

Ask HN: Where to find big project RFP's in Web/Mobile Development - EMRo

I&#x27;ve noticed in working as a subcontractor for larger contractors that they tend to have access to very interesting and high value RFP&#x27;s from big companies&#x2F;organizations. I&#x27;ve done all of the work associated with building the systems (so I likely have the credibility to score some contracts) but I am apparently clueless on where&#x2F;how to get direct access so I can bid on my own.<p>I know that at this level, you aren&#x27;t pitching websites or applications, rather solutions that solve business problems. I&#x27;m fine developing strategies and pitches for that as well.<p>Has anyone gone from being a small contractor to getting access to bigger projects via the RFP process?<p>Is it just really word of mouth and who you know?<p>Are there sites for this? Do you have a winning strategy to build a list of contacts who often have high value RFP&#x27;s?<p>Any help&#x2F;insight would be much appreciated!
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garethsprice
I work for a digital agency that's been growing rapidly, but still small
enough I can see the biz dev process at work.

It's fairly old school, you get known to the vendor, build a relationship, and
they include you on the list of people they consider next time they have a
brief.

Public RFPs are hard to win and often have a predetermined outcome (eg. If
corporate policy dictates open RFP but the individual has their list as
above).

There's a lot of work involved in the relationship building, and often you'll
take a small tester project that doesn't make much profit but is an investment
for building the relationship so the future projects and retainers are sent
your way. Larger agencies have entire staffs dedicated to pitching, full time.

An approach that I've seen work well is to take the smaller projects for more
prestigious brands, invest time/money into them to build something great, then
promote the hell out of the work (awards, case studies, etc). Hard to
bootstrap but once you build momentum, the work comes to you. Most small
agencies I've worked with rarely bid on public RFPs and do no outbound
advertising.

Direct to brand biz dev is really hard work. The alternative is to continue to
subcontract for the larger companies that do the direct biz dev, especially if
you want to continue to be a hands on tech and not spend your life pitching
and networking. There are many dev shops and production agencies that build
substantial businesses this way.

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crixlet
Also interested in this question. I've used rfpdb.com for a while with
somewhat decent success

EDIT: Also, look for your local city's purchasing departments. Often times
they release RFP's through their own website portal.

For example, San Francisco's purchasing department has a db here
[http://mission.sfgov.org/OCABidPublication/](http://mission.sfgov.org/OCABidPublication/)

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EMRo
Thanks for adding this link!

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codegeek
Have you checked out ariba.com ? You can register as a supplier and bid on
RFIs/RFPs. See an example RFI

[https://service.ariba.com/Discovery.aw/741797/aw?awh=r&awssk...](https://service.ariba.com/Discovery.aw/741797/aw?awh=r&awssk=EXoiB3S5&dard=1&ancdc=1#b0)

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EMRo
Awesome, thanks!

