How Does Vertx Partners Work? [explained]

Vertx is one of the first businesses of its kind, so it’s natural to have some questions. Here we lay out everything you need to know about our processes, services, and much more.

---

So, you like the sound of what we’ve got going on at Vertx Partners. 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 U.S. Air Force, but now what? What’s your next step?

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’ work and needs. At Vertx, one of our specialties is custom service; 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 as a few additional questions like:

• 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?

Step 2: We Search for Potential Opportunities

By learning about what you do, we can begin to make some assessments about which partners in our network may be able to help your business succeed, and whether your business is a good match for US Air Force contracts. The Air Force routinely posts open solicitations, and we can help guide you through these offers to find a problem you hold the solution to. Likewise, plenty of entities entering the field are in search of a partner that can fill a gap in their problem-solving process – maybe there’s a university willing to conduct important research on a crucial material you can manufacture inexpensively and safely or vice versa. These are some of the assessments our team will be making in the days and weeks following your submission of 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.

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 and can provide valuable insight into drafting proposals to have your project considered for vital funding. 

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

This has been an exceedingly condensed primer for how Vertx Partners works. We’re continually refining our process to best accommodate the diversity of businesses and entities who come into our fold; we cast a wide net, then hyper-focus on the needs of the individual as they break into the next phase of industry for West Virginia and Appalachia at large. Welcome to the team!