Compete with Primes Using AI-Powered Proposals
$183 billion went to small businesses last year. But you're competing with 60,000+ other contractors using the same playbook. AI that learns your capabilities changes the game.
Watch how small businesses leverage AI to compete for $183B in set-aside opportunities with proposal capacity that rivals large primes
The Small Business Contractor's Challenge
Record-breaking opportunities. But competing against established primes with a skeleton crew isn't easy.
Competitors for Set-Asides
Over 60,000 small businesses won prime federal contracts in FY24. They all have the same playbook. You need an edge.
Source: SBA FY24 Report
The Past Performance Problem
You need past performance to win contracts, but you need contracts to build past performance. Breaking into government work is brutal.
Source: GovCon industry reality
Certification Overload
8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, EDWOSB—each with its own application, annual reviews, and recertification requirements. Just maintaining status is work.
Source: SBA certification programs
Resource Disadvantage
Large primes have dedicated proposal centers, capture teams, and content libraries. You have yourself and maybe a few people wearing multiple hats.
Source: Small business reality
"I see the opportunities, but I can't pursue them all. I'm already stretched thin."
Sound familiar?
Level the Playing Field with AI
Bidara gives your small business the proposal capacity of firms 10x your size. Focus on what you do best—let AI handle the proposal grind.
Upload Your Experience & Capabilities
Upload commercial projects, subcontracting experience, certifications, and capabilities statements. The AI learns your strengths and how to position your small business effectively.
- Commercial experience translation
- Certification documentation
- Past performance organization
- Capability statement learning
Analyze Set-Aside Opportunities
Upload the RFP. Bidara analyzes requirements and generates a draft that positions your small business advantages—certifications, agility, specialized expertise—throughout the response.
- Set-aside requirement analysis
- Certification positioning
- Size standard verification
- Past performance matching
Polish, Submit, and Win
Review the AI-generated draft, add your subject matter expertise, and submit a proposal that competes with firms 10x your size.
- Professional formatting
- Compliance verification
- Export to required formats
- Team collaboration
Built for Small Business Realities
From sole-source 8(a) opportunities to competitive set-asides, Bidara adapts to how small businesses actually win government work.
8(a) Sole-Source Proposals
Quick-turn proposals when agencies come to you directly. Respond professionally and quickly to capitalize on sole-source opportunities up to $4.5M/$7M thresholds.
Small Business Set-Aside Competitions
Compete against other small businesses in reserved procurements. Stand out with polished, compliant proposals that demonstrate capability.
GSA Schedule Offers
Initial GSA Schedule applications and modifications. Consistent formatting and complete documentation for MAS contract pursuit.
Teaming Arrangement Responses
When primes request your capabilities for subcontracting opportunities. Quick, professional responses that showcase your strengths.
The Business Case: ROI for Small Contractors
When you're running a small business, every investment needs to pay off. Here's what Bidara means for your bottom line.
Scenario: Small Certified Contractor
$3M revenue • 8(a) certified • 8 proposals per year • 3 FTEs
Without Bidara
With Bidara
At $499/month, one additional win pays for 5+ years of Bidara. The real value? Pursuing opportunities you'd otherwise pass on.
Small Business GovCon: Record-Breaking Year
Set-Aside Program Performance
Sources: SBA FY24 Scorecard, GovSpend 2024
Frequently Asked Questions
For small business government contractors and owners.
This is exactly why we built Bidara. Large primes have dedicated proposal teams, content libraries, and capture resources you can't match with 5-10 people. AI changes that equation.
With Bidara, your small team can:
- Generate compliant first drafts in hours, not days
- Automatically match relevant past performance to requirements
- Maintain consistency across all proposals using your learned methodology
- Pursue more opportunities without adding headcount
You still bring your specialized expertise and customer relationships. Bidara handles the proposal grind.
This is the classic small business catch-22. You need past performance to win, but you need wins to build past performance. Here's how Bidara helps:
- Maximize what you have: Upload all commercial work, subcontracting experience, and related projects. Bidara helps format them to meet government requirements.
- Find relevance: The AI identifies connections between your experience and RFP requirements that you might miss.
- Tell better stories: Get help translating commercial experience into government-friendly language.
Also: focus on set-asides where evaluators understand you're building your portfolio. Small business set-aside evaluators are often more lenient on past performance for similar work.
It depends on your business and situation, but here's the landscape:
- 8(a) Business Development: Most powerful for socially/economically disadvantaged businesses. 9-year program with sole-source authority up to $4.5M (goods) / $7M (services).
- HUBZone: Location-based. If you operate in a HUBZone, this opens dedicated set-asides and price evaluation preferences.
- SDVOSB: Service-disabled veteran-owned. Strong for VA and DOD set-asides.
- WOSB/EDWOSB: Women-owned businesses. EDWOSB opens additional industries.
Multiple certifications can be stacked. An 8(a) WOSB HUBZone firm, for example, qualifies for the most set-aside categories.
Yes, strategically. Subcontracting is often the fastest path to:
- Building past performance with actual government work
- Learning agency-specific requirements and culture
- Building relationships with COs and program managers
- Getting CPARS ratings you can reference on prime bids
The key is choosing subcontracting relationships strategically—look for primes who will give you meaningful work (not just checking a small business box) and who might mentor you toward prime opportunities.
Bidara helps with teaming arrangement proposals too. When a prime asks for your capabilities, you can generate polished responses quickly.
Maintaining certifications requires ongoing documentation—updated financials, ownership verification, annual reviews. Bidara helps by:
- Storing your corporate documentation in one place
- Extracting relevant certification info for proposals automatically
- Ensuring consistent representation across all submissions
You still handle the actual certification applications (that's between you and SBA/VA), but the proposal burden of proving your status repeatedly is streamlined.
At $499/month, you're investing about $6,000/year. Here's the math:
- If you save 20 hours per proposal at $100/hour internal cost = $2,000 savings per proposal
- At 5 proposals = $10,000 in time savings alone
- If you can pursue even 2-3 additional opportunities because of capacity = potential for significant new revenue
The real value? Small businesses often pass on opportunities because they don't have proposal capacity. Bidara lets you pursue opportunities you'd otherwise skip.
One additional win more than pays for years of Bidara.
Pricing That Makes Sense for Small Business
Start free for 14 days. Scale as you grow.
Starter
For small teams just getting started with AI-powered proposals
- 10 proposals/month
- 5 team members
- AI methodology learning
- Document upload & analysis