Discovering a buyer in your product within the Division of Protection is difficult: Who do you have to discuss to? How do you get their consideration?
Searching for DoD prospects
How are you aware if they’ve cash to spend in your product?
It nearly all the time begins with a Program Government Workplace.
The Division of Protection (DoD) not owns all of the applied sciences, services to discourage or win a struggle – e.g. AI, autonomy, drones, biotech, entry to area, cyber, semiconductors, new supplies, and so forth.
As we speak, a brand new class of startups try to promote these merchandise to the Protection Division. Amazingly, there isn’t a single DoD-wide cellphone e book accessible to startups of who to name within the Protection Division.
So I wrote one.
Consider the PEO Listing linked beneath as a “Who buys within the authorities?” cellphone e book.
The DoD buys tons of of billions of {dollars} of services per yr, and practically all of those purchases are managed by Program Government Places of work. A Program Government Workplace could also be accountable for a selected program (e.g., the Joint Strike Fighter) or for a whole portfolio of comparable packages (e.g., the Navy Program Government Workplace for Digital and Enterprise Companies). PEOs outline necessities and their Contracting Officers purchase issues (dealing with the formal buying, issuing requests for proposals (RFPs), and signing contracts with distributors.) Program Managers (PMs) work with the PEO and handle subsets of the bigger program.
Current protection contractors know who these organizations are and have groups of individuals monitoring budgets and contracts. However startups? Most startups don’t have a clue the place to begin.
It is a traditional case of info asymmetry and it’s not wholesome for the Division of Protection or the nascent startup protection ecosystem.
That’s why I put this PEO Listing collectively.
This primary model of the listing lists 75 Program Government Places of work and their Program Government Officers and Program/Venture Managers.
Every Program Government Workplace is headed by a Program Government Officer who’s a excessive rating official – both a member of the army or a excessive rating civilian – accountable for the fee, schedule, and efficiency of a serious system, or portfolio of methods, some price billions of {dollars}.
Under is a abstract of 75 Program Government Places of work within the Division of Protection.
You possibly can obtain the total 64-page doc of Program Government Places of work and Officers with all 602 names right here.
Caveats
Don’t depend upon this doc for accuracy or completeness.
It’s probably incomplete and comprises errors.
Army officers usually change jobs each few years.
Program Places of work get closed and new ones opened as wanted.
This implies this doc was outdated the day it was written. Nonetheless it represents a useful place to begin for startups seeking to work with DoD.
Easy methods to Use The PEO Listing As A part of A Go-To-Market Technique
Whereas it’s useful to know what Program Government Places of work exist and who staffs them, it’s even higher to know the place the cash is, what it’s being spent on, and whether or not the price range is rising, reducing, or remaining the identical.
The most effective place to begin is by wanting by way of an summary of the complete protection price range right here. Then seek for these packages within the linked PEO Listing. You may get an thought whether or not that program has $ Billions, or $ Thousands and thousands.
Subsequent, check out the price range paperwork launched by the DoD Comptroller –
notably the P-1 (Procurement) and R-1 (R&D) price range paperwork.
Combining the price range doc with this PEO listing helps you slim down which of the 75 Program Government Places of work and 500+ program managers to name on.
With some follow you’ll be able to translate the topline, account, or Program Aspect (PE) Line adjustments right into a gross sales Go-To-Market technique, or not less than a speculation of who to name on.
Armed with this system description (it’s filled with jargon and 9-12 months outdated) and the Excel obtain right here and the Appendix right here –– you’ll be able to establish targets for gross sales calls with DoD the place your product has the very best likelihood of becoming in.
The folks and organizations on this record change extra ceaselessly than the cash.
Understanding the folks is useful solely after you perceive their priorities — and cash is the very best proxy for that.
Future Work
In the end we wish to give startups not solely who to name on, and who has the cash, however which Program Places of work are receptive to new entrants. And which have transformed to portfolio administration, which have tried OTA contracts, in addition to highlighting those that are doing one thing novel with metrics or outcomes.
Going ahead this challenge can be saved up to date by the Stanford Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation.
Within the meantime ship updates, corrections and feedback to sblank@stanford.edu
Credit score The place Credit score Is Due
Clearly, the U.S. authorities intends to speak this info. They’ve revealed hyperlinks to DoD organizations right here, even itemizing DoD social media accounts. However the record is fragmented and irregularly up to date. Consequently, such a listing has not existed in a usable format – till now.
Filed underneath: Air Drive, Gordian Knot Middle for Nationwide Safety Innovation, Hacking For Protection, Nationwide Safety, Navy |
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