Air Force “Pitch Day” Moves Pitch to Contract in 24 Hours
By Debbie Gregory.
Recognizing that the Pentagon must do business at the speed of ideas, the U.S. Air Force will hold its first “Pitch Day” on March 6th in New York City. The event offers startups the chance to win small awards for their innovative ideas.
Many mind-blowing ideas are being birthed in U.S. startup companies, but the Pentagon largely misses out on them.
“Pitch Days are new fast tracks for startups to work with the Air Force.” said Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “Modeled after commercial investment pitch competitions, our goal is to award $40 million to startups using one-day, one-page contracts. These awards use convenient credit card payments— we want partnering with the Air Force to be easy and energizing!”
The Air Force previously did a trial run and awarded 104 contracts in 40 hours using government purchase cards.
Here’s how it works:
• The Air Force posts problems online through February 6th at https://sbir.defensebusiness.org
• Submissions for pitches will continue through February 6th
• For the next week, the Air Force will review the submissions and invite finalists
• On Pitch Day, March 6th, the Air Force will select same-day winners and award payments, up to $158,000, via government purchase cards
Companies have until 8:00 pm ET on February 6th to submit their applications at https://sbir.defensebusiness.org. The Air Force will notify selected companies for in-person pitches by February 15, 2019.
The three areas of particular interest are:
• Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Network Technologies
• Battlefield Air Operations Family of Systems Technologies
• Digital Technologies
Participant companies must be U.S.-based, with no more than 500 employees, and over 50 percent of its owners must be U.S. citizens or legally reside in the country.
For further information, click here to visit their site.
The service has allocated up to $40 million for the event.
We encourage all of our members and other small businesses to participate in this opportunity.
