“There are lots of bad reasons to start a company. But there’s only one good, legitimate reason, and I think you know what it is: it’s to change the world.” – Phil Libin, CEO Evernote
The sixth week of programming for the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (OSAM) Accelerator was filled with valuable information thanks to each of the subject matter experts who donated their time to speak with the cohort. Ramsey Ammar, Corporate and M&A Attorney at Anton PC kicked off the week alongside Matthew Feltner, Area Vice President of Aerospace Practice at Gallagher. They each spoke to the cohort about aerospace legal and insurance. The team from Endeavour, Christopher Lay and James Parker, followed with a briefing about accounts receivable funding for government contractors. Endeavour is a Balance Sheet as a Service (BSaaS) firm supporting US Federal Government contractors. As an official Department of Defense Trusted Capital Provider, Endeavour offers non-dilutive cash funding for unpaid invoices, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, and can help companies improve their working capital position in order to finance growth strategies and manage operating expenses. “Receivables Funding is uniquely well positioned as a strategic tool for growing or early-stage companies,” commented co-Founder Chris Lay. “Bypassing the standard expectations on business history, collateral base, revenue growth, or personal guarantees, our Receivable Funding provides working capital today with no ongoing obligation, allowing entrepreneurs and operators to focus on the execution of their critical, highly technical, and unique missions.” “We are thrilled to be working with the teams at Catalyst. They have taken on a critical National Security challenge that will pay dividends to our Country for decades, and we are honored to be welcomed in as part of their solutions for their innovative cohort companies,” said Endeavour Co-Founder James Parker. Afterwards, the cohort learned a great amount about the FAR accounting systems for government contracting by Michael De Prima and Peter Loftus from CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA). Peter provided some wonderful advice to the cohort by explaining, “It is never too early to plan. While a contractor may not have an immediate need for a FAR compliant accounting system at the moment, you never know when those new opportunities are going to be available or how quickly that turnaround time will be in order to meet the requirements of an RFP. You don’t want accounting requirements to be the piece that excludes you from going after opportunities. It’s always a good idea to get your system implemented and FAR compliant as soon as possible.”
Allie Clark from Sage Law Group LLC is a corporate attorney who serves as outside general counsel to clients at all points in their corporate lifecycles, from formation to complex international mergers and acquisitions. She also represents investors seeking to grow their portfolios, ranging from angel funds to large private equity firms. Her practice focuses on general corporate matters, equity and debt financings, recapitalizations and strategic exits. Following her briefing about equity in lieu of compensation, she explained, “Issuing stock in lieu of compensation has important corporate governance and tax implications. You will save your company time and money if you communicate with your advisors (tax and/or legal) regarding these issuances before you make these types of issuances.” Stephanie Amend, Funding Principal at Arrowhead Solutions, discussed post award compliance. Arrowhead provides consulting, hands-on assistance, and training to government contractors and established companies looking to become government contractors. Stephanie mentioned, “Best practices for post award compliance really fall into three areas: 1) Know what you’re getting into during the proposal stage and address compliance from the get-go. 2) Understand what the contract says and what your obligations are post award (if you aren’t sure, then get help). 3) Plan ahead. Look at your pipeline and the customers and types of contracts on the horizon and build a foundation for future compliance requirements.” One of the OSAM Sherpas, Lisa May, donated her time to give an incredible briefing about Lockheed Martin and offered direction to the cohort. The Catalyst Accelerator is grateful that Lockheed Martin is a Sherpa for the OSAM cohort.
The week wrapped up with an amazing presentation about DoD trusted capital by CAPT Colin Supko, Navy SEAL and White House Presidential Fellow, Director of DoD Trusted Capital Marketplace. The cohort asked several detailed questions throughout the briefing and gained a great amount of knowledge. CAPT Supko offered fantastic guidance to the space small business community. Thank you to each of the speakers who donated their time to speak during the sixth week of programming for the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing Accelerator.
OSAM Cohort Company Spotlight:
Orbit Fab’s first tanker spacecraft which carried hydrogen peroxide propellant to refuel thrusters developed by Benchmark Space Systems had successful deployment on 30 June 2021! The Catalyst Accelerator team had a great time celebrating your incredible milestones! Keep up the great work.
Watch the successful launch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hT9WMkl4INg&t=423s
