BEST8A Podcast

In this episode, Leon Burns, President of Open Technology Group, shares the story of stepping into leadership of his late father's federal IT firm — a company founded in 1991 that has survived more than three decades in government contracting. Leon walks through how he started from the ground up, working help desk at the Department of Treasury before moving through operations, sales, and accou...

Scotty Stock is a Chief Warrant Officer in the United States Army Reserve with over two decades of military experience, from fixing laundry units in Iraq to managing the classified IT architecture that keeps Army Reserve intelligence soldiers ready to fight. In this episode, Scotty breaks down how the government actually procures technology from the inside. He walks through the full cycle from art...

Naveen Krishnamurthy, CEO of Riva Solutions, joins the show to trace his path from the dot-com bust to building a federal contracting firm over 17 years. He shares hard-won advice on scaling from small to mid-size, why founders shouldn't give away equity too quickly, and how to mature a delivery organization past the $30M mark. The conversation also digs into where the industry is heading — ve...

Chris Wicke has spent 20+ years pricing government contracts. In this episode, he breaks down the biggest mistakes small businesses make when pricing proposals, why pricing during capture is non-negotiable, and how to build a price-to-win analysis that actually tells you something. He also shares his take on the new executive order pushing the market back toward firm fixed price — and what that me...

Curtis Porter, President of Innovative Works, went from $5-an-hour electrician helper to building an automation and controls firm serving NIH, the State Department, and private energy companies across the country. In this episode he traces the full journey: the early career detour that gave him hands-on skills most engineers never develop, the years at GE commissioning power plants he had no busin...

Indira Rice Donegan is a Signal Corps veteran, CEO of RIDO technology consulting, and board leader across some of the most influential organizations in the federal space, including AFCEA, and the Albert J. Meyer Signal Corps Regimental Association. In this episode, she shares her take on burnout and why she doesn't subscribe to it, how service organizations build real relationships in GovCon,...

Tracy Marcinowski, Managing Partner of Strategic Acquisition Solutions and former Assistant Commissioner for Acquisitions at GSA's Public Building Service, joins the podcast for a candid look at what it actually takes to navigate federal acquisitions from both sides of the table. Tracy traces her career from contingency contracting in the Air Force to overseeing a multi-billion dollar leased a...

Leslie Steele has been running InterImage for 30 years. She started it on a dare from her husband and never went back to corporate America. In this episode, she talks about what it actually takes to get in front of the right people in federal — and why relentlessness is the only strategy that has ever worked for her. She also gets into how she thinks about priming versus subbing, competing full an...

Lonye Ford started at the Air Force at 19. Today she is the CEO of Arlo solutions, a DC-based government contracting firm specializing in cyber, governance, risk, and compliance. In this episode, she breaks down why so many federal agencies are still confusing compliance with actual risk management, what it really takes to go from practitioner to CEO, and the one hiring decision that made building...

Mehul Shah has been inside NIH for over 30 years. He is the Modernization and Growth Director at CTIS, a health informatics firm with deep roots across NCI, NIAID, NHLBI, and CMS. In this episode, Mehul breaks down what this administration is actually prioritizing in federal health IT. HR consolidation first. Financial systems second. AI adoption running in parallel. He explains why those two forc...

In this episode, Ezekiel sits down with Oli Cooperwood, CEO of P3 Consulting Services, to unpack his journey from active duty Marine to federal employee to government contractor. Oli shares hard-won lessons from his time at NAVSUP, TSA, and beyond — including a brutal daily commute from Pennsylvania to Arlington — and how those experiences shaped his approach to small business development. He brea...

Most small GovCon firms measure success by contract longevity. Wintrio measures it by what the agency can do without them. In this episode, Musharaf Rashid and Quan Myles Boatman talk about building a reputation on delivery, diversifying before the 2025 disruption hit, and why the hardest jobs in the agency keep landing on their desk.

In Part 2 of the Best8a Podcast's second conversation with former U.S. Air Force and Space Force Chief Software Officer  Nicolas Chaillan , the discussion shifts from AI disruption to what the future of  government contracting, proposals, and software development  actually looks like in an agent-driven world. Nicolas explains how AI agents are already transforming how work gets done across fed...

Artificial intelligence is moving fast — but federal policy is moving slower. In this episode of the BEST8A Podcast,  Caleb Max , President and CEO of the National Artificial Intelligence Association (NAIA), explains what’s happening right now in Washington around AI regulation, why states are stepping in before the federal government, and what this means for government contractors. We also discus...

Nic Chaillan joins the podcast for a blunt conversation about where artificial intelligence is heading and why he believes the market has already moved beyond AI as simple augmentation. Drawing from his experience building and exiting Ask Sage, he breaks down the current AI landscape, from frontier model providers to tools and platforms, and explains why model access, security, and flexibility mat...

Neil McDonnell joins the podcast for a candid conversation on what is changing in government contracting and how small businesses can respond. He breaks down the current environment as one of chaos, but argues that chaos is not necessarily bad if contractors know how to adapt, rethink where the money is moving, and focus on what they can actually control.

In this episode of the Best8(a) Podcast, we sit down with Suzanne Lesko, former NAVY public affairs officer and current National Security Leader for IBM to talk about trust, coherence, and what it really takes to build strong relationships in high-stakes environments. We explore why alignment in how you think, feel, and show up matters more than transactional networking.

What does it take for minority-owned firms to survive in GovCon? Gloria Aderinokun doesn’t sugarcoat it: "GovCon is a long game" .In this clip, Gloria talks about walking into rooms that weren’t built for her, commanding respect anyway, and learning not to tie personal worth to contract outcomes. Her message is simple and hard-earned: Command respect, trust your work, and don’t let imposter syndro...

Gloria Aderinokun explains why she rejects “empathy” as a GovCon strategy and why confusing empathy with sympathy can quietly kill a business.

What does a 27-year federal career teach you about opportunity, transition, and the private sector? Prisco Eric Ravelli, former SBA, VA, Army, and Corps of Engineers small business leader, shares how federal employees can prepare for unexpected career shifts, leverage relationships, understand their market value, and successfully navigate the move from government service into consulting and indust...

How do military leaders successfully transition into the GovCon and tech industry? Indira Rice Donegan, retired U.S. Army Battalion Commander and Chief Executive Officer, federal CTO at Broadcom, and founder of RIDO Technology Consulting, LLC, shares how cyber leadership, mission-focused experience, and strategic relationship-building shape successful careers across government, industry, and consu...

What truly drives the value of a small business in GovCon? Stephanie Smith, Government Contracting Senior Analyst and Valuation Services Director at RSM US LLP, shares how relationships, diversification, and strategic planning can shape a company’s long-term value and position it for a successful exit. Listen to the latest episode of the Best8(a) Podcast! #podcast #govcon #governmentcontracting #s...

What trends are reshaping small business contracting? Sam Le, Former member of the SBA as a director of Policy and Liason, breaks down consolidation, the future of the Rule of Two, and how small businesses can adapt to the FAR overhaul. Listen to the latest episode of the Best8(a) podcast! #podcast #govcon #smallbusiness #governmentcontracting #federalprocurement #8a #sba #federalgovernment #far #...

Jennifer Dougherty, PCI Federal BD Executive and former TSA Program Manager, continues our discussion on the importance of building relationships and having structures for BD processes.

Jennifer Dougherty, PCI FEderal BD Executive and former TSA Program Manager, discusses her career, the cultural difference across agencies and how to build relationships in federal contracting.