Washington, D.C. tech startups face an often daunting maze in pursuit of federal government contracts. Wanting to share her own map of that labyrinth after years as a government IT contractor drove Meagan Metzger to found tech startup accelerator dcode.co just steps away from the White House last year. It's the same mission that inspired her to create the series of events that make up Dcode's first Power Week.
"There's so much money available," Metzger told DC Inno in an interview. "Sometimes it's hard [for startups] to see the best way to get those contracts. The connections we show them can make the difference."
Knowing how much the government wants new tech and how many companies have solutions to offer, the week's events offer a mix of experts from both the government and corporate sectors. Representatives from the innovation and digital technology teams at the White House, the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency among others will speak about their experiences and advice for bridging the divide between startups and government agencies.
"The barriers for entry for government contracts can intimidate companies if they don't know the right people and techniques," Metzger said. "The agencies will have a chance to directly communicate with some of the companies looking for contracting opportunities."
Metzger described Power Week as a kind of overview of the lessons learned from the accelerator, built by Metzger and her colleagues from government compliance firm The Effia Group. The program covers everything from esoteric paperwork to how the dress code for government differs from Silicon Valley. Approaching the difficulties from both perspectives during Power Week should people thinking about how to overcome the obstacles, Metzger explained..
"There's a lot of potential impact that startups could have," Metzger said. "And government agencies have a need for the innovation. I think you'll see a lot of answers to the question of how startups can get those contracts answered at the events.
Along with the public events, the current cohort will have the chance to demo their work to Deloitte and General Dynamics Information Technology. Potentially, they might then get contracts or even acquired outright, by the contracting giants. At the very least, they'll have an invaluable chance for feedback Metzger said. Then they can apply what they learn and the connections they make to the their next phase.
"This is only the first event," Metzger said. "The need for [what Dcdode42 teaches] is enormous. We'll want every cohort to have a chance for their own Power Week type of event."
