A DC federal-procurement SaaS · $100K → $640K ARR.

The archetype represents a pattern we ship into reliably in DC: a federal-procurement-targeting SaaS (gov-tech, association-management, university-research-tooling, defense-adjacent productivity) operating from the K Street corridor, Capitol Hill, or Crystal City, $100K ARR mostly through commercial customers, founder-led with 1-3 engineers, ambition to sell into federal agencies + associations + universities but blocked by procurement requirements. Pre-engagement state: $100K ARR, single-tenant AWS backend in commercial regions, no Section 508 / WCAG 2.1 AA, no FedRAMP roadmap, no SAM.gov registration, no GSA Schedule.

Three structural problems compounded the revenue ceiling. One, federal procurement requires Section 508 accessibility compliance — without it, federal IT procurement officers cannot evaluate the product. Two, federal contracts above $250K typically require FedRAMP Moderate; without an ATO (Authorization To Operate) the SaaS could not be deployed in federal environments. Three, no SAM.gov registration meant the product could not appear in any federal solicitation; no GSA Schedule meant procurement officers had to negotiate every contract from scratch instead of buying off-schedule.

Workstream 1 · Section 508 + WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility. Full accessibility audit + remediation across the application: keyboard navigation parity, screen-reader compatibility (NVDA + JAWS + VoiceOver tested), color-contrast 4.5:1 minimum (verified via our contrast checker tool), focus-visible indicators, ARIA-pattern correctness. Third-party VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) issued at week 24. Required for any federal IT procurement above the micro-purchase threshold.

Workstream 2 · FedRAMP Moderate-aware engineering. Migrated infrastructure to AWS GovCloud. Aligned engineering practices to FedRAMP Moderate baseline (NIST 800-53 controls, FIPS 140-2 cryptography, audit logging, MFA enforcement, vulnerability scanning). Authorization sponsor identification + 3PAO engagement initiated; full ATO is a 12-18-month subsequent project but ATO-ready architecture unblocks the first federal contracts via inherited authorizations.

Workstream 3 · SAM.gov + GSA Schedule listing. Registered the entity in SAM.gov with mapped NAICS codes (typically 511210 Software Publishers + 541512 Computer Systems Design Services). Filed for and obtained a GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) listing under SIN 54151S. Federal procurement officers can now buy off-schedule without negotiating every contract from scratch.

Workstream 4 · SSO + role-based access. Implemented SAML 2.0 SSO compatible with federal IdPs (PIV/CAC card login, USAccess) + role-based access control with separation of duty enforcement. Audit-trail every administrative action. Multi-tenant isolation per agency.

Workstream 5 · Federal sales motion. Built the federal sales playbook: capability statement document, past-performance documentation, small-business certification (8(a) or WOSB if applicable), partner relationships with federal-systems integrators (SAIC, Booz Allen, Leidos pattern), GovCon-aware pricing (multi-year, per-user, with surge-volume discounts). Federal pipeline 8x'd over 9 months.

The pattern this archetype represents (DC federal-procurement SaaS in gov-tech, association-management, university-research, or defense-adjacent productivity, $80K-$300K ARR, founder-led, post-PMF on commercial side but pre-federal-readiness, with 3-5 federal prospects asking for Section 508 + FedRAMP) is one of our most-shipped engagement shapes in the DMV. The 32-week timeline holds steady; the workstreams compress or expand in the same proportions; the metrics typically land within plus or minus 25 percent of the archetype numbers.

Five capabilities transfer directly: Section 508 + WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility audit + remediation + VPAT issuance, FedRAMP Moderate-aware engineering on AWS GovCloud, SAM.gov + GSA Schedule listing, SAML SSO + PIV/CAC support for federal users, and federal sales motion (capability statement + GovCon-aware pricing + integrator-partner relationships). Every DC engagement starts with a 30-minute discovery call. Eastern Time, same-day response Monday to Friday 9 to 6.