10 ms·

I've given this advice elsewhere, and I'll give it here. Go look at the small business initiatives by each branch of the U.S. military; many are now posting lis

I've given this advice elsewhere, and I'll give it here. Go look at the small business initiatives by each branch of the U.S. military; many are now posting lists of open contracts that you can bid on for an incredible array of things. Browse through those lists and find something you can build. I really believe the U.S. military is in the midst of a large scale transfer of military spending from traditional large defense contractors to smaller, innovative companies. The Air Force has even opened its own venture capital arm and is actively investing in small businesses. Most, if not every, branch in the military publicly posts contracts for small businesses to bid on. I think Anduril is a great example of the possibilities in the "new" defense space. What's interesting is this shift is very reminiscent of military manufacturing in Japan during World War 2; much of the manufacturing was actually done by small businesses of < 30 employees in "garages" scattered around the country instead of very large factories. That was one of the reasons American bombing by Superfortresses was so ineffective at first, and one of the reasons incendiary bombs began being used. Happy to provide more detail on this. I've been thinking about this space for awhile.

TameAntelope 4y ago
You're not the first person I've heard this from; when you say "many are now posting lists of open contracts you can bid on" where are they posting these things? https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home is what my cursory Googling found, is this what you mean, or is there some other, more relevant site involved?
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
- systemvoltage 4y ago
  I just searched "CNC", a bunch of contract opportunities showed up: https://sam.gov/search/?index=opp&sort=-modifiedDate&page=1&pageSize=25&sfm%5Bstatus%5D%5Bis_active%5D=true&sfm%5BsimpleSearch%5D%5BkeywordRadio%5D=ALL&sfm%5BsimpleSearch%5D%5BkeywordTags%5D%5B0%5D%5Bkey%5D=cnc&sfm%5BsimpleSearch%5D%5BkeywordTags%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D=cnc https://sam.gov/search/?index=opp&sort=-modifiedDate&page=1&...
  - mikodin 4y ago
    This is what my Dad does...and he has a lathe in the garage typically producing things for helicopters and airplanes.
    - systemvoltage 4y ago
      There should be a program that's easily accessible (not behind lawyer language) that DoD sponsors: We'll buy you a CNC machine, a laptop and a bunch of bar stock on our dime if you produce these parts as per these quality requirements by this date and of this quantity. If we're happy, you can keep the equipment for your next DoD project and you'll get a priority as an experienced vendor (that we invested in).
      - gamblor956 4y ago
        Not understanding what the benefit to the taxpayer is for this, when right now plenty of entrepreneurs willingly take on these startup costs themselves?
        systemvoltage 4y ago
        Huge benefits: Increase competition, overthrow incumbents, equip populace with basic skills and manufacturing capacity in case of when shit hits the fan, cheaper parts. Downsides I can think of: Exploitation of the program through various means by bad actors. It is no different than SBA low interest loans, just instead of capital, you get machines for specific purpose. Another one is injection molding, the entire industry has been shipped overseas. IM is fundamental to producing parts in large quantities and the dark art of making molds is almost extinct in USA. I urge everyone to study WWII history. Overnight, they converted button/zip manufacturers to making carbureator parts for Airplanes. Literally, overnight. At 8pm, they were producing mother of pearl buttons. By noon next day, they were making first batch of pins for the deflector plate. Today's generation has no clue what happens in trying times. They need to study history to see what really happened, almost overnight.
- vdfs 4y ago
  There is even a movie about this https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2005151/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2005151/
  - TameAntelope 4y ago
    Eh, I was thinking more like, "Build us a web portal for viewing the status of <random thing> and requesting more <random thing>." than, "Run guns for us cheaply."
  - nodesocket 4y ago
    While an awesome movie; Wardogs (actual Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz) were mostly just arms dealers not really innovative new technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efraim_Diveroli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efraim_Diveroli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Packouz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Packouz
blinkingled 4y ago
Hi, if it's not too much to ask, could you please post some direct links for the open contracts for small businesses? I am merely curious but others might find those more useful.
- TecoAndJix 4y ago
  On the SAM site above you can do an advanced filter for small business set aside and leave the search string empty. Not in this space so someone correct me if this is not what it means.
  - jimmygrapes 4y ago
    Former DoD contract specialist here, Sam.gov is the correct jumping off point for both information on how the process works and for where to find opportunities. The small business set aside is very important, since the regulations require that small businesses be considered to the maximum amount practicable, before larger companies can even be considered (Federal Prison Industries gets first dibs though). Veteran, woman, and minority owned businesses also get higher precedence, and those qualifiers can stack up - a minority woman veteran owned small business is golden, assuming the company can actually bid and perform properly. There are some other areas, such as HUBzone/economically disadvantaged areas that are also considered, but that's better to learn about direct from the information on Sam.gov than from a HN post. It is a daunting task to register and follow the procedures, and you must be very attentive to detail as a small business owner; however, there are a ton of resources from the Small Business Administration to assist. Don't hesitate to contact them. Be persistent, patient, and proactive. It used to be much harder than it is today, which is why it might seem to most people that federal contracting is a corrupt good ol' boy network; newcomers simply didn't follow the instructions right, due to complexity and/or confusion. Today though, it's a perfect time to get in the door.
    - bombcar 4y ago
      Note that the "minority veteran woman" thing can be gamed a bit (and is) - I know of a few small businesses that are officially owned by the spouse of the actual leader so that they can qualify higher. So even if your spouse doesn't check all three boxes, having the company officially be owned by your wife can help.
12ian34 4y ago
hmm facilitating war, even if it means defence just doesn't sit quite right with me. shame we live in a world where this is even a thing
- busterarm 4y ago
  War happens when one of two nations assumes that they are more capable of winning than another. If you stop spending in the US and assume that Russia and China will sit idly by without invading our allies, you are living in a land of fantasy.
  - 12ian34 4y ago
    It's definitely a land of fantasy today, I agree but one can always hope that maybe one day instead of killing each other we'd learn to live together and work together. Imagine how much more productive we'd be. To be honest I nearly didn't post this message because it's a bit off topic and definitely divisive. I definitely support all the brave people fighting for me to be safe because I sure as hell wouldn't feel comfortable killing someone else myself to protect my "country".
    - cercatrova 4y ago
      Looking at human history, that will never happen. As long as there is scarcity in the world, and as long as sovereign states exist, geopolitics and thus the looming threat of war will always exist.
      - 12ian34 4y ago
        Perhaps with that attitude. There's a lot of amazing things humans have accomplished that were once thought impossible. We are likely very, very early on in the anthropocene. Thousands of years from now I'm optimistic that the world will be a better place and that they'll look back on us as barbaric environment destroyers.
        4y ago
limpbizkitfan 4y ago
Defense money is not worth the ethics
- joshcsimmons 4y ago
  That username...
1-6 4y ago
What type of issues are involved when you don’t deliver to the government on time?
- CapitalistCartr 4y ago
  You might get paid extra to complete. Or you might get investigated by the Feds and The Congress. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules
- vorpalhex 4y ago
  Somewhere between late fees to congressional hearings depending on how badly things go.
- jimmygrapes 4y ago
  Other poster summed it up nicely, as there's a range of remedies from fees to lowering the payment you get to investigation to prison, but by far the most significant impact is this key metric: Past Performance. You can probably get away with screwing over the government once, maybe even twice. But good luck once you're legally and nationally blacklisted.
- 93po 4y ago
  It seems like I'm constantly hearing about large companies bidding at price x and then winning the bid, only to have the budget run over 10 times the original bid. So it seems in some cases the issue is becoming filthy rich as you rake in billions in profit from deliberately going over time and over budget.
Joel_Mckay 4y ago
While most local governments will post a Request for Quote list, and this often includes IT related services. I disagree this is the good choice for a first business project, as missing a deadline can incur egregious fines. Local specialized custom hr/tax/legal/retail/city software is always popular, as it is region specific and constantly changing. ;)
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
mmazing 4y ago
I just finished Dan Carlin's Hardcore History episode series titled "Supernova in the East". It details the context and history around Japanese involvement in World War 2. It was absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend giving it a listen, even to people who think they aren't interested in war history.
Maursault 4y ago
> I think Anduril is a great example of the possibilities in the "new" defense space. With "Anduril," are you referring to Toykeeper's (technically deprecated) LED driver (flashlight, torch) interface? If not, then what? If so, then please give me some idea how a flashlight interface may be employed in national defense. Thanks.
- baud147258 4y ago
  I think by Anduril, the parent meant Anduril Industries, founded by Palmer Luckey (formerly of Oculus), which is producing drones https://www.anduril.com/ https://www.anduril.com/
- wrigby 4y ago
  I’m pretty sure they’re referring to the defense contractor named Anduril[1]. 1: https://www.anduril.com/ https://www.anduril.com/
- kelnos 4y ago
  Can we not do this sort of thing here? Yes, I get that everyone has not heard of every single company in the world, but a quick web search for "anduril defense" or "anduril company" can solve that particular issue. There's no need to pedantically feign annoyance that someone used a term you aren't familiar with and need to do the most trivial of research.
  - Maursault 4y ago
    > Can we not do this sort of thing here? Can we please not do this sort of thing here?!? HN has mods, and I'm sure everyone would appreciate if you didn't try to do their jobs for them. Thank you. > but a quick web search for "anduril defense" or "anduril company" OP gave no hint that it was a company or had anything to do with defense, and was talking about innovation. I'm not going to defend my ignorance, but I'm also not going to apologize for asking for clarification, not will I change my posting behavior based on your irrational sensibilities. Try to be a little tougher next time and not get so bent out of shape by an innocent question.
TrapLord_Rhodo 4y ago
I used to be a contracting specialist in the USAF. Anything you'll find on SAM is incredibly competitive and CO's will receive anywhere around 20 bids for anything that is purchased. I would recommend going after state and local. You can use bonfire, deltek or govspend to find those more local contracts with less competition.
RobRivera 4y ago
sssssjhhhhh, the next rfp for afwerx closes in August:p
grepLeigh 4y ago
The ASTRO America and Additive Manufacturing programs are great examples of this evolution, with 5 major Department of Defense contractors committed to sourcing 3D-printed parts from domestic suppliers. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/06/fact-sheet-biden-administration-celebrates-launch-of-am-forward-and-calls-on-congress-to-pass-bipartisan-innovation-act/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases...
AndrewKemendo 4y ago
I've been IN this space for a while and I can tell you while we are trying, it's not a clear cut as you make it seem. For the most part there is no more low hanging fruit like you would see in movies like 'War dogs' etc... simply because Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budgets are basically gone, and that's where a lot of the fast money was. Now, you need to know what you're doing because you're competing with the companies that survived the last few decades and live off of these smaller SBIR/STTR/OTA funding lines To be clear this is not what Palantir and Anduril do. Both groups have professional and skilled proposal writers and very deep technical policy expertise when it comes to winning (and defending and contesting) awards and doing it in a way that will ensure that their products can get an Authority to Operate and actually work
thepasswordis 4y ago
Link to the list.
toomanybeersies 4y ago
This is basically the origin of the M16 rifle, in its original incarnation as the 7.62mm chambered AR-10. The original prototypes were designed and built by Eugene Stoner and half a dozen other people in basically a garage.
joshcsimmons 4y ago
Shameless plug - come work for us at Anduril, we're steadily hiring. It's been the best job I've ever had.
starwind 4y ago
> The Air Force has even opened its own venture capital arm and is actively investing in small businesses. In-Q-Tel is the VC arm of the CIA. I've never directly done a deal with them but the employees I've met seem really nice and helpful

TameAntelope 4y ago

You're not the first person I've heard this from; when you say "many are now posting lists of open contracts you can bid on" where are they posting these things? https://sam.gov/content/home https://sam.gov/content/home is what my cursory Googling found, is this what you mean, or is there some other, more relevant site involved?

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
systemvoltage 4y ago
I just searched "CNC", a bunch of contract opportunities showed up: https://sam.gov/search/?index=opp&sort=-modifiedDate&page=1&pageSize=25&sfm%5Bstatus%5D%5Bis_active%5D=true&sfm%5BsimpleSearch%5D%5BkeywordRadio%5D=ALL&sfm%5BsimpleSearch%5D%5BkeywordTags%5D%5B0%5D%5Bkey%5D=cnc&sfm%5BsimpleSearch%5D%5BkeywordTags%5D%5B0%5D%5Bvalue%5D=cnc https://sam.gov/search/?index=opp&sort=-modifiedDate&page=1&...
- mikodin 4y ago
  This is what my Dad does...and he has a lathe in the garage typically producing things for helicopters and airplanes.
  - systemvoltage 4y ago
    There should be a program that's easily accessible (not behind lawyer language) that DoD sponsors: We'll buy you a CNC machine, a laptop and a bunch of bar stock on our dime if you produce these parts as per these quality requirements by this date and of this quantity. If we're happy, you can keep the equipment for your next DoD project and you'll get a priority as an experienced vendor (that we invested in).
    - gamblor956 4y ago
      Not understanding what the benefit to the taxpayer is for this, when right now plenty of entrepreneurs willingly take on these startup costs themselves?
      - systemvoltage 4y ago
        Huge benefits: Increase competition, overthrow incumbents, equip populace with basic skills and manufacturing capacity in case of when shit hits the fan, cheaper parts. Downsides I can think of: Exploitation of the program through various means by bad actors. It is no different than SBA low interest loans, just instead of capital, you get machines for specific purpose. Another one is injection molding, the entire industry has been shipped overseas. IM is fundamental to producing parts in large quantities and the dark art of making molds is almost extinct in USA. I urge everyone to study WWII history. Overnight, they converted button/zip manufacturers to making carbureator parts for Airplanes. Literally, overnight. At 8pm, they were producing mother of pearl buttons. By noon next day, they were making first batch of pins for the deflector plate. Today's generation has no clue what happens in trying times. They need to study history to see what really happened, almost overnight.
vdfs 4y ago
There is even a movie about this https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2005151/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2005151/
- TameAntelope 4y ago
  Eh, I was thinking more like, "Build us a web portal for viewing the status of <random thing> and requesting more <random thing>." than, "Run guns for us cheaply."
- nodesocket 4y ago
  While an awesome movie; Wardogs (actual Efraim Diveroli and David Packouz) were mostly just arms dealers not really innovative new technology. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efraim_Diveroli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efraim_Diveroli https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Packouz https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Packouz

blinkingled 4y ago

Hi, if it's not too much to ask, could you please post some direct links for the open contracts for small businesses? I am merely curious but others might find those more useful.

TecoAndJix 4y ago
On the SAM site above you can do an advanced filter for small business set aside and leave the search string empty. Not in this space so someone correct me if this is not what it means.
- jimmygrapes 4y ago
  Former DoD contract specialist here, Sam.gov is the correct jumping off point for both information on how the process works and for where to find opportunities. The small business set aside is very important, since the regulations require that small businesses be considered to the maximum amount practicable, before larger companies can even be considered (Federal Prison Industries gets first dibs though). Veteran, woman, and minority owned businesses also get higher precedence, and those qualifiers can stack up - a minority woman veteran owned small business is golden, assuming the company can actually bid and perform properly. There are some other areas, such as HUBzone/economically disadvantaged areas that are also considered, but that's better to learn about direct from the information on Sam.gov than from a HN post. It is a daunting task to register and follow the procedures, and you must be very attentive to detail as a small business owner; however, there are a ton of resources from the Small Business Administration to assist. Don't hesitate to contact them. Be persistent, patient, and proactive. It used to be much harder than it is today, which is why it might seem to most people that federal contracting is a corrupt good ol' boy network; newcomers simply didn't follow the instructions right, due to complexity and/or confusion. Today though, it's a perfect time to get in the door.
  - bombcar 4y ago
    Note that the "minority veteran woman" thing can be gamed a bit (and is) - I know of a few small businesses that are officially owned by the spouse of the actual leader so that they can qualify higher. So even if your spouse doesn't check all three boxes, having the company officially be owned by your wife can help.

12ian34 4y ago

hmm facilitating war, even if it means defence just doesn't sit quite right with me. shame we live in a world where this is even a thing

busterarm 4y ago
War happens when one of two nations assumes that they are more capable of winning than another. If you stop spending in the US and assume that Russia and China will sit idly by without invading our allies, you are living in a land of fantasy.
- 12ian34 4y ago
  It's definitely a land of fantasy today, I agree but one can always hope that maybe one day instead of killing each other we'd learn to live together and work together. Imagine how much more productive we'd be. To be honest I nearly didn't post this message because it's a bit off topic and definitely divisive. I definitely support all the brave people fighting for me to be safe because I sure as hell wouldn't feel comfortable killing someone else myself to protect my "country".
  - cercatrova 4y ago
    Looking at human history, that will never happen. As long as there is scarcity in the world, and as long as sovereign states exist, geopolitics and thus the looming threat of war will always exist.
    - 12ian34 4y ago
      Perhaps with that attitude. There's a lot of amazing things humans have accomplished that were once thought impossible. We are likely very, very early on in the anthropocene. Thousands of years from now I'm optimistic that the world will be a better place and that they'll look back on us as barbaric environment destroyers.
      - 4y ago

limpbizkitfan 4y ago

Defense money is not worth the ethics

joshcsimmons 4y ago
That username...

1-6 4y ago

What type of issues are involved when you don’t deliver to the government on time?

CapitalistCartr 4y ago
You might get paid extra to complete. Or you might get investigated by the Feds and The Congress. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hughes_H-4_Hercules
vorpalhex 4y ago
Somewhere between late fees to congressional hearings depending on how badly things go.
jimmygrapes 4y ago
Other poster summed it up nicely, as there's a range of remedies from fees to lowering the payment you get to investigation to prison, but by far the most significant impact is this key metric: Past Performance. You can probably get away with screwing over the government once, maybe even twice. But good luck once you're legally and nationally blacklisted.
93po 4y ago
It seems like I'm constantly hearing about large companies bidding at price x and then winning the bid, only to have the budget run over 10 times the original bid. So it seems in some cases the issue is becoming filthy rich as you rake in billions in profit from deliberately going over time and over budget.

Joel_Mckay 4y ago

While most local governments will post a Request for Quote list, and this often includes IT related services. I disagree this is the good choice for a first business project, as missing a deadline can incur egregious fines. Local specialized custom hr/tax/legal/retail/city software is always popular, as it is region specific and constantly changing. ;)

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

mmazing 4y ago

I just finished Dan Carlin's Hardcore History episode series titled "Supernova in the East". It details the context and history around Japanese involvement in World War 2. It was absolutely fascinating. I highly recommend giving it a listen, even to people who think they aren't interested in war history.

Maursault 4y ago

> I think Anduril is a great example of the possibilities in the "new" defense space. With "Anduril," are you referring to Toykeeper's (technically deprecated) LED driver (flashlight, torch) interface? If not, then what? If so, then please give me some idea how a flashlight interface may be employed in national defense. Thanks.

baud147258 4y ago
I think by Anduril, the parent meant Anduril Industries, founded by Palmer Luckey (formerly of Oculus), which is producing drones https://www.anduril.com/ https://www.anduril.com/
wrigby 4y ago
I’m pretty sure they’re referring to the defense contractor named Anduril[1]. 1: https://www.anduril.com/ https://www.anduril.com/
kelnos 4y ago
Can we not do this sort of thing here? Yes, I get that everyone has not heard of every single company in the world, but a quick web search for "anduril defense" or "anduril company" can solve that particular issue. There's no need to pedantically feign annoyance that someone used a term you aren't familiar with and need to do the most trivial of research.
- Maursault 4y ago
  > Can we not do this sort of thing here? Can we please not do this sort of thing here?!? HN has mods, and I'm sure everyone would appreciate if you didn't try to do their jobs for them. Thank you. > but a quick web search for "anduril defense" or "anduril company" OP gave no hint that it was a company or had anything to do with defense, and was talking about innovation. I'm not going to defend my ignorance, but I'm also not going to apologize for asking for clarification, not will I change my posting behavior based on your irrational sensibilities. Try to be a little tougher next time and not get so bent out of shape by an innocent question.

TrapLord_Rhodo 4y ago

I used to be a contracting specialist in the USAF. Anything you'll find on SAM is incredibly competitive and CO's will receive anywhere around 20 bids for anything that is purchased. I would recommend going after state and local. You can use bonfire, deltek or govspend to find those more local contracts with less competition.

RobRivera 4y ago

sssssjhhhhh, the next rfp for afwerx closes in August:p

grepLeigh 4y ago

The ASTRO America and Additive Manufacturing programs are great examples of this evolution, with 5 major Department of Defense contractors committed to sourcing 3D-printed parts from domestic suppliers. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/05/06/fact-sheet-biden-administration-celebrates-launch-of-am-forward-and-calls-on-congress-to-pass-bipartisan-innovation-act/ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases...

AndrewKemendo 4y ago

I've been IN this space for a while and I can tell you while we are trying, it's not a clear cut as you make it seem. For the most part there is no more low hanging fruit like you would see in movies like 'War dogs' etc... simply because Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budgets are basically gone, and that's where a lot of the fast money was. Now, you need to know what you're doing because you're competing with the companies that survived the last few decades and live off of these smaller SBIR/STTR/OTA funding lines To be clear this is not what Palantir and Anduril do. Both groups have professional and skilled proposal writers and very deep technical policy expertise when it comes to winning (and defending and contesting) awards and doing it in a way that will ensure that their products can get an Authority to Operate and actually work

thepasswordis 4y ago

Link to the list.

toomanybeersies 4y ago

This is basically the origin of the M16 rifle, in its original incarnation as the 7.62mm chambered AR-10. The original prototypes were designed and built by Eugene Stoner and half a dozen other people in basically a garage.

joshcsimmons 4y ago

Shameless plug - come work for us at Anduril, we're steadily hiring. It's been the best job I've ever had.

starwind 4y ago

> The Air Force has even opened its own venture capital arm and is actively investing in small businesses. In-Q-Tel is the VC arm of the CIA. I've never directly done a deal with them but the employees I've met seem really nice and helpful