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Our edge, and your odds

Three tools most small bidders don't have, and what each one can do for your chance of winning a bid.

Our three tools

Tool 1

8(a) partners

Contracts others can't bid on

Tribe- and ANC-owned 8(a) firms can receive sole-source awards above $5.5M ($8.5M manufacturing), with agency and SBA approval; a written justification is needed above $30M at civilian agencies and $100M at Defense.

You perform up to 50% of the amount paid on services and supplies (85% general construction, 75% special trade) as their subcontractor.

Contracts with no price competition

Planning estimate: 1 in 3 to 1 in 2 on 8(a) set-asides

Tool 2

Contract funding

Through independent funding partners

Independent funders cover payroll, equipment and supplies until the government pays, so you can offer longer terms without draining your cash.

Funding is not offered to businesses in South Dakota, North Dakota, Nevada, Vermont or Delaware, and in California only as an outright purchase of receivables over $500,000; see Disclosures 13 to 15.

On federal contracts, a funder that wants to be paid by the government takes an assignment of the whole contract and files notice with the agency, as the Assignment of Claims Act requires; see Disclosure 19.

You take the contract; a funder carries the wait

Planning estimate: Same odds, more bids you can enter

Tool 3

Pricing support

In writing, case by case

Case by case, our group may offer you written pricing support, never below your full cost and never passed to anyone else.

Every bid is still priced at or above your true cost

Planning estimate: About 1 in 3 where lowest price wins

YOUR ODDS OF WINNING ONE BID

Planning estimates, not promises
BaselineOn your own, open competitionIndustry surveys put new-proposal win rates near 26% (Grant Thornton Government Contractor Survey); first-time bidders usually do worse.
~1 in 5
Tool 1Pricing support, where lowest price winsOn lowest-price-technically-acceptable awards and California invitations for bid, price decides. Written support from our group, case by case; never below your full cost.
~1 in 3
Tool 2Contract fundingBuyers check that you can finance the work (FAR 9.104-1). Funding removes the reason to skip a job; it doesn't change how a bid is scored.
Same odds, more bidslets you bid jobs you'd skip
Tool 38(a) partner, 8(a) set-asideFederal only. Only 8(a) firms may bid a set-aside, so there are fewer rivals. You perform as the partner's subcontractor within SBA limits (13 CFR 125.6).
1 in 3 to 1 in 2
Tool 38(a) partner, sole-sourceNo price competition once the agency and SBA approve (13 CFR 124.506). Approval is the hard part: new 8(a) sole-source awards fell about a third from mid-2024 to mid-2026.
High, once approvedapproval is the hard part
All threeOur plan across a full listOur planning assumption across a full daily list, using the tool that fits each bid.
~1 in 3
~4 in 10 federal service and IT awards drew only one offerFederal Procurement Data System, competitively awarded contracts FY2017–2023 (Omari et al., 2025).
Bars: dark = low end, light = high end of our estimate. Lines at 1 in 5, 1 in 3, 1 in 2.

How we estimate your odds

The odds shown are our planning estimates for one bid, not statistics for any specific bid. Bases: industry survey win rates for new proposals near 26% (Grant Thornton Government Contractor Survey); about 41% of competitively awarded federal service and IT contracts receiving a single offer (Federal Procurement Data System, FY2017–2023, Omari et al., 2025); fewer bidders on 8(a) set-asides; and our own assumption of one win in three across a full list. Your results depend on the bid, your prices, your past work and the other offers.

These are planning estimates, not promises. Government buyers decide every award. Read the disclosures.