How Vertx Partners Works [Explained]

So, you like the sound of Vertx Partners' mission, but you're not exactly sure how it works. You’ve filled out our questionnaire and expressed interest in becoming a partner. You’ve taken the first steps into the larger world of the national defense industry and work with the Department of the Air Force (DAF). What’s your next step?

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Step 1: Let’s Have a Conversation

A Vertx representative will be in touch with you and set up a time to have a deeper conversation about your business's work and needs. At Vertx, one of our specialties is tailored service. Unfortunately, a questionnaire can only tell us so much, and we want to know more. We want to know about you or your company, so expect us to ask a few additional questions, such as:

• What technologies/products/services are you working on right now?
  
• Are there ways in which you think your project may be able to help the federal government?
  
• What challenges are you facing in your business?
  
• What is your ultimate goal?

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Step 2: We Search for Potential Opportunities

By learning about what you do, we assess which partners in our network may be able to help your business succeed, and whether your business is a good match for DAF or other Department of War (DoW) contracts. The Air Force routinely posts open solicitations. Our team will guide you through these offers to find a problem you can solve. Likewise, many entities entering the field are seeking a partner to fill a gap in their problem-solving process. Perhaps there’s a university willing to conduct important research on a crucial material you can manufacture? Whatever the partnership, we try to find the right one for your business.

These are several of the assessments our team makes in the days and weeks following your stated interest. As new opportunities and partners are available, we’ll continue to reach out – maybe there wasn’t a good fit in the last release, but there will be a better match in the coming months.

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Step 3: Further Your Education

When connecting with Vertx, you join an interconnected web of various entities sharing a common interest. By doing so, you gain a wide array of allies and resources; if you’re eager to learn more, a virtual education program with one of our partners might be up your alley. These education programs help explain technical processes like Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) candidacy. They also provide valuable insight into drafting proposals to secure your project's vital funding.

Even if you’ve already broken into the industry, Vertx Partners commits to assisting with the next step. Whether that be through a partnership with a prime contractor like Raytheon or Boeing, or an SBIR/STTR Phase II or III, we provide our services to newcomers and veterans of the industry.

This has been a condensed primer for how Vertx Partners works. We’re continually refining our process to best accommodate the diversity of businesses and entities that come into our fold. We cast a wide net, then hyperfocus on the needs of the individual as they enter the next phase of American national defense. Welcome to the team!