Working with small businesses is a priority, key representatives from the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division (NSWC PHD) told small businesses attending the recent Fathomwerx Summit at the Fathomwerx Lab in Port Hueneme, California.
The message from Sept. 14-15 was clear: The Department of the Navy (DON) needs innovative technologies from small businesses to transfer evolving and critical capabilities to the warfighter.
NSWC PHD, an off-site innovation and collaboration space known as FatimWorks Lab, is also looking to grow its small business partnerships to meet both federal requirements and warfighter needs.
“Enhancing the small business industry base, including local small businesses, is critical to the continued success of the NSWC PHD,” said Dan Mahan, Deputy Commandant of Small Business, who attended the two-day summit. “This growth is a never-ending quest because some of our small business contractors may be financially successful in the near future to grow to the level of large businesses.
“(My) presence at the Fathomwerx Summit was especially helpful in my efforts to find small businesses to add to their electronic Rolodex,” added Mahan. There were many vendors I interviewed who demonstrated the desire and ability to succeed as a contractor at NSWC PHD. Time will tell that growing our industrial base is a marathon, not a sprint.
Summit communications
More than 340 people from across the country attended the conference, which included technology demonstrations and daily breakout sessions designed to help small businesses do business with DON.
The Office of Naval Agility (NavalX), under the operational direction of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Naval Research, Development and Acquisition, hosted information sessions on topics such as DON Small Business Engagement Programs and Manufacturing to Contract Exploration. Don.
NavalX operates 18 international and US-based TechBridges, which create a network of partners to bridge the gap between technology innovators in the private sector, the Department of Defense and academia for the Navy and Navy mission owners. Fathomwerx Lab was named a Ventura Tech Bridge in May 2020.
Ventura Tech Bridge Director Alan Jaeger told the panelists, “We’re aligning various things to make these meaningful collaborations to accelerate the capabilities of the ship and the warfighter. Having a strong industrial base will be critical to moving forward. It will also be useful to have economic partners who can engage in the small business sector.
“We all speak a different language whether we’re in government, academia or industry,” Jagger added. “We all need to understand how we can work together to make everyone stronger.”
Small businesses are encouraged to attend events such as the FathomWorks Summit and other government-sponsored industry days to learn more about funding opportunities, including small business government grants and capital funds.
Financial support relationships
The Silicon Valley Advocacy Group (SVDG) hosted a panel discussion at the conference; He also touched on small business funding and the barriers that sometimes prevent small businesses from succeeding in the highly competitive DON contracting environment. SVDG is a nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia, founded two years ago to connect technology startups with investors, the federal government and the defense industry.
“When we get that initial launch money, we get more money on the back end,” said panelist Nate Douglas, the U.S. Space Force’s future enterprise systems chief. We need a complete solution for the front-end to end-to-end migration process.
“We’re changing the funding model to get the capacity we need,” he explained. We’re trying to change our rules a little bit to close that gap and get the product in the hands of the end user to fund it all the way through. We want to bring everyone to the table first.
James Cross, founder of SVGG and head of private investment with mutual fund firm Franklin Templeton, agrees that it’s important to “get the right people in the room as quickly as possible.”
“Start at the local level, with people who represent traditional and new industry foundations, policymakers, funders and end users,” said Cross, who is managing partner with Franklin Templeton’s venture capital fund Franklin Venture Partners. “Early in a startup’s life, government involvement can be huge in helping an early-stage company find a small viable product.”
Connecting needs, solutions and funding is the role of the Ventura County Economic Development Collaborative (EDC), one of FethomeWorks’ founding partners.
“Our role in this partnership is to ensure that we are doing everything we can to facilitate communication and engagement between the public and private sectors so that they can work together to contribute to the safety, growth and prosperity of the nation,” explained President Bruce Stanley. and CEO of EDC, spoke at the opening day session.
In April, Fathomwerx was named an Inclusive Innovation Hub, or iHub2, by the California Small Business Advocacy Office, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, or GO-Biz. EDC manages iHub2 in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
The state designation gives FatemWorks the ability to pursue venture capital funding from outside investors for individual projects that foster a diverse network of innovators, Stansley said.
Mahan continues to find ways on his own to connect with local businesses to meet NSWC PHD’s contracting needs.
“I post the long-range acquisition forecast on our public website and host a monthly small business roundtable at the Small Business Development Center in Camarillo, where small businesses in the area — as well as some from outside the area — gather to hear updates on needs,” he said. It is also a great opportunity to form team partnerships with other contractors in hopes of successfully securing a contract from NSWC PHD.
“NSWC encourages local small businesses to participate in any requirement that PHD can perform satisfactorily,” he added.
