Episode 11: Asif Hasan on the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the role of businesses and individuals in building a diverse, flourishing community

Jan 20, 2022

Asif Hasan is an alum from UNB’s Electrical and Computer Engineering and TME programs, and the CEO and co-founder of SimpTek Technologies, a Fredericton startup company that helps residential homeowners and electric utility companies to better understand, engage and predict energy usage. He’s a world citizen - born in Bangladesh, educated in India and Canada, and now building a company in New Brunswick. He’s fully immersed himself into the community through co-chairing in the creation of Fredericton’s immigration strategy, acting as Dialogue Director for the City of Fredericton and Dialogue NB, as an Advisor for the local immigration network and as Director at the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce. 

In this episode: 

• Importance of ecosystem to welcome newcomers and make them feel heard and understand they belong.  
• How international students are risk managers and entrepreneurs - and how good policies can help keep them in the community 
• How TME helped Asif understand business and help with the foundations of the company.  
• Simptek’s mission to decarbonize every building in North America and make an impact in the world 
• The grid-edge economy and how climate change is disrupting the industry 
• How collaborations, open source and creation of shared digital tools are the path to evolution and success 
• The entrepreneur’s job to create a “trailer” for the movie 
• Promoting courage over fear, and not worrying about failure 
• How giving back to the community helps everyone feel they belong 
• How permanent residents are highly invested in society and need a voice through the vote 

Links and resources: 

• Places to visit in Bangladesh: Sundarbans - Chittagong - Cox's Bazar 
• SimpTek: https://www.simptekinc.com/ 
• NB Power: https://www.nbpower.com/ 
• HOT2000: https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-efficiency/homes/professional-opportunities/tools-industry-professionals/20596 
• NB Foster Family: https://www2.gnb.ca/content/gnb/en/departments/social_development/foster_care.html 
• International Students' Association New Brunswick: https://www.isacanada.ca/ 
• Fredericton Chamber of Commerce: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fredericton-chamber-of-commerce/ 
• Ignite Fredericton: https://www.ignitefredericton.com/ 
• Favorite Productivity Tools: 

• SLACK: https://slack.com 
• JIRA: https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira 
• Asana: https://asana.com 
• Trello: https://trello.com/en 
• Canva: https://www.canva.com 

• Bengali Language 101: 

• Hello: Ki obostha
• Thank you: Dhonnobad
• Goodbye:  Bidai

• Traditional Dishes: 

• Tehari, is an authentic Bangladeshi rice that packs a pleasant punch with green chilies and curried beef. 
• Kitchari, is a homey, comforting, lightly spiced rice and lentil dish 

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/asif-hasan 

Thanks to: 

Our alumni hosts, the AAA Team: Arsham, Arash and Armin Ahmadi https://www.unb.ca/alumni/alumni-news/unb-alumni-podcast.html 

Music by alumni artist, Beats of Burden: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/beats-of-burden/1451387846 

Our alumni Affinity Partners, TD Insurance, Manulife, and MBNA Mastercard: https://www.unb.ca/alumni/benefitsandservices/index.html