Clients of the Tennessee APEX Accelerator are well aware of the high-quality counseling and expert guidance our staff provides, particularly in helping businesses understand government contract proposals, and how to market their business to government agencies. However, many are surprised to learn that our team also has the capability to connect them with large contractors, including some of the nation’s leading prime contractors.
This valuable network of relationships was recently showcased when the Tennessee APEX Accelerator hosted the Contracting Opportunities for Manufacturers & Innovators webinar. This event connected NASA and several of its prime contractors—Aerojet Rocketdyne, Boeing, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, Teledyne Brown, and SpaceX,—with innovators, manufacturers, and other suppliers.

The webinar featured presentations on SBIR & STTR programs, resources provided by the APEX Accelerator, and contract opportunity forecasts from NASA and its primes. Attendees were offered the opportunity to submit their capability statements and NAICS Codes for review by the contractors and the TN APEX Accelerator team. This “reverse matchmaking” process helped identify potential matches where mutual benefits might be found between the small business suppliers and the large contractors.

A few weeks after the webinar, the Tennessee APEX Accelerator further facilitated these connections by coordinating and hosting a virtual reverse networking event. This event brought the large contractors and selected suppliers together for more focused engagement via one-on-one virtual meetings.
The small business suppliers (including innovators, manufacturers, engineering firms and machine shops) who were identified as potential matches participated in one-on-one meetings with their matching large contractors via a virtual meeting space prepared and hosted by the TN APEX Accelerator. The APEX Accelerator team organized all aspects of the event, including scheduling, facilitation, and logistics. 

East Tennessee APEX Accelerator Counselor Jutta Bangs remarked, “Our virtual conference and matchmaking event was an outstanding success, offering invaluable connections between NASA, its prime contractors, and small businesses. The platform facilitated meaningful conversations, fostering collaboration and opportunities for growth. Small businesses gained unprecedented access to key decision-makers, while NASA and its contractors discovered innovative solutions to support their missions. The event truly showcased the power of virtual networking in driving progress and creating new partnerships.”