Since their days as co-captains of their high school robotics team, Tim Goltser and Curtis Mason have been collaborators. Their entrepreneurial journey, which began with the creation of Hang, a social app for coordinating hangouts, took a new turn when they joined forces with Sean Doherty, a fellow entrepreneur they met during college. Together, they identified a significant gap in the market: the need for tools to assist small businesses in securing U.S. government contracts. This realization led to the inception of GovDash, their latest venture aimed at addressing this pressing need.
According to Doherty, the federal contracting landscape has witnessed a decline in the small business industrial base over the past decade. Competing against industry giants like Lockheed Martin or Northrop Grumman poses significant challenges for small enterprises. Moreover, the process of bidding for government contracts is both time-consuming and financially draining, with labyrinthine systems and extensive paperwork deterring many businesses from even attempting to participate.
A survey conducted by Setscale in 2023 revealed that small business owners frequently cite insufficient cash flow, working capital, and a lack of time and resources as the primary obstacles to securing government contracts. In response to these challenges, Goltser, Mason, and Doherty founded GovDash, a platform dedicated to supporting government contract capture, proposal development, and management processes. Accepted into Y Combinator in 2022, GovDash quickly gained momentum, prompting Goltser to devote his full attention to its development, even dropping out of college to do so.
GovDash: Revolutionizing Government Contract Procurement
GovDash represents a paradigm shift in government contract procurement. Leveraging advanced technologies, including generative AI, GovDash offers a comprehensive solution to the complexities of the bidding process. The platform functions as a contract proposal generator, automatically identifying relevant contracts, analyzing requests for proposals, and generating proposals in a fraction of the time it would take manually.
Through its AI capabilities, GovDash can extract key information from solicitation documents, including requirements, requested formats, evaluation factors, and submission schedules. Additionally, it can assess a business’s qualifications based on past performance and provide alerts for relevant contracts. According to Doherty, GovDash streamlines the proposal process, enabling contractors to respond to government solicitations more efficiently.
Despite the inherent limitations of generative AI, GovDash employs a multi-layered approach to ensure accuracy and reliability. Firstly, the platform cross-checks businesses’ information to assess their relevance to a given federal contract. If deemed necessary, GovDash prompts businesses to provide additional details to enhance their proposals. Secondly, GovDash incorporates extensive human review at each stage of the proposal generation process, further enhancing accuracy and quality.
While competitors such as Govly and Hazel also offer AI-driven solutions for government contract procurement, GovDash distinguishes itself through its comprehensive approach and commitment to quality. With a recent $12 million funding round, GovDash is poised for expansion, aiming to strengthen its engineering team, enhance its product offerings, and capitalize on emerging market opportunities. Currently serving around 30 federal contractors across the U.S., GovDash is on track for long-term success, fueled by its mission to empower small businesses in federal contracting.
See also: CMA Flags Big Tech’s Dominance in Advanced AI Market
