As the son of two educators, Martin’s instinctive passion for education and modest upbringing in Iran led him to value the pivotal role learning plays in creating opportunity. Long before setting foot in Canada, Martin made his name as a serial innovator. At a young age, he discovered that he had a talent for creating and building systems. At 16, he landed his first order for one of his inventions.
During his undergraduate studies in Iran, Martin founded his first startup, where he invented and sold six different inventions. These inventions led to him winning the gold medal at the Geneva International Invention show in 2009.
After he arrived in Canada to pursue his master’s degree in Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Martin realized the opportunity international students had at their fingertips, so he leapt at the chance to get his brothers involved.
As Martin began the process of helping his brothers, Meti and Massi, apply to school in Canada, they identified several problems. It was an overwhelming, complex process that made it difficult. In 2015, Martin, Massi and Meti fused their passion for building systems and websites with their passion for empowering international students by co-founding ApplyBoard.
Martin, with his brothers, envisioned building a platform that could make education accessible to students all around the world. Martin’s passion and persistence fuel his mission to ensure every student who wants to pursue an education has that opportunity. Above all else, Martin wants to create sustainable change by empowering people to not only make a difference in their own lives, but in the lives of those around them.
