We’ve been thinking about what federal procurement might look like if it actually prioritized working software over perfect paperwork. Picture this: instead of writing a 100-page RFP response, you ship a functional prototype. Instead of needing a SAM registration and three layers of past performance just to be heard, you’re asked a simple question — “Can you solve this?” — and judged by what you build, not how well you mirror government jargon.
We wrote a piece exploring what that world might look like — where contracting officers are treated as users, proposals are replaced with real feedback loops, and speed to deploy matters more than speed to comply.
It’s part frustration, part thought experiment, and part call to start building like the system already works that way.
Would love thoughts from folks who’ve built for gov, around gov, or despite it.
