GT APEX Accelerator Client AWS Lands First Federal Contract
ATLANTA – GT APEX Accelerator client America’s Workforce Solution (AWS) was awarded a contract on the Missile Defense Agency Scalable Homeland Innovative Enterprise Layered Defense (SHIELD) indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract with a ceiling of $151 billion. This contract encompasses a broad range of work areas that allows for the rapid delivery of innovative capabilities to the warfighter with increased speed and agility.
GT APEX Accelerator, an organization housed in Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute (EI2), is part of a national network of APEX Accelerators supported by the federal government through the Department of Defense’s Office of Small Business Programs. APEX Accelerator counselors coach business leaders on how to go after and succeed in the government (federal, state, and local) contracting space.
For AWS, a workforce development and emerging technology company, the contract underscores the approach of GT APEX Accelerator in ensuring the company was properly prepared and positioned to win government contracts.
“This milestone represents our first major federal contract award and positions us to compete for task orders supporting multi-domain defense systems that protect our homeland, deployed forces, and allies against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats,” said AWS President and CEO Calvetta Phair.
A task order is a legal document that requests defined services under a broader contract. AWS is in good company on this contract, with household names including Lockheed Martin and Boeing among the awardees.
GT APEX Accelerator offers its clients networking opportunities, classes in how to access and use government contract databases, and information about how to position a company to be successful in the government contracting sphere.
Phair took the introduction to government contracting class offered by GT APEX Accelerator.
“It’s a class that offers a lot of insight into how to position your business to get government contracts,” said Annette Bettis, the GT APEX counselor in the Carrollton office. “I call it the foundation of what we do.”
Working with GT APEX Accelerator is something Phair would recommend for other business owners looking to get into government work. “I’m always big about networking with the other companies,” she said. “They offer very detailed information on the government side.”
GT APEX Accelerator doesn’t stop working with a client once they have their foot in the government door. Services, which are free to clients, continue. Phair thinks she will be working with them long into the future.
“I would definitely be reaching out to them now more than ever,” Phair said. “With [a contract of] this magnitude, getting other contracts and opportunities, and scaling. I can’t do it alone, and I know I’m going to need some expertise. And I think Georgia Tech has been very strong.”