Written by Katie Helwig, President, Mild Red LLC
The November meeting of the Growth Officers Association (Shifting the GovCon Mindset from Revenue Growth to Value Growth – Insights from the Growth Officers Association at Carahsoft Featuring: Ariel Glassman, VP, Strategic Growth, Sage Communications Stephen Kalish, Co-Founder, Deep Water Point LLC) centered on a theme that resonates strongly across the GovCon community: how companies can shift from pursuing revenue for its own sake to building long-term enterprise value. It was an enlightening session, with a focus on practical, actionable guidance for companies navigating growth, differentiation, and operational maturity.
Below is a consolidated summary of the ideas discussed …
Understanding the Value Equation
Enterprise value is often framed through a straightforward formula:
Enterprise Value = EBITDA × Multiplier
Because EBITDA reflects margin health and operational strength, companies benefit from evaluating growth not only by top-line revenue, but by how well they are managing:
- Margins
- Cost structure
- Investment in people
- Brand presence
- Customer satisfaction
This helps shift the conversation from “How do we get bigger?” to “How do we become more valuable?”
Why Value Growth Requires a Broader Perspective
Focusing on revenue alone may miss important elements that influence sustainability.
Several components contribute meaningfully to enterprise value:
Brand Awareness as an Enabler
A strong, well-communicated brand:
- Improves visibility
- Builds customer confidence
- Attracts subject matter experts
- Helps articulate differentiators during pursuits
Brand matters both externally and internally—shaping culture, recruiting, teaming, and customer trust.
Investing in High-Value Talent
Key personnel often serve as proposal discriminators.
Deliberate investment in experienced talent strengthens both delivery outcomes and competitive posture.
Market Research as a Foundation
Understanding:
- Mission needs
- Competitive landscape
- Differentiators
- Risk areas
…supports smarter decision-making and better resource allocation.
Common Barriers to Growth
Across the GovCon sector, companies commonly face challenges such as:
- Limited brand visibility
- Unclear discriminators
- Difficulty attracting talent
- Past performance that does not map to future strategy
- Emphasis on topline growth without margin analysis
- Disconnect between finance, BD, and operations
- Hesitation to invest in infrastructure or corporate functions
- Incentives designed around revenue instead of value
These are areas where small, consistent improvements can yield meaningful outcomes.
Smart Growth Through Intentional Decision-Making
The speakers emphasized intentionality:
- Use a rigorous bid/no-bid process
- Rely on analytics, not assumptions
- Evaluate the long-term value of opportunities
- Align incentives with sustainable growth
- Periodically reflect: Does this decision strengthen our value position?
This helps companies focus energy where it will have the highest strategic return.
When to Begin Investing in Marketing, Talent, and Brand
A company typically reaches a point in the $8–10M revenue range where structured investments in branding, marketing, and leadership talent become especially impactful. At this stage, companies often have established customer relationships and enough past performance to build a meaningful brand story.
Building the Right Overhead Structure
Two elements were highlighted as foundational:
- Finance
A strong finance function provides insights into wrap rates, margins, and pricing strategies.
Finance becomes a strategic partner rather than a back-office task.
- A Strong CEO or Decision Maker
Someone must coordinate the priorities of BD, finance, and operations to ensure alignment across the organization.
A Hybrid Approach to Outsourcing
Functions like marketing, BD support, security, and proposal development can be outsourced, with internal staff serving as coordinators.
This model brings expertise while keeping the company’s mission and culture intact.
A Key Takeaway: Not All Revenue Is Equal
Margin health, cost structure, and operational discipline all contribute to enterprise value.
Wrap Rate = (1 + Fringe) × (1 + Overhead) × (1 + G&A) × (1 + Fee)
Understanding the cost of delivery and the value of each opportunity helps companies grow intentionally—not just in size, but in strength.
About Mild Red LLC
Mild Red LLC is a strategic advisory firm helping GovCon organizations strengthen their positioning, differentiate their brand, and prepare for sustainable growth.
We specialize in aligning marketing, capture, compliance, and leadership functions—because in the federal market, past performance tells your story, but strategic positioning determines your future.
Through our GovCon Decathlon series, educational programming, and hands-on advisory support, we help contractors translate their capabilities into a mission-focused narrative that resonates with customers and partners.
It’s all about past performance—and how you tell that story.
