For many tech startups, getting that first big paying customer is both their biggest challenge and their most golden opportunity. A big client with a major brand name adds heft to your own brand – and of course, the revenue doesn’t hurt. Yet many Canadian startups avoid thinking about, much less pitching their innovation to, one of the biggest customers around: the federal government.
That would seem to be an unfortunate oversight, given that there is a government program that exists solely to grease the wheels for this kind of big deal: The Build in Canada Innovation Program. Prospective and current entrepreneurs on Vancouver’s tech scene huddled into a meeting room in Launch Academy on January 26 to hear more about the program.
Canada’s old procurement system was very conservative in that they only bought proven products, explained Tess Menges, supply specialist with the city’s office of small and medium enterprises. “Now we can be a first buyer and provide real-world feedback…the benefit to the government is that we get to try something new and experience what everyone else is talking about. The benefit to companies in Canada is to get their first sale with the government. You get experience with the procurement world.”
Menges acknowledged that many entrepreneurs have a perception of government as slow-moving and overly-regulated. While regulations are a fact, it’s also true that companies can get started with the program with a relatively quick electronic submission.
“Saying you worked with the government is valuable because with that credibility, you can sell to big brands.”
The program allows for the sale of innovative products and services — up to a $500,000 limit for each submitted new innovation. Thus far, the program has awarded 218 contracts with awarded value at over $78 million. While large businesses can apply, the program would seem tailor-made for earlier-stage ventures, since 96 percent of the contracts have been awarded to small and medium-sized businesses.
Participating companies target their innovation at a wide range of government departments, civilian or…