About Us
Our Story
We began as we suppose so many businesses do, a discussion among friends after dinner. Fatemeh (Tima) had immigrated to Canada from Iran in 2019, navigating the complex process as best she could without help. Ethan, an honest philosopher (that is, one who also has a real job—in his case, automation and IT services), inquired into the difficulties of the application process and how it could be streamlined. Soon I (Matthew) could barely keep up with their techno-business babble, but their growing excitement surrounding the concept of an automated program for Canadian immigration had me researching immigration by-laws and searching for the right name to incorporate the very next morning: ApplyAway Immigration Services was thereby born.
But we knew such a project needed to include a security specialist from the very beginning, in order to ensure your personal data is strictly protected. Luckily, Ethan knew the perfect candidate in our final shareholder, Dylan. Not only was Dylan currently working in cybersecurity for one of Canada's premier banks, he had previous experience in start-ups, and his insights were immediately indispensable to the creation, optimization, and success of our dream!
From the entire ApplyAway Team, thank you for entrusting your dream of coming to Canada with our dream of making yours a less stressful (and expensive) experience!
Our Team
Fatemeh (Tima) Eshghali
CEO; RCIC-IRB
After receiving her Masters in linguistics and translation in Iran, Tima immigrated to Canada in 2019. Beginning on a Student Visa, she then applied for a Work Permit, followed by Permanent Residency, and finally, in 2023, she became a Canadian citizen. This process provided Tima with valuable firsthand insight into the many complexities involved in the Canadian immigration process. She used this insight to work with colleges and international students, all while studying Canadian immigration law at Queen's University, receiving her degree as an RCIC-IRB in 2023. This background has given Tima a multi-vectored expertise in the many subtle difficulties of immigration, an expertise we hope to pass along to our users at an affordable cost through the ApplyAway platform.
Ethan Meanor
CPO
A Ph.D. in philosophy with a background in programming, Ethan has taught courses in critical thinking and logic, while also programming for other start-up companies. Now a specialist in automation services, Ethan oversees our product's development, ensuring not only its overall quality as a program, but also that it meets current ethical and decency standards during its development and deployment.
Dylan Baird
CTO
A software engineer specializing in cybersecurity with experience bringing small businesses to the market. As a tech lead, Dylan has taken software from its initial stages, as an idea, through to realization in multiple hospitals in the Quebec healthcare sector. More recently, he works as a cybersecurity expert in the financial sector. Throughout his career data integrity, privacy, security, and conforming to regulation has been paramount.
Matthew Gardhouse
CFO/COO
An M.A. in philosophy, specializing in social statistics and mathematics, with previous experience as a translator, Matthew plays an essential organizational role, keeping financial records, coordinating with accountants and lawyers, and tracking the latest immigration stats and trends for marketing purposes. Furthermore, speaking five languages, and having worked as a translator while living in Luxembourg and Germany, Matthew oversees the translation of ApplyAway's database into an ever-growing number of languages.
