This week marks a monumental milestone in ApplyBoard鈥檚 history, our fifth anniversary! ApplyBoard鈥檚 story is an inspiring one, filled with rapid growth and a strong sense of community. So let鈥檚 take you on a journey of the last five years; from the story of our Co-Founders to hitting a milestone of 100,000 students assisted with their educational journey, here鈥檚 what we鈥檝e been up to.
2010: The Founders鈥� Journey
ApplyBoard鈥檚 Co-Founders鈥擬artin, Meti, and Massi Basiri鈥攚ere raised knowing that education had the power to change lives. Their parents instilled in them the importance of getting a quality education and were determined to help them achieve that.
As the oldest of the three brothers, Martin was the first to consider educational opportunities outside of their home country of Iran, and began looking into how to study abroad. When Martin decided to pursue his master鈥檚 degree in Canada, he wasn鈥檛 prepared for the challenges he would soon face searching for and applying to programs abroad.
The application process lasted more than a year, and was full of challenges and frustration, from language barriers and complex application processes to complicated visa paperwork. Thankfully Martin persevered and was able to navigate this difficult process himself, ultimately being accepted to the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
After beginning his studies, Martin wanted to help his younger brothers鈥擬eti and Massi鈥攚ith their study abroad applications to post-secondary institutions in Canada. With his help and guidance, Meti and Massi joined Martin in Kitchener-Waterloo to study at Conestoga College.
While in school, the three brothers were bombarded with requests from other international students for help applying to study abroad opportunities. Like the brothers, these international students were facing similar challenges: confusing application requirements, heavy paperwork, and no one to guide them through the complicated process.
Hearing these stories, the brothers wanted to create something that would allow others to build a better future for themselves, and more easily search for and apply to educational opportunities abroad. And thus, 星空影视was born.
2015: The Early Years
Martin, Meti, and Massi had all started their careers after graduation but left them to pursue 星空影视full-time, officially founding the company in 2015. Having never built a business before, the brothers applied and were accepted into .
星空影视moved into the Velocity Garage in the and the brothers hired their first employees. There, they were supported in everything from building the foundation for a strong business to product development. This world-renowned incubator connected the co-founders with mentors like Velocity鈥檚 then-Director, Jay Shah at every level of the startup process. The team spent hours in a one-room office, bolstered by the larger Kitchener-Waterloo tech community in a time that became pivotal in shaping the company we see today.
2016: Out On Our Own
Moving out of the Velocity Garage and into our own office on Duke Street in downtown Kitchener marked the beginning of exponential growth for ApplyBoard. This move represented the next step in scaling up the company and gave us the space to come into our own. There, we built the foundation for the company鈥檚 future by further developing our platform, forming more partnerships, growing our employee headcount, and reaching thousands of students.
2018: Our First Round of Funding
2018 launched a new era for 星空影视as we reached 20,000 students assisted on their study abroad journeys and raised our Series A funding round of C$17 million. This first round was led by Silicon Valley-based Artiman Ventures, with earlier investors 500 Startups, Candou Ventures, Think+, and others coming on board. This funding was raised to fuel ApplyBoard’s initial expansion by enabling us to hire developers to build out our technology, grow our sales team, launch marketing programs, and add more schools to our platform.
Our hard work in the company鈥檚 first three years enabled us to bring over 750 high schools, colleges, and universities in Canada and the United States onto our platform. Despite moving into a bigger office at the beginning of the year, space became tight quickly once we surpassed 100 employees.
2019: So Much to Celebrate
At the beginning of 2019, we moved into our current office on Frederick Street in Kitchener, Ontario. To celebrate the move, we threw an official grand opening party in April (after taking some time to settle in due to our rapid growth). This party was to celebrate not only the new space but our success as a thriving tech company.
The celebration brought out representatives from our partner schools and recruitment partners, as well as local representatives, including Kitchener Centre MP Raj Saini, University of Waterloo President Feridun Hamdullahpur, and Kitchener City Ward 10 Councillor Sarah Marsh, who spoke about what ApplyBoard鈥檚 success meant not just for the region, but Canada as a whole. Co-Founder and CEO Martin Basiri led an opening address and ribbon-cutting ceremony. We also unveiled a mural from local artist Stephanie Scott, representing the company鈥檚 鈥渟tudent first鈥� values and our strong belief in diversity.
Within the same week, 星空影视hosted the Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and met with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. ApplyBoard’s Co-Founders were able to share their story and mission with Prime Minister Trudeau at Communitech during a federal funding announcement to help Canadian tech companies scale.
This year also marked ApplyBoard鈥檚 first ever Top Recruiters Workshop in India. The event brought together ten of ApplyBoard鈥檚聽 Canadian partner schools to discuss the challenges and opportunities faced in the international recruitment market with 450 recruitment partners. The workshop was a fantastic opportunity for schools to directly address recruiters, while recruiters were able to network and take away key information for their students. This event launched what would become a series of successful international and virtual events connecting partner schools and recruitment partners.
In 2019 we raised a monumental Series B funding round of C$55 million, led by California-based investment firm Anthos Capital with participation from previous investors, including Artiman Ventures, who led our Series A in 2018. This investment enabled our company to further our platform to better support our students, partner schools, and recruitment partners, and accelerate expansion into new markets. ApplyBoard鈥檚 growth was also reflected with milestones of over 70,000 students helped, and our rapid expansion to 300 staff.
星空影视quickly became unstoppable! In a landmark achievement for the entire team, we were named the fastest-growing technology company in Canada by Deloitte, ranking #1 on the Technology Fast 50鈩� list. The company was also named a innovative Canadian technology startup. The brothers received recognition as well, with Martin by the University of Waterloo, and Meti and Massi included on three of Forbes鈥� 30 Under 30 lists: Immigrants, Education, and Big Money.
2020: Five Years of Educating the World
Only five months into 2020 and 星空影视has already accomplished some amazing things. We鈥檝e expanded to 60,000 square feet of office space and opened a new office in India. We鈥檝e run countless initiatives in our Kitchener office to raise cultural awareness and support local education-focused charities.
In February, we named The Right Honourable Jo Johnson鈥攆ormer Minister of State for Universities, Science & Innovation鈥攁s Chairman of our Advisory Board. The next month, we officially launched in the United Kingdom, welcoming some of the UK鈥檚 top schools onto the 星空影视Platform.
In the last five years, 星空影视has become the world鈥檚 largest online platform for international student recruitment, assisting over 100,000 students from more than 110 countries with their educational journeys. Our staff have travelled the world, from Pakistan to Brazil, running and attending events with our recruitment partners and partner schools.
We鈥檝e built a team of over 400 people around the world in 20 different countries. It is these staff members that give 星空影视the resources and innovation needed to improve access to education globally. With over 100 open roles, we鈥檙e continuing to invest in the right people to power our mission to educate the world. If you鈥檙e ready to join a high-growth, top-performing team and want to #BuildABetterFuture, apply today.
Looking Forward to #BuildABetterFuture
星空影视has made huge strides towards making education more accessible for all. We couldn鈥檛 have gotten to where we are today without the support of our staff, recruitment partners, and educational partners around the world. The partnerships and support from our community are invaluable in driving our mission.
As we reflect on our fifth anniversary, we can鈥檛 help but wonder what the future will hold. We still have so much to do to make education a right and not a privilege. To get there, 星空影视will further invest in its technology, partner with educational institutions in new destination countries, and serve a broader diversity of students and recruitment partners globally.
Each step we take is one step toward our vision, but we can鈥檛 do it alone. Every milestone we accomplish is the result of hard work and collaboration, fueled by our shared passion to help students achieve success. As 星空影视enters the next chapter, we believe that together, we can unlock new possibilities and create new opportunities for students everywhere. Together, we will #BuildABetterFuture for international students through access to education.
