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After experiencing the bureaucratic nature of the government contracting industry firsthand, Dr. Nazeera Dawood left her position as Chief Of Staff at Fulton County Government in Georgia to launch Vendorship, Inc.
“There was a void in businesses trying to contract with the government,” she told California Business Journal. It was this observation that was the basis for Vendorship, Inc., which bridges the gap between the private and public sectors of the government contracting industry and acts as a liaison, encouraging and developing the relationships between their clients and the government.
“It’s like you’re going into a new country. You don’t understand the language, and you go through bumps and frustrations. But, if you had a guide that speaks the language, you’d feel much better that you’d seen the country and all the tourist spots,” Dr. Dawood says.
It is in this way that Dr. Dawood and her team acts as a shepherd for companies interested in contracting with the government.
Because many government organizations come with their own difficulties, Vendorship steps in to simplify the process.
“Vendorship brought in processes, quality, and taught us what it requires to win a government contract and to not get disheartened,” says Sudhir Sohani, CEO of eConsultants, Inc. “I am actually calling Vendorship, and our association with them, not only a coach, but a life coach. They summarize the information, capturing the key points: What are the services needed? What are the qualifiers? How can we, as a company, qualify?”
“I am more of a social entrepreneur,” says Dr. Dawood. “My passion is bringing communities together to work towards solutions.”
Vendorship is the same way. The company helps the government solve problems through innovative quality-of-life enhancements via the delivery of public services. “We bring in IT firms and other professional sectors that have creative solutions to respond to these bids,” Dr. Dawood says. “Otherwise, companies would never be able to touch the government sector.”
“Prior to our partnership with Vendorship, our organization had random success with government contracts. Locating the relevant opportunities and the administrative effort to complete those we did find were the largest challenge,” says Nick Rubel, Vice President of Sales for Enterprise Solutions, Inc., illustrating Vendorship’s unique role in streamlining the government contracting industry for his company. “We have been exposed to many more RFP [Request for Proposal] opportunities than via our own efforts.”
Vendorship develops and improves relations between its privately-owned clients and the public sectors of the associated government organizations. “We want the client to be a full friend of the government,” Dr. Dawood says. “We make sure that our clients are better connected with the government sector, to the best of our ability.”
“Vendorship has made a great impact with our company,” says Keith Giffney, COO of VSoft Consulting. “Its guidance enabled us to grow through a newfound connection to the public sector of the contracting industry. We wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”
When the pandemic hit, government entities on every level began looking for distinctive products and solutions. For both cloud-computing software solutions and hardware solutions, government demand increased.
With its quick reaction to the pandemic in 2020, Vendorship underwent rapid growth. “The pandemic benefited our growth and we had to make some quick decisions,” Dr. Dawood says. “Remember, for the first six to seven months, no one had any answers.”
As the world adjusted to the ‘new normal,’ Vendorship answered the government’s needs. “We went completely virtual. This was around the time that the government was asking for more resources. They were looking for cloud-computing and remote-access solutions. No one had prepared to go virtual at all. We were able to respond to these immediate needs, and we actually grew much more during COVID times.”
To emphasize the point, Dr. Dawood details her own experience in Vendorship’s home state: “In Georgia, we were told that more than 90% of municipalities were unprepared for delivering even basic community services in a remote manner. The government was not used to working remotely; we saw broadband, cloud migration, data management, payment processing, and cybersecurity service needs increase.”
At the height of COVID’s impact in the U.S., Dr. Dawood and her team adapted quickly and transitioned toward a virtual business framework. As a result, Vendorship sidestepped competitors and more effectively engaged with clients all over the world. Because so much of the contracting industry demands immediate communication, Vendorship’s transformation into a remote entity skyrocketed its influence across the world.
“What we’ve seen with our competitors is a slice of the pie. What we’re offering is the entire pie,” she says.
Vendorship’s global presence permitted the company to develop far beyond the information technology industry. “We expanded our services to other sectors, such as with the recent infrastructure bill that was passed,” Dr. Dawood adds. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion piece of legislation that revolutionized the opportunities available for government contractors, was instrumental for Vendorship, even during the heart of the COVID-19 crisis.
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Sallie Wright, a former CIO, sheds light on this connectivity as a County Government / Vendorship Business Development Advisor: “Vendorship provides the opening for government entities to receive better responses to their RFPs. It is an opportunity for them to do business better than the old, outdated way.”
Dr. Dawood and her team were honored by the Georgia State Capitol in February for their services on behalf of the government. “The Resolution was the result of bringing diverse businesses into the playing field of government contracting.”
“I want to see us fly,” Dr. Dawood concludes. “I’m inspired by the business every single day, and as a result of our distinguished efforts, Vendorship has fostered a myriad of profitable fellowships, client partnerships, and interpersonal relationships. This is especially true as our organization migrate new industries.”
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