Welcome to GovCon Unscripted, where we dive into the unfiltered stories and strategies from all around the world of government contracting. Join host Chelsea Roberts as she explores how to navigate, thrive, and win in this complex but rewarding industry.
Budget to Operate, Not Just to Launch: Financing Federal Contract Growth
Winning the federal contract is supposed to be the good news. Evan Henris (https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-henris-483b0574/), CEO of Parabilis (https://parabilis.com/), explains why it so often starts the cash crisis instead.
The Launch Budget Trap. Contractors budget to win the work and stand it up, but not to carry it until the government pays. That gap pushes the financing decision into a crisis, right when every option gets more expensive.
Evan joined Parabilis in 2018, when the McLean, VA lender had four people, and worked through underwriting, operations, and capital markets before being named CEO in early 2026. Parabilis finances growing small and mid-size federal contractors so they can perform on the work they win. He sits down with Chelsea Roberts to walk through where contract financing goes wrong and what it costs when the decision gets made under pressure.
You will hear how much operating runway a new award really consumes (two to six months of expenses, in Evan's estimate), why selling a $1M invoice to cover a $15K bill rarely makes sense, and why rescue cash taken after a recompete slips usually costs more than the hard call it was meant to avoid. Evan also covers when debt is the wrong answer to a contract loss, what lenders weigh beyond the award itself, how AI can build a cash flow model a lender will actually read, and the calendar test every founder should be able to pass.
If your pipeline is growing, this is the conversation to have before the next award lands.
Timestamps:
00:06:05 How do you spot a lender whose pricing will eat your margin?
00:10:13 How much working capital does a new federal contract actually need?
00:10:56 When does invoice factoring stop making sense?
00:13:51 Is factoring a federal contract invoice legal?
00:15:47 What is a merchant cash advance, and what does it really cost?
00:16:44 Why do contractors reach for rescue cash after a recompete loss?
00:18:39 What should you do instead of taking a rescue advance?
00:21:14 When is debt the wrong answer to a contract loss?
00:25:12 Is your company too small for a line of credit?
00:26:45 Should a capital partner be part of your growth pipeline?
00:28:52 What do lenders evaluate beyond the contract award?
00:30:48 Can AI build a cash flow model a lender will accept?
00:34:49 Can your company run for two weeks without you?
Resources:
Follow Evan Henris (https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-henris-483b0574/) on LinkedIn
Follow Chelsea Roberts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseadroberts/) on LinkedIn
Other Resources:
Parabilis (https://parabilis.com/) Website
Listen now on:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy
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Join our GovCon communities:
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6 Oct 2026
How Small Businesses Get Recognized in Federal Contracting | The Introduction Tax with Will McCormick
Your capability statement gets you into the room. Then you spend the first 20 minutes introducing yourself anyway.
It's called "The Introduction Tax", and small firms pay it in every meeting and at every event. The cost comes out of the two resources they have least of, which are time in front of the customer and the budget to show up.
Chelsea Roberts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseadroberts/) sits down with Will McCormick (https://www.linkedin.com/in/willmccormickiii/), Editorial Director at Set-Aside Alert (https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-research-services-inc./about/) and creator of GovCon Games (https://www.linkedin.com/company/govcongames/about/). Will has been a writer for about 20 years and covers federal small business policy for Set-Aside Alert, which has been publishing since 1991. Will explains why he built GovCon Games to help firms lead with personality and expertise before they lead with past performance. He also walks through the problem, cause, consequence, and solution sequence that turns a single conversation into content that keeps working for a year.
The two also cover the policy picture small firms are working in right now. They talk about why HUBZone is holding up better than other set-aside programs, the quieter pressure on WOSB, and why the CMMC Phase II suspension does not take NIST SP 800-171 off anyone's plate. Chelsea shares what separates a post-event follow-up that gets a reply from one that gets ignored.
If your BD plan still depends on handing out cards and hoping someone calls back, this episode will change how you budget your next event.
Resources:
Connect with Will McCormick (https://www.linkedin.com/in/willmccormickiii/)
Connect with Chelsea Roberts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseadroberts/)
Other Resources:
Set-Aside Alert (https://www.linkedin.com/company/business-research-services-inc./about/)LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/setasidealert/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/setasidealert/)
GovCon Games Instagram https://www.instagram.com/govcongames (https://www.instagram.com/govcongames)
Personal Email: will@setasidealert.com
Listen now on:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy (https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy)
Like and follow us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS (https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS)
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Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govconunscripted/ (https://www.facebook.com/govconunscripted/)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/ (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/)
Join our GovCon communities:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/ (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/govconunscriptedcommunity (https://www.facebook.com/groups/govconunscriptedcommunity)
29 Sept 2026
What the FAR Overhaul Means for Small Business Contractors | The Upstream Window with David Mullis
The FAR (https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far) overhaul was sold as 500 fewer pages. The person who reads every rule expects it to land back near 2,000.
The rules that bind you get decided before the proposed rule ever reaches your inbox. Almost no one from industry is in the room when it happens.
Chelsea Roberts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseadroberts/) sits down with David Mullis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mullis/), Regulatory Affairs Consultant at Gov Contract Pros LLC (https://www.govcontractpros.com/), who tracks Federal Register, OIRA, and Unified Regulatory Agenda activity for the small business community. His firm has requested an OIRA 12866 (https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eoPackageMain) meeting on the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, and by his account it is the only contracting industry group engaging in that process right now.
They get into what the RFO actually removes and what it quietly adds, including new CUI incident reporting, cybersecurity frameworks, and termination protest timelines. David explains why moving forms and examples into the FAR Companion takes them outside notice and comment, why contracting officers' own liability may pull a more flexible FAR back toward large incumbents, and where commercial-first buying lowers the cybersecurity bar. On CMMC, he walks through a 60-day pause that doesn't reach the November implementation date, why primes may require it regardless, and the planned move to NIST SP 800-171 Revision 3 (https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/171/r3/final) with its supply chain focus.
The back half is The Upstream Window. David makes the case for the 12866 meeting as 30 unfiltered minutes with White House staff and the FAR Council, explains why the SBA size standards methodology white paper now at OIRA is the part that actually binds, and flags why this will be the first size standard reviewed in a post-Chevron, Loper Bright world.
If you run capture, BD, or a small business with a size standard to protect, the time to engage is before the comment period, not during it.
Timestamps:
00:04:20 Is the RFO actually making the FAR shorter?
00:05:40 What does moving forms and examples into the FAR Companion change for contractors?
00:06:50 Will RFO flexibility actually help small businesses win?
00:11:05 Does the commercial-first push create a security gap?
00:15:18 CMMC is paused. Should companies stop preparing?
00:15:52 What changes when CMMC moves to NIST 800-171 Revision 3?
00:23:05 How can contractors actually influence the RFO before it's final?
00:24:38 Will a government shutdown delay the next round of RFO rules?
00:26:52 Are SBA size standards going up or down?
00:27:30 When is the comment that actually changes your size standard?
00:31:35 What does Loper Bright mean for the next size standards rule?
Resources:
Follow David Mullis (https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-mullis/)
Follow Chelsea Roberts (https://www.linkedin.com/in/chelseadroberts/)
Other resources:
Gov Contract Pros on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gov-contract-pros (https://www.linkedin.com/company/gov-contract-pros)
Gov Contract Pros Website: https://www.govcontractpros.com (https://www.govcontractpros.com)
Listen now on:
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482)
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy (https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy)
Like and follow us:
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS (https://www.youtube.com/@GovConUnscriptedUS)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/govconunscriptedpod/ (https://www.instagram.com/govconunscriptedpod/)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govconunscriptedpod/ (https://www.facebook.com/govconunscriptedpod/)
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/ (https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/govcon-unscripted/posts/)
Join our #govcon #community: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/ (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14618490/)
Who has been a guest on GovCon Unscripted
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Alexa Tsui
Andy Semotiuk
Callye Keen
Chip Walter
Noura Bashshur
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
2,407
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
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Podcast Authority Score: 53 / 100
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Quality
65
Social presence
0
YouTube
68
Engagement
32
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