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3 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,A ugust 26,2021 w aterloochronicle.ca BARDISH CHAGGER #ForwardForEveryone BardishKW /Bardish.Chagger Bardish_Chagger 519-747-3731 team@bardishchagger.ca for Bardish ChaggerA strong voice for you #ForwardForEveryone Bardishchagger.ca In 2010, a 22-year-old Martin Basiri landed in an airport in Canada. Excited to experience snow and whatever else was in store for him in the country, he went on an adventure to explore life as an international student. Fast forward to 2015: along with his brothers Meti and Mas- si, Basiri founded ApplyBoard, a platform that connects interna- tional students with academic institutions. Today, ApplyBoard has be- come one of Canada's fastest- growing tech companies and now employs more than 900 team members, with 600 of them locat- ed in Waterloo Region and across Canada. Waterloo Chronicle talked to Basiri, who shared his journey from the first time he landed at the airport to running the world's largest online platform for international students. WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN YOU ARRIVED HERE? I came in September 2010. And when I got here, I've never really experienced snow before. In my city in Iran, we don't have it. I was so excited to see snow. And when it snowed, I was like, 'Wow, this is how snow feels like.' And it never stopped, it just kept coming! My memories of my early days here were all positive, all fun. WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU REMEMBER HAVING AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT? I remember the process of finding a school, applying, get- ting accepted and getting the vi- sa took me over a year-and-a- half. It was challenging to figure out how to do it and how to make it possible. That's actually where we got the idea of helping other international students. Other than that, there's also things like accommodation, managing your money, where to get food. I remember the first time I went to the university, I stayed inside on campus the whole day, and when I got home, I didn't have anything to eat! It's a cool challenge, though. I think people who study abroad want that challenge; they want to seek discomfort, because they want to grow. WHAT'S THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU HAD TO FACE AS AN IMMIGRANT IN CANADA? There are two big challenges. Number 1 is the language. In Iran, we speak Farsi, and En- glish is a completely foreign lan- guage. The other thing was building a network. When we came here, we didn't know a lot of people. Also, learning the laws or rules of Canada and understand- ing how things are done here when you start a business. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO START APPLYBOARD? We wanted to do something with more impact on people. Building a company and serv- ing other people brings me inner peace. It makes me happy. That's why I love our mission. When I see students come here, and they become successful, it makes me happy. I think I made an impact in their life. WHAT WAS IT LIKE BEING AN IMMIGRANT TECH FOUNDER? There is an advantage and dis- advantage to being an immigrant tech founder. The advantage is, I had a completely fresh point of view of how to do business. A lot of things that we've done at Ap- plyBoard, maybe if I was more fa- miliar with the culture and how things are in Canada, we wouldn't have done that. But those things were very right for our success. It worked out. The disadvantage is not hav- ing the network. When you come here, you start from scratch. You also have to prove to other people that yes, I can do it here. Some people will say, 'Sure, you might have done well in your country, but that doesn't mean you can replicate that success here.' WHAT IS YOUR MESSAGE FOR IMMIGRANTS WHO MAY BE NEW TO CANADA OR IMMIGRANTS WHO MAY BE STRUGGLING RIGHT NOW, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC? Never give up; it's gonna work out. What's amazing about Cana- da is that it allows everyone to get to wherever they want, regard- less of where they come from. If our new immigrants know that their success in this country is not limited by their origin, or the colour of their skin or their accent, they will succeed. It's hard, but hardships will strengthen you. Remember that diamonds are built under pres- sure. Do you know an immigrant who's making an impact in Water- loo Region? Send an email to edi- torial@waterloochronicle.ca with the subject line "Immigrants of Waterloo Region" and the name of the person you think we should feature, along with a short de- scription of what he or she has been doing for the community. IMMIGRANTS OF WATERLOO REGION: MARTIN BASIRI Immigrants of Waterloo Region Series: Martin Basiri. Loraine Centeno image LORAINE CENTENO acenteno@metroland.com NEWS 'IMMIGRANTS OF WATERLOO REGION" IS A MONTHLY SERIES HIGHLIGHTING THE VITAL CONTRIBUTION OF IMMIGRANTS TO THE REGION SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA