EP 18 — Long Capture’s Russell Long on Crafting Winning Government Proposals for Startups
On this week's episode of the DIB Innovators podcast, David speaks with Russell Long, Founder & CEO of Long Capture, to explore the intersection of innovative technology and government contracts. Russell shares his journey from military service to founding Long Capture, aiming to bridge the gap between tech startups and government funding.
Russell discusses strategies for crafting compelling proposals that communicate the value of tech solutions, building essential relationships with government clients, and leveraging programs like SBIR to scale startups effectively. He also offers valuable insights and expert advice on securing government contracts for companies with tech innovations ready to scale.
Topics discussed:
- The importance of creating clear and impactful proposals that effectively communicate the value of tech solutions to government clients.
- Leveraging the SBIR program to help tech startups scale from initial phases to substantial government contracts.
- Strategies for conducting customer discovery during the early phases of a project to identify the right government customers for tech innovations.
- The significance of developing strong relationships with government clients and understanding their needs to secure long-term contracts.
- Differentiating between various SBIR types and understanding the role of feasibility analysis in securing funding for tech projects.
- How to effectively communicate the practical benefits and potential impacts of tech innovations to government stakeholders.
- The process of conducting targeted outreach to identify and engage the right government offices interested in specific tech solutions.
- Preparing proposals with a focus on the client's pain points and addressing how the tech solution can meet their specific needs.
Guest Quotes:
“So after I did my time plus a couple extra months, hopped out and started Long Capture and want to really just bridge this gap between really innovative technologies and cool tech startups and all this with the funding and customers and help them kind of walk that whole path.”
“And a lot of the noise and information that's going on out in the world, a lot of it's fear mongering. Like, oh, you're going to get in trouble. You need to do this. You need to do it now. Rather than like, hey, real talk, like, once you hit x milestone, you need to really start focusing on cybersecurity or facilities clearance or this number of other kind of compliance pieces.”
“But what I harp with my team all the time is like, we get better at tracking our data, we get better at the client experience, we're better at the strategies that we're building, and that's going to open up more and more doors.”
“I never thought, when I started out with long capture, I didn't think the problem was this big or that we get as much attention and people coming to us, needing to work with us. So that's really blown me away. So the transition, what keeps me going now is, like, giving my team the opportunity for growth and to empower them to make decisions and give them that upward trajectory as well, that will change their lives like my life has been changed.”
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