[USNetizen]

It's not that hard once you get used to it, and your industry seems to be an exception to the case as what you experienced is not typical in IT. The upside far outweighs the bureaucracy when you land your first $1M+ contract (or you could just subcontract and avoid the bureaucracy altogether). It is, however, a market that requires a lot more commitment than most startups are accustomed to, which is why they try to enter and then give up shortly thereafter. It requires a lot of relationship-building, learning, and such.

I've noticed, however, that military veterans tend to be very successful in this space because they are accustomed to the jargon, the processes and the requirements. Like I said, it's a learning curve, but one that pays huge dividends if you stick with it.

Plus, your local SBA office has a special government-procurement officer in there who will actually sit with you and go over things one-by-one, so no need to ever go it alone if you get lost. They offer free training courses as well in government procurement. The resources exist, but too few people are using them.

[AndrewKemendo]

It's not that hard once you get used to it

That's the point though. "Getting used to it" is a serious effort that a small team doesn't have the time or bandwidth to take on. You have to stop doing other things to work on the process, which may not yield anything because it's such a complicated space to compete within.

Trolling FedBizOpps doesn't tell the whole story about prime vs subcontract vs SBIR etc...and by the way the USG is net-60 or net-180 so you need to have the runway to deliver on a contract for up to 6 months before you see any payment.

I know for a small team like ours (4 people) it's just not possible given the uncertain outcome.

[USNetizen]

I disagree. The half-dozen agencies we work with are net-15 to net-30 at most. We started out as a 4 person team just a year ago, and are now a 24 person team working in this market. So it can certainly be done if you just put in the effort to make it so.

Like I said, there are resources available to walk you through everything step-by-step FOR FREE, you just have to reach out and take advantage of them. No one can force you to do that, but you won't get anywhere if you don't start somewhere.

[fapjacks]

Agreed. With enough spare time spent looking, you can find all kinds of resources to hand-hold you through this process. Also, it is incredibly easy once you know what to do.

[USNetizen]

Absolutely. It's like learning a new language - once you have the rules and flow down pat, the rest comes a lot easier. For as hard as people think the market is to break into, there are an abundance of FREE and funded resources to help, but almost no one takes advantage of them unfortunately.

The government itself spends tens of millions of dollars trying to get small businesses to participate, basically like saying "I'll leave the front door to this massive market unlocked, you just have to walk up the stairs and open it" but these startups all turn up their nose at them because they want to ride the business escalator (e.g. whatever is low-hanging fruit/revenue), even if it only takes them up a single floor in the long run.

I personally know more than a dozen privately-held and even family-owned companies that I bet almost no-one here has ever heard of, yet each one takes in more revenue than all of Twitter. These companies used no VC or investor funds whatsoever and were "mere startups" just a few short years ago. And people continue to ignore this market?

All it takes is a little bit of effort and commitment to reach astonishing heights unparalleled in the B2B market. Add to that you also get to make your own government more efficient, cost effective and innovative over time, so what's the issue here?

[aswanson]

I'm shooting you an email. I'm in your area of the country, have worked for large defense primes in data security, and need some guidance.

[newman314]

Would you be able to share pointers to some of these resources?

I don't typically operate in this space but have run into this in the past before and would be useful to know more. Thanks.

[USNetizen]

Your local SBA office, ask for the PTAC rep: https://www.sba.gov/offices/headquarters/ogc/resources/36238...

Now, not all of them are good. Ours was incredibly supportive, even referring work to us that led to long-term contracts. If you can't find someone decent, go to another center if you have more than one in your area. The ones affiliated with larger universities seem to have the best results in my opinion.

I'd be happy to share any other insight as well. I've been working in and around this market for about a decade. Reach out through the website in my profile and mention HN (please note, I am NOT a consultant and do not seek any sort of fee for advice. I'm just willing to help get capable startups into this market that needs innovation).

[drzaiusapelord]

>that military veterans tend to be very successful in this space

Most, if not all agencies, have a mandate to prefer veteran run businesses. That means, you may have a great product with great pricing and a great reputation, but the mediocre product or service owned by a veteran will win out 100% of the time.

Some then have preferred women or minority run business as well. Then the bureaucracy, connections, patronage, etc on top of that. Its a very different game than what you're used to in the private world. This also explains why fed technology is so terrible. Its not remotely a meritocracy.

[USNetizen]

That is a stereotype. Of all procurements in the federal government, 23% are supposed to go to small businesses (i.e. startups) in general. Only about 8% actually goes to veteran owned companies.

Plus, that is not how it works. They set aside contracts for veteran owned, minority owned, small business owned, etc. Companies compete within those circles, of which there are thousands of them. The competition is very intense in many areas. It is, contrarily, the large billion-dollar "integrators" that develop that horrible software, not small businesses.

So, stop blaming people and perhaps do something about it. Veterans are not the issue. Startups that would rather make a few quick bucks short-term and sell out, not wanting to put in the time and effort to approach a great market over the long term, are the real issue. Complain all you want about bureaucracy and such, but what are you doing, or even trying to do, to improve it? Complaining won't fix anything. Do something, put in the effort, and you'll see change happen.