Saeed El-Darahali is only 27, but he's already accomplished more than most of us manage by 40.

El-Darahali, a venture capitalist at InNOVAcorp, bought his first investment property at age 19, a year after he'd saved up the down payment.

He's spent three years in the military reserves, ran his own business in high school, finished his MBA, and paid off his student debt. And he's also a new dad.

"I had a very ambitious goal: to get as much done as possible in a very short period of time. I knew that by the time you start a family, there's going to be other responsibilities - getting up to speed, paying off my loans, my debt, getting part of my family started. It would require a lot of work before I got to that point."

El-Darahali credits his parents, who immigrated from Kuwait in 1992, for giving him lots of responsibility at a young age.

The eldest of five, El-Darahali took his first job at 13, the year the family came to Canada.

His parents didn't speak much English then, so at age 14 and 15, he was communicating with banks, the city and other officials on their behalf.

"That built my confidence early on. It built my business acumen."

He held several jobs in his teens, and eventually ran his own business, selling popcorn and cotton candy between 1997 and 1999. He squirrelled money away for a down payment on a rental property.

In 1998, he joined the reserves, just in time for the Swissair disaster. El-Darahali's unit was the first on the scene; he set up security, helped the rescuers and guided grieving family members around the site.

For the first couple of hours, El-Darahali and a couple of others also picked up human remains.

"It wasn't the greatest experience, but I was happy to help the families who were coming to the scene at the time.
"

In high school, he wrote a software program to calculate mortgage amortization, and won a competition that eventually led him to Saint Mary's University.

He joined InNOVAcorp in January 2004, where he now analyzes new technologies and recommends whether they should get venture capital funding.

Eventually, he hopes to run for city council - a way of giving back, he says.

"If I didn't come to Canada, I wouldn't have the opportunities I had. I honestly feel I need to give back."