The Keys to Becoming a Strong Government Contractor with Tiffany Bailey, OSC Edge

Transcription:

Mark Collier:
Welcome into The Playbook, Tiffany.

Tiffany Bailey:
Thank you, Mark. Thank you for having me here.

Mark Collier:
All right. Thank you. I know, but first of all, thank you for taking time out of your busy day, I know you’re running a very substantial company and any time away from that is certainly time well appreciated by me.

Tiffany Bailey:
Thank you. I’m very happy to share.

Mark Collier:
All right. Excellent. So before we get into your company, just kind of share with me a little bit about your background and how you got into the defense contracting business.

Tiffany Bailey:
So how I got into it is a little unique. My background actually is really in academia.

Mark Collier:
Oh, okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
I was a Ph.D. student-

Mark Collier:
Very good.

Tiffany Bailey:
… at George Washington University.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
And I was in academia. And then after that, I moved to federal government-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… where I worked in technical communications.

Mark Collier:
Uh-huh.

Tiffany Bailey:
… so I always work with computer engineers-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… communicating computer engineering concepts. I love it. I started tinkering with computers when I was a little girl, but I was never formally trained.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
As a techie and I know technology, but I really enjoy working with computer engineers and communicating difficult, complex concepts about computers and computer systems. And so from there, I met my co-founder Lee Hendrickson, who’s our Chief Technology Officer.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And we decided to create OSC Edge because we saw an opportunity to introduce cutting-edge technologies to the government, make sure that our federal government, our Department of Defense is ready and prepared to be able to always be on the cutting-edge of technology so that we can defend the United States and be ahead of the curve.

Mark Collier:
I love it. I love that mission.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yeah.

Mark Collier:
I really do. So since the inception of your company, kind of give me an overview of the company, your services that you deliver at OSC Edge, and who your primary customers are.

Tiffany Bailey:
Okay. It’s interesting how we’ve evolved. So when we started out, we evolved with technology.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
First, there was just general data storage just assisting the government with storing their data.

Mark Collier:
Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
And then we moved from there to a technology called virtualization.

Mark Collier:
Oh. Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And we actually were one of the first companies to virtualize a fully physical data center for the government.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
That was a big deal.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
So we were on the forefront of that. And then we moved into cloud computing, which we all know, but in the beginning-

Mark Collier:
It’s a big deal now.

Tiffany Bailey:
It’s a big deal now. But in the beginning, it wasn’t there for our government.

Mark Collier:
Okay. Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
So we engineered one of the first cloud migrations-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… for the government. So that was significant, especially as a small business. And then we moved from there to cyber security.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And so that’s been where we are squarely-

Mark Collier:
Excellent.

Tiffany Bailey:
… and we have some really innovative concepts that we’ve been introducing to the Department of Defense as well-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… helping the war fighter helping the federal government be able to adapt to the new ways of working-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… which now everyone knows is remote work.

Mark Collier:
Yes, it is.

Tiffany Bailey:
So, yeah, that’s essentially our services.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And we started in 2008, it was just myself and my co-founder and now we have about 150 employees-

Mark Collier:
Fantastic.

Tiffany Bailey:
… throughout the world.

Mark Collier:
Phenomenal.

Tiffany Bailey:
So it’s been interesting, a great journey, and a wonderful path.

Mark Collier:
Okay. Just a quick clarifying question. When you first started getting into cloud computing and some more technical efficiencies, was it tough to educate the government customer on the benefits of this? What was your approach to that, to educating them?

Tiffany Bailey:
Yes, exactly. So one of the keys to being a really strong government contractor, and just in general, just being a great vendor even if it’s government, if it’s commercial is being a partner.

Mark Collier:
Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
And part of being a partner is educating, sharing knowledge.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
Our role as a government contractor, our role as a technology company is to stay abreast of what’s happening in technology.

Mark Collier:
Yep.

Tiffany Bailey:
We’re investing in R&D and so we want to educate the government or our partners on what is out there.

Mark Collier:
[inaudible 00:05:06].

Tiffany Bailey:
So yes, in the beginning, we did have to do some education with cloud computing. It was a new concept.

Mark Collier:
Sure. Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
And even now for everyday people it’s a very new concept that your data is stored in the cloud.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
Exactly where is that? What does that mean? What does that mean for security?

Mark Collier:
Makes sense.

Tiffany Bailey:
So we did have to engage in that type of education.

Mark Collier:
Okay. Well, very good. All right. So you decided to make that move into the government space in 2008. So what was the impetus behind that? I mean, you’ve got commercial contracting, government contracting, how did you make the decision to move squarely into government contract?

Tiffany Bailey:
Well, I knew that I wanted to have a business-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… and I experimented with business ventures before that.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
It was about opportunity.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
As you know, 2008 was a very difficult time.

Mark Collier:
Yep. Very tumultuous year.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yeah, it was a very tumultuous year. And this is a good example of sometimes when there is turmoil in one sector-

Mark Collier:
Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
… then there can be opportunity for growth in another.

Mark Collier:
Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
And so in the government, there was opportunity for growth there was an emphasis on how can the government reduce cost in IT?

Mark Collier:
Yep. Yeah.

Tiffany Bailey:
That’s something that virtualization did at the time, that’s something that cloud computing does. That was something that already started happening in the commercial space. But in 2008, 2009, the federal government and the Department of Defense was really turning their eye on looking at how can we reduce our footprint with our data centers?

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
How can we reduce our IT costs?

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
And that’s exactly what my company went in and we did.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And we provided those solutions for them.

Mark Collier:
All right. So you saw the need and you guys created a solution to fill it.

Tiffany Bailey:
That’s what an entrepreneur is. Exactly.

Mark Collier:
Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yep.

Mark Collier:
Absolutely. All right. So for many businesses out here who are watching, it appears to be very hard to break into government contracting or to get that first one. How did you get those first couple of contracts and what initial steps did you have to take to land those?

Tiffany Bailey:
Yeah. It can be very difficult to get into government contracting. And some of the reasons why it’s difficult is because it can seem very confusing.

Mark Collier:
Yeah.

Tiffany Bailey:
There’s a lot of information you need to know. I always describe it as it’s is as if there’s an economy on top of another economy. So you have to know a new language, you have to know-

Mark Collier:
Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
… a whole new way of doing business. One way that you can break into government contracting, and how I did with my company, is I became a subcontractor to other government contractors-

Mark Collier:
Smart. Smart move.

Tiffany Bailey:
… who were already in the government space.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
For some people, they can start off finding a smaller business that’s already doing government contracting. Go to that business and say, “Hey, I have this solution, I have this skill set. Let me help you.” I started out by doing just that saying, “Let me help you. We have this technical solution that we can deploy to the federal government, we can come in, we can help you win the contract by doing that, we can help with the proposal writing.”

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
“We’ll actually get dirty,” is the best way that I would describe it.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
“We’re willing to roll up our sleeves and actually put in the work.”

Mark Collier:
Excellent.

Tiffany Bailey:
And so you become a partner with those government contractors you build trust.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And then you go after more opportunities. And so that’s how I broke into government contracting.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
Because essentially, I sold my services initially to prime contractors who were already doing business in the government.

Mark Collier:
Now that makes perfect sense. So you developed a kind of a solution.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yes.

Mark Collier:
And then you went to an existing company and said, “Listen, I can help you deliver value, help you win a contract, help you win more contracts,” and you become a valuable partner and that helps you build up your successful track record.

Tiffany Bailey:
Exactly.

Mark Collier:
And that kind of helped you kind of step out on your own.

Tiffany Bailey:
Exactly.

Mark Collier:
All right. So how big is OSC Edge now and how were you able to grow your company? Let’s talk about growth because all entrepreneurs have that in mind, but a lot of them don’t know how to do it.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yes. Growth, that is a sticking point for sure. Right now we’re about 150 people-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… that’s in the United States and-

Mark Collier:
[inaudible 00:09:19].

Tiffany Bailey:
… outside of the United States, and growth, it is a balancing act.

Mark Collier:
Oh, it is. Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
And I caution entrepreneurs to find a balance between organic growth knowing what you can handle.

Mark Collier:
Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
That’s exactly what we did. We grew organically, slowly, taking on what we could handle not biting off more than we could chew.

Mark Collier:
Right.

Tiffany Bailey:
And so that allowed us to scale-

Mark Collier:
Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
… to prepare to scale.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
So looking ahead. Win one contract and it’s going to take this amount of time and this we have to add on 10 employees. Okay. Well, let’s plan as we add on these 10 employees, we’re actually going to plan as if we’re adding on 20.

Mark Collier:
Got it. Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
So now we’re scaled up so that we’re ready for the next contract that we win.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
Identifying resources before you need them.

Mark Collier:
Yes.

Tiffany Bailey:
That’s really important.

Mark Collier:
That’s key as well. Absolutely. I agree.

Tiffany Bailey:
I like to use the analogy, everyone kind of understands, “What does it take if you want to have a family?”

Mark Collier:
Yep.

Tiffany Bailey:
You want to think, “Okay, I’m going to need a home.”

Mark Collier:
That’s right.

Tiffany Bailey:
“Am I going to have one child? Do we want to have five children?”

Mark Collier:
Yeah.

Tiffany Bailey:
We have to think ahead. When we have to make that move from the two-bedroom to trying to find another space that will fit our family.

Mark Collier:
Yep. Yeah.

Tiffany Bailey:
So you’re always thinking ahead and planning. And so that’s a major part of being able to scale your business and be able to handle growth.

Mark Collier:
I’m glad you said that because I place a heavy emphasis on strategic planning and that’s exactly what that is, it’s looking forward, seeing how we’re going to take advantage of the next quarter, the next half year, the next year that’s coming up. So-

Tiffany Bailey:
Yes.

Mark Collier:
… I’m glad you place a heavy emphasis on planning because that’s what it takes.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yep.

Mark Collier:
One of my favorite sayings, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

Tiffany Bailey:
Absolutely. Yes.

Mark Collier:
All right. So what’s the difference, there’s certain terms you hear out here, government contractor, vendor, supplier, but what is the difference between just a run-of-the-mill government contractor and an excellent government contractor?

Tiffany Bailey:
That’s a good question. And there’s actually a very specific answer to that. So in government contracting, you’re graded, you get essentially a report card.

Mark Collier:
I wasn’t aware of that. Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
It’s called a CPAR.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
And when you win a contract, you’ll have so many years on that contract. And so you’ll get a grade for the first year the first period of the contract-

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
… and you can actually get a poor grade or you can get an exceptional or excellent grade.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
So there’s a very specific definition of what an excellent or exceptional contractor is versus-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… someone who’s just good or satisfactory or poor.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
And how you become an exceptional contractor or an excellent contractor is, first, you need to know what it is that you’re delivering.

Mark Collier:
Makes sense.

Tiffany Bailey:
You have a contract with the government-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… and it’s going to be very clear as to what you’re delivering.

Mark Collier:
Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
You have to follow those guidelines-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… you have to have compliance-

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
… you have to be compliant with a number of government systems and requirements making sure that you are compliant, making sure that you’re a partner to your government customer, checking in with them, that means educating them-

Mark Collier:
Yep.

Tiffany Bailey:
… being reliable. So all those things are what make the difference between a contractor who’s just kind of going through the motions, maybe not very organized, versus a contractor who is seasoned, they have a strong infrastructure, they’re organized, they communicate, and they’re compliant.

Mark Collier:
Okay. So what I’m hearing is being proactive, going above and beyond, and just doing more than what’s expected.

Tiffany Bailey:
Absolutely.

Mark Collier:
And I think if you kind of cover those bases you’ll start to differentiate yourself, as you said, from those contractors who are just performing averagely.

Tiffany Bailey:
Exactly. Yes. Mm-hmm.

Mark Collier:
Okay. Makes sense. All right. So you say there are five keys to being an excellent government contractor I heard. So you want to kind of share what those five keys are and kind of enumerate on them if you like?

Tiffany Bailey:
Right. Yep. So those five keys are: know what you’re offering or what you’re selling-

Mark Collier:
Yep.

Tiffany Bailey:
… know the rules-

Mark Collier:
Yep.

Tiffany Bailey:
… be compliant, be a partner to your customer and-

Mark Collier:
Strengthening your processes, is that fifth thing?

Tiffany Bailey:
Strengthening your processes.

Mark Collier:
And you gave those to me ahead of times so that’s why I knew them.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yes, so strengthening your processes. Thank you.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
But those are important because, in government contracting, processes are essential.

Mark Collier:
Absolutely.

Tiffany Bailey:
And those processes actually can be measured. I’ll just start there.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
Those are measured by certifications. For instance, you can get ISO certifications-

Mark Collier:
Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
… which are governed by organizations that can come into your business and they’ll do a battery of tests.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
They’ll look at your processes-

Mark Collier:
Interesting.

Tiffany Bailey:
… they’ll look at how do you process anything from how you invoice to how you take on a new customer to how you deliver your services.

Mark Collier:
And that’s an ISO review?

Tiffany Bailey:
It’s an ISO review.

Mark Collier:
And who does those?

Tiffany Bailey:
Well, you can find vendors-

Mark Collier:
Okay. There are actual vendors [inaudible 00:14:40].

Tiffany Bailey:
… that will actually do the assessments-

Mark Collier:
Very good.

Tiffany Bailey:
… on behalf of the ISO organization.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
And then you can become ISO certified-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… and all of these various ISO, how they define them.

Mark Collier:
They have subcategories.

Tiffany Bailey:
They have subcategories. Yes. So the processes are actually measurable-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… they’re actually something that you can have a certification. Another way of measuring how well your processes are in place when you’re a government contractor is something called a CMMI appraisal.

Mark Collier:
Okay. All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
So you can be appraised either for your service delivery or for development.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
So let’s say you’re a software developer-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… how do you develop your software? And there’s different levels.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
There’s level one through five.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
Right now my company is CMMI level three-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… which is actually a high level-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… and we’re preparing for CMMI level five-

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
… to be appraised at that level.

Mark Collier:
So you’re going to skip right over level four.

Tiffany Bailey:
Yeah. Yes.

Mark Collier:
Phenomenal.

Tiffany Bailey:
We’re going to skip all over.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
It’s all over that and get to that top level.

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
But what that says to the government specifically is that it tells the government that, “Okay, an outside organization has assessed this company and said-”

Mark Collier:
Sure.

Tiffany Bailey:
“… they actually do have processes in place, they have a strong infrastructure.”

Mark Collier:
Got it. Got it. Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
“We don’t have to worry about they can’t invoice-”

Mark Collier:
Right.

Tiffany Bailey:
“… or they have a disorganized HR system.”

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
That’s important for the government.

Mark Collier:
So it validates your competency as a government contractor, as a suitable government contractor.

Tiffany Bailey:
As a suitable government contractor.

Mark Collier:
Got it. Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
Absolutely.

Mark Collier:
I understand that. That makes sense. These contracting officers, the last thing they want is to take on a vendor, supplier, or subcontractor that doesn’t perform because that creates all kinds of problems for them and they don’t like problems in their lives.

Tiffany Bailey:
Exactly right. And also it’s a risk to the government-

Mark Collier:
Sure it is.

Tiffany Bailey:
… it’s a risk to our functioning government.

Mark Collier:
Got it.

Tiffany Bailey:
I mean, even as taxpayers, as everyday people-

Mark Collier:
Okay.

Tiffany Bailey:
… we want to make sure that the government is taking on strong vendors as well because that’s what keeps everything running.

Mark Collier:
Makes perfect sense. Tiffany Bailey, CEO and President of OSC Edge. Again, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your business-

Tiffany Bailey:
Thank you.

Mark Collier:
… to come in and kind of sharing what it takes to not only be a government contractor but an excellent government contractor.

Tiffany Bailey:
Thank you.

Mark Collier:
And I’m sure the viewers today will get lots of great information from what you shared.

Tiffany Bailey:
I hope so.

Mark Collier:
All right.

Tiffany Bailey:
Thank you.