Bob Dhillon was looking for a way to make a living in his new country after immigrating to Canada and wanted to aim big. But that career route began with run-down houses.

For inspiration on how to become successful, he thought of real estate because he looked to the Reichmann family behind Toronto-based property developer Olympia & York. That firm became a powerhouse in New York City with projects like the World Financial Center and later Canary Wharf in London.

"They were immigrants from Morocco," said Dhillon about the Reichmanns. "The heroes of that time for a guy in Canada were the Reichmanns."

So Dhillon, who is the founder, CEO and president of Calgary-based Mainstreet Equity Corp., got into the industry through buying two houses in Calgary in the late 1980s, fixing them up and flipping them. He made a $16,000 profit.

"They were boarded-up houses," said Dhillon. He said he was paying about 18% interest on a $60,000 loan, working nonstop on the houses, staying up until midnight painting and doing other upgrades.

"You visit it 50 times a day because it is your first land. You get a picture with a Polaroid because that's all we had," Dhillon said.

That same lender, who continued to finance Dhillon for a decade, eventually became the second-biggest shareholder of Mainstreet.

Dhillon, who was born in Japan and traces his roots to the state of Punjab in India, says his "Sikh warrior DNA" factors into his real estate passion. "We are real estate owners, even the poorest Sikh guy," he said. "Even if you own 1 acre of land and are a farmer, you own. We are entrepreneurial. We are independent thinkers and not scared of hard work."

Eventually, Dhillon switched to buying apartment and commercial buildings along with land development and personally owns real estate around the globe, including property in India and Belize.

"The magical one for me is apartment buildings," said the executive, who notes everyone will always need a place to live. "It's not like an 8-track tape that goes obsolete."

Since Mainstreet went public in 2000 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, it has grown its holdings to more than 17,000 apartment units in 18 cities across Canada with a stock market value of $1.33 billion. The company, which focuses on mid-market value-add apartments, grow its assets organically and has had double-digit compounded annual growth for more than two decades.

Along the way, Dhillon had to decide whether to keep his company as a corporation or convert to real estate investment trust status, which requires income for investors.

"If you want to buy a company that gives dividends or distributions, there are many companies to choose from, but if you want double-digit returns and capital appreciation, reoccurring cash flow, you buy Mainstreet," said Dhillon.

With 500 employees at Mainstreet, Dhillon said his company's journey is all about people.

"We don't even have employees. We have only team members. There is no hierarchy," he said. "I'm there to mentor and give," Dhillon said. "I tell them, 'the most valuable thing in life is time. You come here and give up your time, so give it all you've got.' Our vice president of operations started as a cleaner. We mentor foreign students, and one is now the CFO of Mainstreet. We create opportunity."