The SBIR/STTR market has two kinds of help: large firms with dozens of writers and a sales team, and independent consultants who do the work themselves. Both win proposals. The right choice depends on what your company needs from the engagement, not on which one is “better.”
What a large firm gives you
- Capacity. Several proposals in parallel, across agencies, with specialists for budgets, compliance and graphics.
- Process. Templates, checklists and a review hierarchy that catches errors.
- Continuity. If a writer leaves, the firm assigns another one.
- Brand. Some agencies’ reviewers recognize the names, for better or worse.
What it costs you: you usually do not know who will write your proposal until kickoff. Senior people sell and review; the drafting is often done by newer writers. Minimum fees and monthly retainers are common. Your company is one of many accounts.
What an independent consultant gives you
- The person you talk to writes the proposal. Judgment calls on scope, what to leave out, which topic to pursue, happen in real time with the person doing the work.
- Direct access. Questions get answered by the writer, not routed through an account manager.
- Flexible pricing. A solo consultant can quote a flat fee sized to your specific proposal rather than a package.
- Depth over breadth. A good independent knows a few agencies very well.
What it costs you: capacity is finite. An independent consultant cannot take five proposals due the same week. Agency coverage may be narrower. If the consultant is sick, there is no bench.
Questions that decide it
- How many proposals, and when? One or two per cycle favors an independent. Five at once favors a firm or two independents.
- Who will write it? Ask for the name and the resume of the person drafting, not the firm’s founder.
- How senior is the review? With an independent, the writer and the reviewer are the same person; ask who else reads it before submission. With a firm, ask how many hours the senior reviewer spends on your draft.
- What is included? Registrations, budget, forms, letters of support, submission. Firms often sell these as add-ons; independents often include them.
- What happens after submission? Debrief, resubmission support, Phase II planning.
Where I sit
I am an independent consultant. I lead every engagement from the eligibility check to the submission, and I keep the number of concurrent proposals low enough to do that. My work covers SBIR/STTR across DoD, NIH, NSF, DOE, NASA and USDA, NIH R01 and R21, and Innovate UK, with more than $11.7M secured for clients. If your situation calls for a firm with a large bench, I will say so in the first call.