Moving from Iran to join Boozt because of a Discord chat that changed his life

At Boozt we regularly publish interviews with coworkers on our intranet. Below you can read the story of Android Developer Mohammad Bahadori and his fascinating journey from Mashhad in Iran to Boozt in Copenhagen through a Discord chat that changed his life forever.

There are those kinds of days that you never forget. You remember where you were, what you did and everything else so vividly and the memory is imprinted in your mind.

For 27-year-old Boozter Mohammad Bahadori there are two of these kinds of days with regard to #Boozt.?

DISCORD DAY

The first one was just a normal day in Mashhad the second-most-populous city in Iran with more than three million inhabitants, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about 900 kilometres from Tehran.?

Here Mohammad was leading eight agile mobile developers to design and develop a map application and he was working six days a week for nine hours a day leaving very little energy for his personal life.

It was in the latter part of 2022 and Mohammad was on his way to the grocery store when he received a notification on his phone that would later turn out to change his life:

“MESSAGE FROM DISCORD: TECH-TALK WITH ERFAN KHAVARIAN WILL START IN FIVE MINUTES”

As Mohammad was walking to his car to drive to the grocery store he tuned into a channel on Discord where +1,000 Iranian developers are gathered.?

On that day the speaker was Erfan Khavarian and the topic was “tech-talk” where developers that have moved from Iran present what it’s like to work in the company and country they are in.

• "I was driving my car while listening to Erfan and he said that Boozt is using the latest technology and that it’s a large company. The rest was about how friendly they are and he mentioned how Boozt trusts you."
• "Erfan said that there were a lot of open positions at Boozt and I opened the website and checked. There was an Android Developer link and I saw the LinkedIn of Boozt and saw that there were a lot of employers and I thought “wow, this is a big company.”"
• "I reached out to Erfan and had a private chat and he again said that they were friendly and used the latest technology. And I thought: “This is a good option to go.”"

Erfan Khavarian also remembers the chat with Mohammad and how his fellow Iranian asked about Boozt and what it’s like getting a visa and an apartment.?

If you have ever moved to a different country in general - and especially for a job - you know how big of a task it is and how daunting it can feel.

JOB DAY

The second day that Mohammad will never forget was the day he learned that he had achieved a huge ambition for him; to secure a job in a foreign country. And not just any job; his dream job at Boozt.?

• "In late 2022 I was working as an Android Developer and my wife was in the same company and I got an e-mail where I was unsure if it was real."
• "At that point I was in love with the thought of working for Boozt because I had two offers in The Netherlands, but I really wanted to work for Boozt."
• "When I got the e-mail from Boozt I was so, so happy. I texted my wife immediately and I will never forget that day."
• "My wife and I went out that evening and celebrated. We were thinking about such a huge thing that was about to happen. An adventure that can’t be much bigger. It was of course a little bit scary, but also so exciting."

Although Mohammad likes to relax and live a peaceful life, he is also very adventurous.?

Originally born in 1996 in Bojnord where his dad is from he moved to Behshahr where his mother hails from when he was six. But when it was time to study at University he he moved to Mashhad in December 2014 before leaving Iran for Denmark in 2022 and starting his new job in early January 2023.

CONFERENCES AND BOOZT USING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGIES

For Mohammad it has been a new thing to experience conferences.?

In fact; the 2023 internal Boozt Platform Conference was his first ever as Mohammad didn’t get those kinds of possibilities because there are a lot of restrictions regarding technology.

• "It’s so nice that Boozt has their own platform conference and my experience was that I saw a lot of passionate people and intelligent people. And I really liked the presentations."

• "Lately I also went to a conference in Poland, Warsaw. Again it was a really nice conference and I understood that in Boozt we are using the latest technology. There was good developers from big companies, but when they were presenting I saw other developers being amazed, but me and my team were shrugging our shoulders because: What is so special about that? We are already using those technologies."

VIDEO: THE COPENHAGEN BOOZT OFFICE

BOOZT VALUES AND A MESSAGE TO A YOUNGER MOHAMMAD

When talking to Mohammad it feels like he is in a good place. He is relaxed and smiling, when listening to stories from his life and his experiences at Boozt there is a zen energy about him.?

When asked what kind of message he would send to a younger version of himself he shares some words about the values of Boozt.

• It’s worth it. The move will be very hard, but do it for sure. It’s worth it.

Then Mohammad pauses and reflects:

• “I want to say one thing about Boozt that I want in this article:"
• "Boozt has three values; freedom, trust and responsibility. After the first two weeks you will feel the trust and freedom."?
• The interesting things about the value is that they give you these two things and on the other hand you will find that you are 100% responsible."
• "It's a beautiful trade. After two weeks you will really find freedom and trust. And after a month the responsibility. You feel responsible about the app, your colleagues and the development stack. Management doesn't really need to talk about the values, because you feel them."

Curious to learn more about life at Boozt? Kindly find the career site HERE.

#Boozttech