Small Businesses and Military Contracts For New Innovations - A Discussion

Many inventors and innovators come up with ideas and concepts that can be used by our military to become more efficient, protect our troops and help our nation. During wartime Americans wish to help their nation and thus, these innovators and small business entrepreneurs have their minds thinking for our country men in harms-way.

Now, how would one go about taking their invention to the US Military and why is that so difficult? Okay, let me talk off the record here for a moment and give you some thoughts from the entrepreneurial side of the game or from the innovator's or inventor's mindset, understanding both sides as you do, you might appreciate this dialogue; so here it goes:

With regards to the SBA and trying to get government contracts; I've often shaken my head at the way the various defense agencies fail to use the great resource of all the minds of the citizens. You see, when you contact a government website, or try to call in a suggestion, or an innovation or idea, they send you to some silly web form to fill out to get funding to start your own small business and then sell to the military. That is completely ridiculous.

Why you ask? Well, who says you want to start a business? Maybe you just want to give the idea and first, you need to know if anyone likes the idea. But if they are not allowed to talk with you, you cannot know. So, why would any entrepreneur bother to sign up to learn about an SBA loan to start a business, without any potential customer?

Besides, I've done a ton of government contracting in my life and it's just amazing the "Slow Boat to China" approach to the solicitations process; bureaucracy at its worst. Further, the US Government, and yes the military too, pays its bills so slow, you have to be a bank to finance your own contract? So, in essence you are not getting a contract, you are buying one. Well, that is if you actually win the solicitation.

In fact, if you come up with an idea, the government has to send it out to bid with the specifications. So, you give them the "how to" and then you have to bid against a total low-baller to get the contract that was your idea, your innovation, your invention; that sounds rather silly. So who loses, when you do not get the contract? Well, the US Taxpayer, the small business garage "do'er" entrepreneur and the US Military. So, that's just a messed up process in an insider's game.

Perhaps, the procurement folks can tell us otherwise from their point-of-view. That might be interesting, and if not, it is certainly something to think about, as I believe we can do a lot better.