LACEY—On Wednesday, October 9, Washington APEX Accelerator celebrated the success of 1,500 small businesses that have leveraged APEX Accelerator’s training and technical assistance to successfully compete for and win $549 million in federal, state, and local government contracts and subcontracts in 2023 alone.
The program celebrated by calling on all business owners who have benefited from WA APEX Accelerator’s programs to post a photo on social media holding a sign that read “I love Washington APEX because…”
The APEX Accelerator program, formerly Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP), has been around since Congress approved it in 1985 in an effort to expand the number of businesses capable of participating in the government marketplace. Originally established by the Department of Defense to support the industrial base – basically the supply chain of business that could support federal contracting, particularly in the defense realm – the program has since developed into assisting business with contracting at all levels of government; federal, state, and local.
“We often joke we’re one of the best kept secrets but it’s not intentional,” said Cara Buckingham, APEX Advisor based out of Economic Alliance Snohomish County. “A lot of businesses don’t find out about us until about five years down the road trying to figure out government contracting, and the standard quota is ‘oh I wish I would have known about you sooner.’”
Several agencies have begun to refer business to APEX Accelerator and the program also hosts a variety of outreach efforts, such as events and training, to get the word out.
Part of this training involves workshops on Public Works contracts, Standard Portable Intermediate Representation (SPIR) programming, helping businesses market themselves (developing an elevator pitch, how to network, and so on), teaching businesses where to locate contract award data, and all areas of how to operate within the government space.
Next week Buckingham will be hosting a seminar on small business certifications on Tuesday, October 15, at the Skagit Station 105 in Mount Vernon beginning at 11:00 a.m. This workshop will cover all types of certification programs in Washington State contracting, how to assess which ones are right for a business, how to navigate the certification process, and how to utilize certifications to add value in pursuit of government contracts.
This workshop, as with all services provided by WA APEX Accelerator, is offered at no cost. Washington APEX’s funding comes from a cooperative agreement with the Department of Defense in part, as well as the state and host agency (Economic Alliance Snohomish County for example) funding.
On November 7, at the Lynnwood Event Center, Snohomish County Economic Alliance will be hosting its 2024 North Puget Sound Contracting Conference – an important business to government networking event featuring Buckingham on behalf of APEX Accelerator, as well as Community Transit CEO Ric Ilgenfritz, Mike Fong, Director of Washington State Department of Commerce, and several others covering the basics of selling products and services to prime contractors and government. Tickets to this event range from $40 General Admission to $400 for access to the exhibition and full activities.
The APEX program’s primary role is advisory. In other words, its function is to teach business how to navigate the complex process of bidding for government contracts, as well as informing business what government agencies are currently on the look for.
APEX also has a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) advisor on staff, which is a federal program of about 20 different agencies which assists businesses with innovative solutions to problems apply for grants.
“It can be a very successful program for business. It’s a way to get funding for their research and development of their product, their services, but it can also be very challenging – there’s a lot that goes into applying for the grant and winning,” said Buckingham.
Businesses interested in utilizing Washington APEX can register as a client on the program’s website, which is the first step, since the program relies upon tracking businesses they assist for funding purposes. At that point businesses can expect an email notifying them who their assigned advisor, in addition to a list of contact information, introductory videos, and a calendar to schedule appointments.
After an initial meeting with the businesses, assessing where they are in the government contract process, advisors tailor their approach to their individual needs and conduct market research. The turnaround, from an initial appointment to winning a contract, depends on business and complexity, but can take on average about 18 months.
“Probably the best part of this job is being in a position to provide, even if it’s just a small nugget of information that helps propel a business forward in their efforts, it’s really gratifying,” said Buckingham. “We like to ultimately defer credit to the businesses because they’re ultimately the ones who are doing the hard work. We’re here to help guide them through it and it’s amazing to get an email in the morning that says, ‘I just won a contract.’ We just love it when we see businesses succeeding and if we can play a small role in that then it’s excellent.”
APEX Accelerator also works in tandem with the Department of Enterprise Services, which developed procurement policies, by hosting a webinar for businesses on current statewide contracts going to bid.
APEX also partners with several organizations, agencies, and resources, to help businesses get into the government contracting with the state.
With the help of Washington APEX Accelerator, Washington State companies are awarded approximately $300 million in government contracts each year.
