Behrouz Moemeni: The Story of BeMo Academic Consulting

Our Humble Beginnings

All great missions have a beginning. Some are born of drastic and cataclysmic change, while others develop gradually over time. While one may say that the mission of BeMo Academic Consulting does in fact begin with a drastic, life-changing event of immigration, its continued success lies in gradual observation and learning experience: the two factors that continue to be the foundational blocks of our company. But let’s start at the beginning.

Having moved to Toronto, Canada at the age of 15 from Iran, our founder and CEO Dr. Behrouz Moemeni experienced a culture shock familiar to many Canadian immigrants. New places, unfamiliar faces, unknown language – all these took a while to get accustomed to. While the high school he attended presented great learning opportunities for subjects like biology, physics, mathematics, and so on, young Behrouz noted the lack of preparation and advice for life after high school – What should I do with my life? What skills should I build? How do I choose what I want to do? His high school experience, just like the high school experience of students all around the world, was not of help when it came to these rather existential questions.

These reflections continued to fester even more when he transitioned to undergraduate studies. Having pursued biological sciences at the University of Toronto, Behrouz noticed that while his fellow students were exceptionally competent in scientific knowledge, they lacked the life skills necessary for becoming competent adults and professionals. Behrouz kept wondering when this other part of education will begin. When will they be exposed to effective communication styles? When will they learn how to increase critical thinking skills? When will they be taught proper professional etiquette and conduct during job interviews?

Intrinsic Motivation

Unfortunately, all these questions were left unanswered as Behrouz entered his graduate studies in immunology at the University of Toronto. As he began his studies, Behrouz noticed another concerning pattern:

“When I was doing my PhD in immunology… the other gap that I noticed was a lot of students that were actually in the program were not necessarily there because they loved the program, or they loved research, per se. There were some that really did, but there were some that really didn’t and there was a significant number. It just didn’t make sense. It was a little bit puzzling as to how we were selecting students that were not really interested to do the work that this program was actually offering.”

Would you rather watch a video about Behrouz’s journey?

The number of students that seemed to lack genuine interest in their chosen field of study was surprising. Why were they selected? And why did they choose to pursue a field they clearly lacked genuine interest in? What were their extrinsic motivators? Prestige? Family? Money? Why would they pursue a career they find no joy in?

These questions begat even more insidious questions. If so many of his fellow grad students do not truly want to pursue this degree, how many will actually graduate? How many students who were genuinely interested in this field and would have graduated and contributed to this field of study were not accepted because of a lower GPA or test score? All these inquiries led to a certain disenchantment in the higher education admissions processes that eventually inspired Behrouz to uphold and promote the belief that the intrinsic motivation of a student or a professional should be the primary concern of admissions and employers.

By the end of his PhD studies, Behrouz was set in his choice to leave academia, despite having been offered a great position in his field. His observations and experiences in education inspired him to develop a plan to support students who were driven to pursue their academic and professional dreams despite external obstacles. As long as they were intrinsically motivated, Dr. Moemeni believed that they could fulfill their potential.

But this is easier said than done. While intrinsic motivation is the only thing that can keep you going on your professional and educational journey, millions of students still face obstacles that impede their success and that are truly out of their control. From socio-economic challenges to racial and ethnic profiling, education systems around the world are still riddled with obstructions that prevent all sorts of students join the educational community. With so many of the admissions processes rooted in access to resources many students lack in their youth and adolescence, only a select few stand the chance of pursuing their chosen professional and academic dreams.

As Dr. Moemeni was leaving the world of academia, he realized that these obstacles can be overcome. He believed that making admissions to higher education fair and accessible is a realistic goal. With the right approach, eventually, any student in any part of the world should be able to fulfill their potential and become their best self in the field of their choosing.

Thus, BeMo was born.

A Mission is Born

Great founding stories are often shrouded in legends. Dr. Moemeni often jokes that BeMo was born after a night of too much celebration. While this colorful story is a fun one to imagine, the technicalities of BeMo’s first steps are just as impressive. As he was pondering what shape his mission will take, Behrouz was asked by multiple people to help them work on their graduate school applications. On the first try, Dr. Moemeni helped several students get into competitive graduate programs. One of his mentees who applied to 5 grad schools, got into all of them after working with Behrouz on his applications. Realizing the kind of impact his services can have on students pursuing their academic and professional dreams, Behrouz decided to establish an admissions consulting company that would help remove any of the obstacles to higher education.

The mission was so enthralling, that Dr. Moemeni and a few of his colleagues founded the company on bare enthusiasm. Impatience is a quality of many entrepreneurs. Behrouz was so eager to get his vision off the ground that application help and one-on-one interview prep consultations started almost immediately. Armed with nothing more than a tiny group of admissions experts and his vision, Behrouz Moemeni firmly knew what the mission of BeMo should be:

“Our goal, essentially, is to get to a stage where you are able to find any type of information about any educational needs you may have on our platform. This will allow anyone to have access to the same exact information. Not just the socio-economically, culturally, racially, or gender privileged few.”

But having grand ambitions for BeMo meant a lot of arduous work. At BeMo’s inception, Behrouz Moemeni was not only its founder and CEO, he was also the consultant, the content creator, the developer, the student support specialist, and more. As a dedicated entrepreneur, he was not afraid to take on any of the necessary roles for his company to flourish. No job was too small – BeMo’s mission required all hands on deck.

These values helped create what BeMo is today. To this day, we believe that everyone is a manager and that every member of our team must do what’s best for the company and the team, no matter if the task is below, within, or beyond our competency. Everyone is a manager, and we are proud to go out of our comfort zone to learn and grow in our roles. Why? Because our students deserve the best.

BeMo allowed Behrouz to finally address the questions he asked himself in undergrad and grad school, and to provide answers for millions of students out there. How can you prepare for your dream career? How can you grow in skills and knowledge beyond academic fields and subjects? What can you highlight in your resume, an admissions essay, or a job application that will attract committees and employers? What can you do to enjoy your career and continuously grow in your field? The mission BeMo set is not only about successfully entering a program of your choice but also about preparing yourself for a successful professional career in the long term.

We have often talked about this in our blogs, but one of the most common problems our students face when they aspire to pursue higher education is the lack of prep they are provided throughout their educational journey. While services like high school counselors and premed advisors are offered by most educational institutions, they do not help students develop skills important for success, such as interpersonal skills, analytical skills, communication skills, interview skills, and more. What Behrouz envisioned as he developed BeMo services is that our programs and consultations would help students hone life-long skills they will be able to use throughout their long and successful careers. Instead of being a crutch to those who just want to get into a program of their choice, BeMo becomes a life-coaching service that helps develop skills that will last you a lifetime.

Harking back to Behrouz’s concern that not all students can have access to this information based on their background, BeMo made this information completely free and available to all via their free resources. Whether you are looking for help with your college essays, your statement of purpose for graduate school, your medical school personal statement, or interview prep, you can find all the necessary information in our blog and videos. These are the same strategies we use in our one-on-one consultations – nothing is held back. Because we believe that this information should be available to everyone who wants to become their best professional self.

Onwards and Upwards!

BeMo Academic Consulting is a leader in offering an approach to helping students become the best selves in their professional life. But Behrouz Moemeni did not stop there. Keeping in mind his experience in grad school, Behrouz constantly pondered how he can influence the admissions selection process. His desire to make the selection of students and employees fair and more inclusive drove his next major project: SortSmart Candidate Selection.  

This motivation-based applicant screening tool is one of a kind. SortSmart aims to make intrinsic motivation the primary measure by which academic and educational institutions evaluate their applicants. Instead of focusing on external factors like grades, scores, and essays, SortSmart looks to promote applicants who would truly dedicate their career and life to something they genuinely want to pursue, despite external factors like prestige, peer pressure, money, socio-economic background, and so on.

In their symbiotic relationship, BeMo helps students with intrinsic motivation achieve their goals, while SortSmart promotes and celebrates these students. While the former removes obstacles to higher education for students, the latter is the ultimate admissions gateway and approach, allowing students to achieve the dream of getting accepted to their chosen programs based on their intrinsic motivation and skills they build throughout their educational journey. 

Conclusion: Students First

“I don’t know of any business that’s not about the people.” – Behrouz Moemeni

Ultimately, everything we do at BeMo is for students. Whether it’s our top-notch services like one-on-one consultations, our software and user-friendly platforms, our free content like blogs, videos, and social media posts, we are always focused on delivering the best services and results for our students.

Ending this article on a personal note, I still remember my first weeks at BeMo Academic Consulting. What jumped at me the most was the infectious dedication everyone on the team had to students and our mission to make higher education accessible to all. While all of us believe in this for personal reasons, this kind of attitude can be prevailing only in a company where your leader instills this vision in all of his or her colleagues.

Behrouz Moemeni may have started this mission, but it has gained its own, independent life since its inception.

To your success,

Your friends at BeMo

BeMo Academic Consulting

Want more free tips? Subscribe to our channels for more free and useful content!

TikTok

YouTube

Instagram

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

LinkedIn

Twitter