What We Do
Entering the defense market
Helping innovators get their breakthrough technologies into the hands of our nation's warfighters
Capabilities
Requirement and funding validation
A pilot, a demo day, and an enthusiastic operator are not a market. We confirm a validated requirement and a real budget line exist before you build a capture plan around them.
On-ramp selection
Choose between SBIR/STTR, an Other Transaction prototype, a prime subcontract, or open competition, and know why.
Program-office engagement
Positioning and introductions at the level where programs are decided, from a bench that spent careers on the government side of the table.
Teaming & partner strategy
Some products reach the Department directly; most arrive inside someone else's program.
Product positioning & pilot design
A pilot that delights an operator can still die in the budget if it measures the wrong things.
Contracting readiness
Companies discover DCAA-compliant accounting, DoW cybersecurity certification, and facility clearances late, then lose months they had budgeted for selling. We treat that work as capture work rather than paperwork.
Frequently asked questions
- How long does it take to win a first defense contract?
- Plan against the budget's calendar, not your board's: the Department commits money roughly two years before it is spent. An SBIR award or a prime subcontract can pay sooner; a program of record is a multi-year campaign.
- Do we need a completed pilot before talking to a program office?
- No. A pilot alone is not a market; what moves a program office is a validated requirement and programmed dollars. The earlier you trace your capability to both, the fewer months you lose selling to offices that cannot buy.
- What is the valley of death?
- The gap between a successful prototype and a funded program. Prototype dollars and program dollars come from different funding streams and different decision-makers, so crossing it means finding a sponsor who will program money years ahead, then surviving until it arrives.
- Which on-ramp should we start with?
- Usually two in parallel: one that pays the bills this year (often a prime subcontract or an SBIR award), and one that builds toward a long-term and stable funding program. The right mix depends on your stage, your sponsor, and where the money is programmed.
Our experts
Our team seamlessly augments yours, supporting initiatives spanning long-term strategic planning to individual capture efforts and deals. Cypress's approach fuses our team's experience and networks from distinguished careers across every facet of national security programs, budgets, and acquisitions with the firm's decades of institutional business mastery.