Written by Shazia F. Khan & Atif Aleemi   

Rendezvous: Mr. Ahmed R Ali, Founder, TISTA Science and Technology Corporation

This is the latest in the Rendezvous series appearing on the OPEN website where we introduce you to the people behind OPEN DC. Each new Rendezvous section provides a glimpse into the life of an OPEN DC member while weaving a compelling professional narrative to the budding and established entrepreneurs alike. This issue profiles Mr. Ahmed R. Ali, a member of OPEN DC and Founder of TISTA Science and Technology Corporation, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and SBA Certified 8(a) & SDB company (www.tistatech.com).

When I first met Mr. Ahmed Ali, I was surprised, pleasantly I must say, to see a person who in spite of being a very successful entrepreneur was quite young, very humble and a down to earth man. Ahmed’s parents moved to the United States from Bangladesh when he was just 3 years old and he grew up in the United States. Currently he resides in Maryland with his wife and two kids. When he was in his third year of engineering school, he faced some financial challenges, so he decided to join the Navy, mostly to pay for his advanced studies and gain valuable military work experience. Ahmed held a full-time job in order to attend college on a part-time basis before deciding to join the military. He chose this path in order to expand his educational opportunities and serve his adopted country. While serving in the U.S. Navy as an enlisted sailor, he realized there was a potential to reap financial benefits in contracting with the various U.S. Federal Government agencies, particularly with the Department of Defense. What followed was an amazing journey from being in the Navy to becoming an entrepreneur.

Mr. Ahmed R. Ali is the President & CEO of TISTA Science and Technology Corporation, a company he founded in 2005.  Through Mr. Ali's leadership, TISTA is growing to be a leading provider of innovative technologies and mission critical solutions to the federal government and various commercial clients, and has grown to nearly $8M in revenue in a short few years.  Mr. Ali brings with him nearly 20 years of professional military, federal government, and civilian experience in Engineering, Information Technology, and Project Management.  As a United States Navy Veteran, Mr. Ali understands the mission critical requirements of the Department of Defense, the Intelligence Community, and the Civilian Agencies.  While serving on active duty, Mr. Ali graduated at the top of his class in military Boot Camp, and completed several years of follow-on electronics and engineering training through various Naval technical schools. Mr. Ali worked in various roles in Engineering, Fire Control Radar, Weapons Systems, Electronic Warfare, Communications, and Information Technology.  Mr. Ali was a Aegis AN/SPY-1Radar Specialist, served on board an Arleigh Burke class Guided Missile Destroyer, and completed multiple deployments throughout the world in support of various military operations.  Prior duty stations have included Great Lakes Illinois, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Virginia, Pearl Harbor Hawaii, Bolling Air Force Base, and Defense Pentagon.  Upon completing his military career, Mr. Ali worked for several major defense companies holding senior level positions in engineering and information technology, in support of the Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Justice (DoJ), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Security Agency (NSA), Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Indian Head, Joint Interoperability Test Command (JITC), Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and the DoD Defense Spectrum Organization (DSO) at the US Naval Academy Complex.  Mr. Ali also worked for a period as a Patent Examiner at the United States Patent and Trademark Office in the area of computer security and cryptography.  Throughout his military and civilian career, Mr. Ali has received many commendations and awards in the field of engineering and information technology, and was also selected as the US Navy's Sailor of the Year of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON 31) out in Pearl Harbor Hawaii (among nearly 2000 sailors), while on Active Duty.

Mr. Ali holds a Bachelors Degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland, and holds his Masters Degree in Network Security from Capitol College in Laurel Maryland, graduating with honors.  Mr. Ali also completed a program in International Business Management from Georgetown University, and a program in Innovations in Governance from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and is currently completing his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a concentration in International Business from Jones International University.  Mr. Ali also holds several high level technical certifications, and has active high level clearances with various government agencies.

Mr. Ali was recently recognized in honor of the Veteran’s Day by the ex Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ret General Colin Powel. As General Powell noted in a press release, “We are fortunate to be loyally served by immigrants and the children of immigrants who give their time, and sometimes their lives, to defend our country. Many subsequently go on to a life of public service.”
In response to a question of how he balances his personal life and work. He answered it is very challenging and he gave all credit to his supportive spouse and to his loving family.

When asked for advice to the budding entrepreneurs, he mentioned that:

  • Networking is essential and the biggest key is to absorb as much information as you can.
  • Surround yourselves with people who are more successful and smarter than you. It is also not always enough to learn from the most successful people. One should also learn from people or companies who have failed, and also learn from your own failure.
  • When you walk into a room to sell your idea or solution, you should think of yourself as the least knowledgeable person in the room and learn from the people present.
  • You should always be humble and never forget those who have helped you on your way to success. You have to be very methodological and you need to really understand the system.
  • Honesty, Integrity, Determination and Professionalism are the key elements.

Mr. Ali’s philosophy of being a successful entrepreneur is that you really have to understand the industry and be able to present yourself in the most informative light. An interesting point to be noted here is that he is even helping his own employee start his own business even though when he started, nobody would help him. He believes there is a lot of growth in Federal Government, IT Security, Cyber Security and Healthcare IT sectors, and he is always willing to share his knowledge with those who are willing to work hard, learn, and maintain high ethical standards.

When asked for his opinion as to how OPEN DC was contributing to the success of the entrepreneurs in the metro DC area and what more did he think it could do, he replied that OPEN DC is indeed bringing a lot of entrepreneurs together creating a venue for a lot of successful business owners and working professionals.  It needs to attract more active members and should look into organizing more business focused and networking events.
 
Currently no polls available to vote