, Le is already thinking about what could come next. “The demand is growing, and we want to focus on this particular location by improving our high-quality offerings,” she said. “We have the funds available to open another center closer to the Cochrane area if the demand grows. We can make that happen very quickly here.”
After years of studying math, teaching it, using it to solve complex biomedical problems and mentoring others, Le is now using that same expertise to help students in Cochrane build stronger foundations of their own.
And less than a year into business ownership, the response suggests she may only be getting started.
The initial investment required to begin the operation of a Mathnasium franchise is $127,316-$165,846. To find out more information on costs to buy this franchise, please visit https://1851franchise.com/mathnasium.
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