Geoff Orazem launched Federal Foundry in 2016 to help small business owners succeed in the federal market. When his company struggled to grow, Geoff realized he needed a better understanding of his business and target customers.

After consulting with the Virginia SBDC Network, Geoff was advised to enroll in the Innovation Commercialization Assistance Program (ICAP). Participating in ICAP influenced Geoff to make fundamental changes to the way Federal Foundry operates.

“I made assumptions about my customer base that were wrong,” Geoff says. “Fortunately, ICAP was there to point out my mistakes.”

Virginia SBDC-ICAP, part of George Mason University and the Virginia SBDC Network, is a statewide collaborative network that supports tech startups during the critical initial phases of business development. Geoff connected with the Virginia SBDC-ICAP through his friend, ICAP Mentor Gary Grenter, who has extensive experience in production management and has founded four companies.

“Gary’s an excellent coach,” Geoff says. “Everything about ICAP is great, but the most valuable piece for me is customer discovery.”

Before founding his business as a government contractor, Geoff served as a Marine infantry officer. After leaving the Marine Corps, he graduated from Harvard Law School, and worked as a government contractor in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Drawing on that experience, Geoff was well equipped for the ICAP program and compared it to military boot camp: “It’s a process requiring hard work and discipline but with a big payoff. Once ICAP showed me the value of customer discovery, I started doing it — still do it when considering a new capability.”

Since completing ICAP, Geoff has incorporated those customer-centered practices into his business. As a result, Federal Foundry has experienced newfound growth. One of the company’s tools, the FedScout app, currently has 1,300 users and was awarded a major contract of $1.5 million in federal grants from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Geoff credits Gary and the Virginia SBDC-ICAP program for that success. “Gary has a ton of experience and networks, plus he’s a good sounding board,” Geoff says.

Geoff considers ICAP’s free service a big win. “It’s been a good couple of years for Federal Foundry,” he concludes. “In the past I made business assumptions that were wrong. Thankfully, ICAP was there to help me correct the errors.”