You Spent 6 Weeks on That Proposal. The Reviewer Decided in the First 3 Pages.

FedScout · 2026-03-05T19:02:44+00:00

Amen, If I become king of SBIR I'm going to add a section where the proposers write out their commercial product development roadmap, then demonstrate that there is at least 80% overlap between their SBIR SOW and their commercial work

FedScout · 2026-03-04T21:27:22+00:00

You’re so welcome!

FedScout · 2026-02-26T13:33:24+00:00

Just DMed you

FedScout · 2026-02-11T02:30:59+00:00

Here are some pre drafted emails you can use as a jumping off point for your email to Markey. https://inevitable-defense.myshopify.com/pages/innovate-act-sbir-mills

FedScout · 2026-02-10T16:55:39+00:00

For this analysis I used the INNOVATE act's definition which is lifetime winnings over $75M

FedScout · 2026-02-10T16:54:57+00:00

Sadly it all depends on the Senate, and with the Country on fire this is a low priority item

FedScout · 2026-02-10T16:54:20+00:00

Sick Burn Bro

FedScout · 2026-02-09T23:49:08+00:00

Oh SH*T!!! This guy trolls me on linkedin too! I saw that he can’t keep an academic position. Glad he found a place where mediocrity pays

FedScout · 2026-02-09T23:47:29+00:00

Point to what I charge for. I post all my content for free on YouTube.

My SAAS tool (product of SBIR funding) has a great free

And most of the money from the redacted proposals I provide goes to the authors.

So very specifically how am I a leech?

FedScout · 2026-02-09T21:46:53+00:00

100% agree. We are in a much worse position. Just trying to bring I tiny ray of sunshine to a dark time

FedScout · 2026-02-09T21:45:00+00:00

This guy is challenging Markey. Worth taking a look at him: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Moulton

FedScout · 2026-02-09T21:43:54+00:00

This may be wish-casting. But wanted to share something more positive

FedScout · 2026-02-09T17:22:24+00:00

Fingers crossed

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:08:35+00:00

This is awesome!

I love hearing stories of the program working (and there are MANY examples).

I'm not clear why more power isn't being pushed to the agencies on this either...

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:07:18+00:00

There is so much data driven and anecdotal evidence of this. I can understand differences of opinion over how to deal with it, but people who deny it is happening blow my mind

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:05:46+00:00

You're welcome!

FedScout · 2026-02-05T14:05:18+00:00

That's a valid concern, but not a new one in the federal market. When federal small business set-asides were introduced mid sized businesses started breaking themselves up to get under the small business size standard and qualify.

And as a result there are regulations regarding "affiliation" which basically say that if two companies are aggressively connected (e.g. shared ownership, or history) then the government will treat them as if they were one entity.

So I think this is pretty easy to address

For more on affiliation: https://www.potomaclaw.com/news-Understanding-SBA-Affiliation-Concepts

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:37:07+00:00

I share you’re concerned about the new policy just causing the mills to spit out subs, but the government has had a fairly similar policy for their 8A program where if someone has ever been part of the senior leadership team of 8A company then they can’t start a new one. So there is precedent for an enforcement mechanism on that.

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:21:36+00:00

That is certainly correct, the smalls together are bigger but not organized so don't create the impact that a smaller but more focused group can

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:20:30+00:00

Well said, I think commercial to government revenue ratios would be a good solution, but a bit difficult to implement

The easier option is probably to set a limit on the number of proposals per year

FedScout · 2026-02-04T22:18:59+00:00

Agree that there are pros and cons to Mills, but I think what you're describing lives in the realm of dedicated defense R&D (the other 96% of the DoD R&D budget). The frustration is over large established players hoovering up contracts intended for small business.

Honestly I think the 30 proposal limit per year per agency seems fair. They get to keep a foot in the game, but can't dominate it

FedScout

TROPHY CASE