In 1901 the automobile was in its infancy. Electric power plants, steam-powered machines, and coal-powered vessels (including naval ships) were switching to oil. English millionaire William D’Arcy smelled opportunity. He financed explorer George Reynolds to find oil under the sands of Persia (now Iran).

Seven years later, with only dry holes, disease, and mounting debt to show for his investment, D’Arcy was near financial ruin. As a final effort, D’Arcy secured backing from the Burmah Oil Co. and the “last chance” drill began its fateful dig in May, 1908. At 4 o’clock in the morning, as fortune would have it, the drill struck oil 1,180 feet below the desert. A gusher shot 75 feet into the air above Masjid-i-Suleiman (MIS) in southwest modern day Iran.

D’Arcy and Burmah reorganized their holdings in 1909 as the Anglo-Persian Oil Co. Their discovery laid the foundations for a company that would become BP (British Petroleum), one of the world’s biggest oil powers.

Founder, Saeid Mohmedi, grew up near Masjid-i-Suleiman. D’Arcy’s story inspired him to find his own adventure, take his own risks, and grow something he could stand behind and be truly proud of—from the ground up. He moved to Canada and created an electronics company in his basement, naming it after MIS where his dream began. The rest is history.