# Small Businesses Pursue Federal Subcontracts

A discussion among small businesses seeking government work recommends pursuing subcontracting opportunities alongside prime bids. Participants advise identifying upcoming recompetes, reviewing prior solicitations, and contacting prospective primes’ small-business liaison offices with a specific explanation of the work the small business can perform. State purchasing schedules and cooperative contracts were also raised as routes to market. Commenters cautioned that prime teams may already be formed, subcontracting goals may not translate into work, and estimates of team-formation timing vary; one commenter said large primes generally build teams 12–18 months ahead of an opportunity.

- Companies can make outreach more concrete by tying their capabilities to a particular incumbent contract, recompete, or defined work package rather than sending a general subcontracting inquiry.
- Deloitte, ManTech, Leidos, and IBM were identified as prime contractors in the discussion; small businesses can use those leads to research relevant opportunities and pursue appropriate liaison-office contacts.
- State purchasing schedules and cooperative contracts may provide additional routes to government buyers beyond federal prime contracting.
- Subcontracting goals and Section 508 experience were discussed but not established as guarantees of work or advantages; firms should verify their relevance against the specific solicitation and prime team’s needs.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Information Technology
**Topics:** Contracting Vehicles
**Published:** November 06, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. federal government
- State governments

### Vendors
- Deloitte (prime contractor)
- ManTech (prime contractor)
- Leidos (prime contractor)
- IBM (prime contractor)

### Key Quotes
> “You're the incumbent on this agency's digital services contract, it recompetes next year, and here's the piece we'd cover” gets a meeting.
> — Commenter

> Large primes generally build teams 12-18 months out unless there's a company already on-site that switches teams.
> — Commenter (large-prime business development)

### Sources
- [Submitted my first few proposals, but I know statistically speaking it will take many more to win a contract. It’s been recommended to reach out to firms as a subcontractor though. Does anyone have experience doing that? Most effective way to do so?](https://www.reddit.com/r/GovernmentContracting/comments/1xplah6/submitted_my_first_few_proposals_but_i_know) - reddit-governmentcontracting