Paragon Cyber Solutions
8(a) Women-Owned Cybersecurity Firm
From Scattered Search to $3.3M in Wins
How a women-owned cybersecurity firm captured major DoD contracts by replacing manual research with AI-powered intelligence.
New Contracts
Win Rate
Time Saved
Faster Proposals
The Challenge
Sarah Chen, BD Director at Paragon Cyber Solutions, was drowning in browser tabs. SAM.gov in one window, state procurement portals in another, agency forecasting systems in a third. Hours spent manually checking for opportunities, only to find solicitations already closed or completely irrelevant.
Paragon had everything going for them. They were an 8(a) certified, women-owned cybersecurity firm with proven experience supporting USSOCOM, US Space Force, USTRANSCOM, and Navy commands. They had the technical chops, the certifications (WOSB, EDWOSB, VOSB, CMMC C3PAO), and the past performance.
But they were losing opportunities before they even knew they existed.
Discovery was chaos
Federal opportunities lived everywhere and nowhere. SAM.gov, SLED portals, DIBBS postings, SBIR announcements - all separate systems. No single source of truth.
Capture was reactive
Without visibility into upcoming opportunities, Paragon couldn't build relationships before RFPs dropped. They were perpetually behind.
Proposals consumed everything
Days spent parsing 200-page solicitations, extracting requirements, building compliance matrices. By the deadline, they were rushing.
The math was brutal: Paragon could pursue 2-3 opportunities per quarter. For a growing firm, that wasn't a pipeline - that was a trickle.
The Shift: Building a Capture Engine
Paragon needed intelligence infrastructure, not just better spreadsheets. They needed to see opportunities before competitors, position strategically, and respond faster.
Months 1-2: From Blind to Strategic
Within 48 hours of implementing SamSearch, opportunities Paragon never would have found appeared in their dashboard - SLED procurements from states they didn't know were buying cyber services, DIBBS postings from Navy commands, subcontracting opportunities from unknown primes.
"The first week, I thought it was too much. Then I realized this is what we'd been missing. These opportunities existed. We just couldn't see them before."
— Sarah Chen, BD Director
In 60 days, they identified 47 qualified opportunities - all before RFPs dropped. This changed everything. Instead of reacting to solicitations, they could research agencies, study incumbent contracts, and build relationships with contracting officers through small business specialists.
Opportunity Discovery: First 60 Days
Before SamSearch
After SamSearch
488% increase in qualified opportunities discovered
Months 3-4: Partnerships & Acceleration
Using SamSearch's database of 400,000+ potential partners, Paragon identified three prime contractors pursuing DoD cybersecurity contracts who needed EDWOSB subcontractors. Within six weeks, they signed teaming agreements with all three - relationships that would generate $1.2M in subcontract opportunities.
Meanwhile, AI-powered solicitation analysis cut proposal development time by 60% - from 14 days to 6 days. Sarah's team could now pursue multiple opportunities simultaneously without hiring anyone new.
Proposal Development Efficiency
Traditional Process
With SamSearch
2-3x capacity increase without new hires
The Breakthrough: USSOCOM Contract
Three months before the RFP dropped, a USSOCOM forecast for comprehensive cybersecurity services appeared in Paragon's dashboard. With that lead time, Sarah's team:
Connected with SOCOM's small business specialist
Scheduled a capability briefing highlighting their EDWOSB status
Partnered with a prime contractor already supporting SOCOM
Analyzed the incumbent contract to understand performance gaps
When the RFP published, they weren't scrambling. They submitted 48 hours before deadline - not rushing, but prepared.
$1.2M Contract Award
USSOCOM Cybersecurity Services
That win opened doors. Over the next four months, Paragon captured four additional contracts across US Space Force ($850K), USTRANSCOM ($640K), Navy ($420K), and a DoD subcontract ($190K).
Total New Contract Awards
5 Major DoD Contracts in 6 Months
Revenue Growth Trajectory
220% year-over-year revenue growth
The Results That Matter
Pipeline Transformation
- 85%reduction in discovery time
- 300%increase in pipeline value
- 47qualified opps in 60 days
Capture Performance
- 15→28%win rate improvement
- 60%faster proposals
- 0compliance rejections
Business Growth
- $3.3Mnew contracts in 6 months
- 220%revenue growth YoY
- 12new teaming partnerships
Win Rate Transformation
87% win rate improvement from 15% to 28%
"Before SamSearch, we were hunters. We'd search, find something, chase it, hope we'd win. It was exhausting and random."
"Now we're farmers. We cultivate relationships, nurture opportunities before they're ripe, harvest at the right time. We have a system. We have visibility. We can plan."
— Sarah Chen, BD Director at Paragon Cyber Solutions
The platform didn't just make Paragon more efficient - it made them strategic:
Discovery became anticipatory
Months of lead time instead of days
Positioning became deliberate
Relationship building before RFPs dropped
Proposals became strategic
AI handles mechanics, freeing team for win themes
Paragon could finally compete on their strengths - technical excellence, customer intimacy, mission understanding - rather than just speed and luck.
The Bottom Line
"We're the same company with the same capabilities we had a year ago. But now we can actually get in the game. We can compete for the work we're qualified to win. That's everything."
— Sarah Chen, BD Director
For a women-owned small business fighting for market share in federal cybersecurity, that's not just growth. That's transformation.
Your Turn
Paragon's story is replicable. They replaced manual processes with intelligence infrastructure.
The opportunities are out there - the question is whether you can see them before your competitors do.
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VIDEO"The platform's ability to provide reminders and updates on contracts I'm interested in is a huge time-saver. It allows me to focus on other aspects of my business without missing out on opportunities."
Bobby Hughes
Business Owner - BH Consulting LLC
"SamSearch is more advanced than any platform we've used, and we value the exceptional support and close collaboration with the team."
Avi Minkoff
President, BHY Gov Solutions
"Best way to find Government Contracts."
Jonathan Seifert
Director of Partnerships, Easy Llama
"We've increased our bid rate by 40% since using SamSearch. We identified opportunities we would have missed with our previous methods."
Evan Naylor
Enterprise Risk Senior Associate, KPMG
VIDEO"It's a one-stop shop platform. You can upload docs, keep track of who you've talked to, and give a synopsis of process, all in the journey hub. It makes managing and organizing a breeze without manual data entry. Plus, it lets me bid on more opportunities and keep up with progress effortlessly"
Chris
President, Rags and Rose LLC
"SamSearch helped us find and win a construction contract we would've never seen otherwise. Saved us hours of work! The AI-powered search is incredibly accurate."
K.Sawaf
Amara Construction Inc., Owner
"I've tried other tools, but SamSearch is by far the most intuitive and the easiest to use. It's so much faster than the competition and the interface just makes everything easier to navigate."
Lloyd Ntuk
Land Engineering PLC, Managing Principal
"Excellent Customer Service!! Top Notch!"
Steven Porter
CBS Inc, President
"SamSearch by far the most advanced tool we've seen or used. It's our end-to-end and only procurement service we use."
Cody Knudsen
Co-Founder, Tideline Strategies LLC
"I'm a strategy and growth consultant helping small businesses break into SLED and grow. With 25 years in the AEC industry (BD, marketing, proposals) and APMP certification, I left corporate consulting to start my own firm. This tool is a game changer."
Amanda Cerchiara
Strategy & Growth Consultant
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