Bottom Line Up Front: DARPA wants something like an “Apple Store” to engage with small business
Opportunities are coming
Ok, so in this blog I’m going to talk about opportunities that already exist out there and are available right this minute. But something fantastic to understand is that the Federal Government is increasing those opportunities every day. All sorts of new initiatives are being built right now, increasing the amount of work there will be in the future.
Take, for example: https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2021/01/07/defense-research-director-has-a-vision-to-connect-with-new-innovative-companies/
In the story, DARPA wants to set up an “Apple Store” sort of outfit where small businesses can just stroll in and strike tech deals on the spot. DARPA, or the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency, is the US Government’s secret lab of crazy future technology. They’re the guys who invented, among other things, the internet, GPS, and the computer GUI.
Victoria Coleman, current DARPA boss, remembers what it was like to have a crazy cool tech project, but having no idea how to tell the government:
“I’ve served on the [Defense Science Board] and another organizations for so long, [and] I didn’t know where to go,” she said. “If I don’t know where to go, what are the chances of other innovators finding their way?”
So she’s working on rolling out the welcome mat.
This is one of many, many examples where the Government is making tremendous efforts to reach out to small businesses that have never dealt with the Feds before. They already have numerous initiatives ongoing, and they’re working hard to open more. The opportunities are just getting started!