Alumni Corner: Tariq Bashir

How did you get into computer science? What brought you to the University of Minnesota? - BS Computer Science, 2005

I originally got into computer science in middle school and high school. I took an AP computer science class and the teacher, George Behnke, had a full-time software engineering job at Cray computing. He was a great teacher and that is really what sparked my interest in the subject. I ended up applying to the U of M and got into the IT honors program. At that time, it was the College of Information Technology, but that has since been changed. I majored in computer science with a minor in math and in management, and graduated in December 2005. 

What has your journey been like since graduating?

My first job after graduating was at Thomson Reuters. I ended up leaving to run my own web development and design company for five years or so. I then switched to software consulting for another five years and eventually ended up as a data analyst with Prominence Advisors, which does analytics for hospitals. Around that time, my wife and I were looking for volunteer opportunities and we ended up volunteering as part-time firefighters in Golden Valley. 

My passion for the fire service grew a lot over the years working with the firefighters and I kept increasing my hours at the fire service more and more. Eventually, I left the software world to pursue that dream. In that new role, I saw the need for data analytics in the fire service and that’s where my two passions really fused together. I started Echo Data Analytics with another fire fighter in Brooklyn Park who also had a software background.  

Tell us about Echo Data Analytics! What was the inspiration behind this company? What is your role?

I’m the co-founder of Echo Data Analytics and was heavily involved in creating the initial framework on the software side. Now I am more involved with the executive and administrative operations of the company. The software extracts data from various incident reporting systems. When a fire team goes out on a call, they have to write a report about it. We use that information to create dashboards that track incidents over time, response time, and other metrics. That allows administrators to track how the fire department is operating and communicate findings to stakeholders, like the city manager. That data can be used to make better operational decisions.

We work with quite a few cities in the Twin Cities metro area - St. Paul, Brooklyn Park, Golden Valley, Edina, Fridley, Dayton, Hopkins, and Minnetonka. We are in five different states now and have been attending national conferences to get our name out there and expand the business. We also have expanded to other EMS services. We recently won an innovation award at a conference, which was a huge achievement for us.

What are your goals for the company and yourself?

We have a great foundation here in Minnesota, so we want to keep growing nationally. We also want to expand our services to other emergency providers, like EMS and law enforcement. There is definitely an interest in this type of data in other areas outside of fire services and we are excited to see what the future holds. 

How has the University of Minnesota helped you on your journey?

It set a really great foundation for my software expertise. Also, my minor in business management through the Carlson School of Management has been helpful in running my own business. The mix of those two disciplines has really allowed me to feel confident starting my own company. I’m really grateful for the opportunity to combine computer science with business. 

What advice do you have for students hoping to become entrepreneurs? 

Don’t be afraid of failure and take chances. If you have a great idea, you need to have the courage to go out and pursue it if you want to be successful. You can’t do that if you are afraid of failure. If you keep trying, you will get to where you want to be.