(Washington, DC — December 17, 2012)

The Who’s Who of the Washington, DC South Asian Entrepreneurial community came out in force for The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE DC) Gala on December 12, 2012 at the Bethesda Country Club.

Before a sold-out audience of 250+ Charter Members and special guests, 2012 President Dolly Oberoi (CEO of C2 Technologies, Inc. and a Global TiE Trustee) passed the torch to incoming 2013 president P.V. Boccasam (General Partner, Novak Biddle). The Gala celebrated the tremendous growth of the TiE DC chapter under Oberoi’s leadership, as exemplified by the record number of sold-out top-quality events TiE DC offered throughout the year.

The event in Bethesda featured a fireside chat with Aneesh Chopra and AOL co-founder Steve Case, one of America’s best-known and most accomplished entrepreneurs and philanthropists. Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe also spoke to the gathering of C-Level executives. At the close of the evening, the 2013 board was announced.

TiE DC also celebrated the highly successful Young Entrepreneurs Program (TYE) sponsored by Sanjay Govil and Infinite Computer Solutions. Led by TYE Committee members Dolly Oberoi; Sheena Gill, Esq. (General Counsel, C2 Technologies, Inc.); Professor Mahesh Joshi (George Mason University, School of Management); and Dr. Satyam Priyadarshy (Enformed, Inc.), TYE DC has tripled its enrollment in just two years, requiring the creation of two programs (Dingman Center, University of Maryland and GMU’s School of Management) to meet the growing demand.

Over the summer of 2012, some 70 high school students were selected from more than 130 applications to attend a two-week TYE boot camp taught by industry experts, seasoned entrepreneurs, and esteemed academics. Throughout the summer, the young participants prepared for a rigorous business plan competition. The top three teams were invited to attend the Dec. 12 Gala, where the team “Mirror Me” was announced as the TYE DC overall winner. The first-place team (comprised of students Tej Joshi, Sharika Dhar, Varun Kripanandan, Saketh Vellanki, and Rhea Somaiya) will compete with 40 other teams at the Global TYE competition, to be held at George Mason University in June 2013.

The TiE DC chapter has grown into the fourth-largest local chapter in the world in number of Charter Members. Worldwide, TiE has 13,000 members, including over 2,500 C-Level Charter Members in 57 chapters across 14 countries. TiE was founded in 1992 in Silicon Valley by a group of successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and senior professionals with roots in the Indus region. For more information, please visit https://dc.tie.org/