Don’t miss our newsletter!
Mike and Jake host John Ferry to discuss the ins & outs
and the highs & lows of trying to sell tech to the Pentagon, and the US government—how it really works.
Warning: We had a ton of fun—maybe a bit too much. This episode is full of spicy takes and unvarnished thoughts and opinions based on 15+ years of experience and scar tissue. Hang on for a ride deep down the rabbit hole of govcon and fedtech nerdiness, but we make it out ok at the end—discussing the
next AI vs. AI front.
For those interested in #defense #military #business #technology #nationalsecurity
----
Links
• Sign up for our amazing newsletter!
• Support us on Patreon!
• Jake Chapman X (@vc)
• Mike Benitez (LinkedIn)
• John Ferry (LinkedIn)
• Rogue.com
----
Follow us on...
• Instagram
• Facebook
• X (Twitter)
• LinkedIn
• Website
----
Show Notes
(01:10) John Ferry
(08:30) coming out of the shell
(10:52) selected not funded (wtf!)
(11:22) confessions of a SBIR scorer
(14:06) GovCon Merit Badges
(17:57) SBIR “consultants”
(19:50) SBIR mills
(21:56) founder horror story
(26:05) John’s creative process
(29:48) PowerPoint Ranger
(32:43) change the industry vs change yourself
(34:17) the same, but also never easier
(43:38) play the game, roll the dice
(44:50) pump those numbers up! (cost plus)
(46:06) recent fixed-price pushback
(50:42) using AI to write government proposals
(54:57) AI vs AI proposal writing/scoring
(1:00:10) outro
