Başaran studied international relations at Boğaziçi University before earning a graduate degree from Yeditepe University. He started off his career in finance, working as a trader for ABank and BNP in Istanbul. He then moved to London and became the mission chief for Turkey at Commerzbank and Standard Bank. In 2010, he moved on to media. He is still the chief editor for BloombergHT TV and Bloomberght.com. He is also a columnist for Habertürk newspaper.