State and local government bid discovery - one canonical feed across 50 states and D.C.
RadarTank is a state and local government bid discovery platform. It aggregates the
fragmented landscape of 50 states + D.C., thousands of cities, counties, and school
districts into one canonical feed, then carries each opportunity through compliance
scoring on the reused RFP Tank engine.
The problem: there is no single portal for state and local solicitations. A contractor
selling to governments juggles 50+ state portals, a patchwork of commercial vendor
platforms (Periscope/BuySpeed, Ivalua, Jaggaer, CGI Advantage, PeopleSoft, SAP Ariba),
and partial aggregator networks. Discovery is the bottleneck before any bid is written.
The wedge: discovery-first. RadarTank maps all 51 jurisdictions, groups them by the
vendor platform actually running them (not per-state builds), and normalizes every bid
into one canonical schema. Florida MFMP is the verified beachhead (roughly 115 bids
live, verified). Eight reusable platform adapters will cover roughly 35 states.
Revenue: subscription SaaS, premium-positioned. The "best product" in the category,
not the bargain bin. Compliance scoring (the RFP Tank reuse) is the roadmap upsell that
turns discovery into a full capture workflow.
Status: Florida is live and verified. Persistent store is shipped. The adapter build-out
is the active workstream. Compliance scoring is roadmap, not yet shipped.
RadarTank is one feed for every state and local bid in America. The moment a city,
county, or state posts a solicitation, it lands in one searchable, normalized feed. No
more checking 50 portals by hand, no more missing an addendum, no more guessing which
vendor platform a state actually runs. Discovery first, compliance scoring next.
State and local procurement exceeds $2 trillion a year, but the solicitation surface is
deliberately fragmented. There is no SAM.gov equivalent for state and local. Instead:
independently.
Ivalua, Jaggaer, CGI Advantage, PeopleSoft, SAP Ariba, Euna/Bonfire, WebProcure.
contractor actually sees is bespoke regardless of the engine underneath.
registered account.
How contractors cope today:
| Current method | Time | Cost | Pain |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manual portal-checking | High | Free | Missed bids, missed addenda |
| BidNet Direct / DemandStar | Medium | Free + per-state fees | Only covers agencies on their network |
| GovWin IQ (Deltek) | Low | ~$10,000+/yr | Analyst layer, no compliance scoring |
| GovSpend | Low | ~$3,000-6,000/user/yr | Spend data, not normalized discovery |
| OpenGov / Euna vendor portals | Medium | Free | Single-platform, siloed by vendor |
The precise target is the small-to-mid government contractor (SMB GovCon) who sells to
state and local agencies: 2 to 50 employees, already bidding, currently covering 2 to 3
states by hand. They feel the pain most because they cannot afford GovWin's $10,000+/yr
analyst subscription but lose real revenue to missed solicitations and addenda. They are
not "everyone" - they are the contractor who has lost a bid because they never saw it.
Discovery tools do not score. Scoring tools do not discover. RadarTank closes the gap:
one canonical, normalized, multi-state feed, backed by a compliance-scoring engine (the
RFP Tank reuse) that carries a bid from "found it" to "responded to it" in one workflow.
No competitor combines comprehensive discovery with traceable compliance scoring.
State and local government procurement is a multi-trillion-dollar annual market (federal
$793B; state and local combined several times that). The bid-intelligence software layer
that sits on top is a smaller but recurring slice, but the addressable revenue is the
contracting volume RadarTank helps win, not the software fee alone.
Contractors actively selling to state and local agencies. The SMB GovCon segment - the
tens of thousands of small contractors priced out of enterprise tools - is the serviceable
market. This segment already pays $99 to $599/mo for general bid tools; RadarTank serves
them with a focused, normalized, state-local feed.
Realistic capture is a Year 1 to Year 3 ramp starting from the Florida beachhead and
expanding as each platform adapter ships. SOM is measured in hundreds of paying seats in
Year 1, scaling as coverage and compliance scoring broaden the value.
| Competitor | Price | Strength | Weakness | RadarTank advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GovWin IQ (Deltek) | ~$10,000+/yr | Analyst-curated, 25k+ SLED opps | No compliance scoring; enterprise price | Normalized feed + scoring at SMB price |
| GovSpend | ~$3,000-6,000/user/yr | Spend/PO data, price-to-win | Spend analytics, not discovery | Discovery-first, canonical schema |
| BidNet Direct | Free + per-state | 30 yrs, 90k+ agencies | Only their network's agencies | All platforms, not one network |
| OpenGov / Euna | Free vendor | Low friction | Single-platform silo | Cross-platform, cross-state |
| BidSparq | $249/mo | AI scoring, free trial | Thin coverage | Platform-level adapters + scoring reuse |
| Civic IQ / GovSignals | Quote | AI-native, pre-RFP signals | Pre-RFP focus, opaque pricing | Post-solicitation + compliance scoring |
The moat is the adapter layer: a verified map of which vendor platform runs which state,
with ground-truth confirmation of the actual scrape surface (engine vs. front-end).
Building this correctly required an adversarial audit that corrected a wrong assumption
(many states were mislabeled by engine). The second moat is the RFP Tank compliance
engine reuse - scoring is a roadmap feature nobody in the discovery category ships.
across every state running that software.
FTS5 search), FastAPI backend (app3 :8401), portal SPA (my.radartank.com).
compliance matrix, gap report).
pipeline, the same infrastructure that powers IT Pro Partner operations. Zero new
infrastructure to launch.
IT Pro Partner.
runtime, backup, monitoring) in both paths.
| Component | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Florida MFMP adapter | SETTLED (live) | ~115 bids, verified:true |
| Persistent store | SETTLED (shipped) | SQLite, dedup, versioning, FTS5 |
| 8 platform adapters | OPEN (to build) | Covers ~35 states |
| 13 long-tail states | OPEN (to build) | Custom front-ends |
| 7 login-walled states | OPEN (strategy TBD) | Registered-account vs BidNet fallback |
| Compliance scoring | LATER (roadmap) | Reuses RFP Tank engine |
| Site | Status | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| radartank.com | Live | Cloudflare-proxied landing page |
| my.radartank.com | Live | Portal SPA, Stack Auth embedded login |
| backend :8401 | Live | FastAPI, app3, localhost-bound + nginx proxy |
First-draft recommendation (premium positioning, subject to Germaine's review):
| Tier | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $99/mo | Search, basic alerts, single region |
| Professional | $299/mo | All 51 jurisdictions, saved searches, amendment alerts, full canonical schema |
| Enterprise | $999/mo (custom) | API access, team seats, compliance scoring (when shipped), priority support |
Compliance scoring becomes a premium add-on (reusing the RFP Tank $500-$1,500 per-deal
model) once it ships - the roadmap upsell that raises ARPU without changing discovery
pricing.
stream.
model, cross-sold to the same base.
Premium positioning. GovWin IQ charges $10,000+/yr for an analyst layer RadarTank does
not yet match, so RadarTank undercuts the enterprise tier while staying above the free
aggregators (OpenGov, Euna) and the thin AI tools (BidSparq $249/mo). $99 to $999/mo is
the band where the value (time saved + bids not missed) clearly exceeds the price.
| Cost line | Monthly | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | ~$0 incremental | Runs on existing ITPP netcup estate |
| Backup (Wasabi S3) | ~$0 incremental | Existing pipeline |
| LLM tokens | ~$0 today | Only when compliance scoring ships |
| Domain + Cloudflare | ~$20 | radartank.com + radartank.io |
| Maintenance/ops time | Founder time | Costed at zero in v1, flagged as such |
Near-100% gross margin on the software layer (existing infrastructure, no per-seat COGS).
The honest caveat: founder labor is costed at zero, so the real margin after a loaded
founder cost is lower. Stated plainly rather than buried.
First-draft, conservative (assumes a slow adapter build-out and a modest discovery-only
product until compliance scoring ships):
| Month | Paying seats | MRR |
|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | 0 | $0 (build-out, Florida only) |
| 4 | 5 | $1,495 |
| 5 | 10 | $2,990 |
| 6 | 18 | $5,382 |
| 7 | 28 | $8,372 |
| 8 | 40 | $11,960 |
| 9 | 55 | $16,445 |
| 10 | 72 | $21,528 |
| 11 | 90 | $26,910 |
| 12 | 110 | $32,890 |
Blended ARPU ~$299 (Professional-led mix). These are planning numbers, not promises.
1. The adapter layer: a ground-truth-verified map of vendor platform to state, with the
actual scrape surface confirmed (engine vs. front-end). Competitors guess; RadarTank
verified, and the adversarial audit caught and corrected mislabeled states.
2. The canonical schema: one normalized Solicitation model across every jurisdiction, so
a bid from Florida and a bid from New Hampshire are comparable in one search.
3. The RFP Tank compliance engine reuse: discovery plus traceable compliance scoring is
a combination no discovery competitor ships. It turns a feed into a capture workflow.
Capability (high) vs. price (premium):
RadarTank's position: enterprise-grade capability at an SMB price, with scoring as the
differentiator that pulls it toward the top-right.
Every new adapter is a sunk asset competitors must rebuild. Every verified platform map
is data nobody can copy without doing the same ground-truth work. The scoring reuse ties
RadarTank into the RFP Tank / VerdictTank / ProposalTank family flywheel.
adopters via the existing IT Pro Partner network.
revenue.
1. Existing IT Pro Partner MSP clients who bid on government work (warm, direct).
2. RFP Tank / VerdictTank / ProposalTank waitlist and early users (family cross-sell).
3. SMB GovCon communities and associations (state PTAC/APEX chapters).
4. Search and content around "state and local bid discovery" (SEO on the landing page).
5. Direct outreach to contractors currently listed as bidding in Florida and the first
adapter states.
| Channel | Tactic | Cost | Expected volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Existing MSP base | Direct email + intro | $0 | Warm, high conversion |
| Product family | Cross-sell from RFP Tank | $0 | High intent |
| SEO | Landing + content | ~$0 | Steady, compounding |
| Communities | PTAC/APEX, GovCon forums | Time | Medium |
| Paid | Targeted search ads (later) | Budgeted | Scale stage only |
The honest constraint: acquisition is real but onboarding capacity (supporting SMB
contractors through setup) is the quieter ceiling. v1 scales with founder time, not ad
spend.
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incumbents (GovWin, GovSpend) add SLED coverage | Medium | High | Compete on scoring + SMB price, not raw coverage |
| SMB contractors underprice the value | Medium | Medium | Show time-saved and bids-not-missed ROI |
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adapter breakage when a state redesigns its portal | High | Medium | Per-adapter health checks + alerting |
| Login-walled states stay invisible | High | Low | BidNet Direct fallback for those 7 states |
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| A free aggregator copies the canonical schema | Low | Medium | The verified adapter map is the hard part |
| AI-native tools (Civic IQ, GovSignals) move into scoring | Medium | High | Ship the RFP Tank scoring reuse first |
| Risk | Probability | Impact | Mitigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder-time ceiling on onboarding | High | Medium | Automate onboarding; document setup |
| Single-server dependency (app3) | Medium | High | Standby failover + S3 restore (DR plan) |
The most likely failure is scope: trying to build all 51 jurisdictions before proving
anyone pays for Florida + the first platform adapters. The mitigation is the discovery-
first wedge - prove demand on a small verified surface, then expand.
| Line | Year 1 |
|---|---|
| Revenue (12-mo ramp) | ~$140k (sum of ramp) |
| Infrastructure + tooling | ~$1,000 |
| Founder labor | $0 (flagged) |
| Net (before founder cost) | ~$139k |
| Net (after loaded founder cost) | Negative until ~Month 8 |
The honest read: discovery-only revenue is modest; the per-deal compliance-scoring add-on
is where margin and growth actually live. Stated up front.
Break-even on the software layer is a handful of Professional seats (infrastructure is
already sunk on the ITPP estate). Break-even after a loaded founder cost is the real
question, and it lands with the scoring add-on, not discovery alone.
| Item | Detail | Timeline | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adapter build-out | 8 platform + 13 long-tail adapters | 6-8 weeks | Founder time |
| Login-walled strategy | Decide account-scraping vs BidNet fallback | 1 week | Decision |
| Scoring reuse | Wire RFP Tank engine into RadarTank | Roadmap | Founder time |
1. Login-walled states (KY, ME, MD, MI, NY, WV, WY): registered-account session scraping
or BidNet Direct aggregator fallback?
2. States 2 and 3: confirm Periscope/BuySpeed first, then Ivalua.
3. Compliance-scoring timing: ship discovery-only first, or pull scoring forward?
4. Pricing: confirm or adjust the $99 / $299 / $999 tier draft.
5. Domain: radartank.com is live (settled); confirm whether radartank.io is registered
as a defensive hold.
A live, verified feed covering the majority of state and local jurisdictions, 100+ paying
seats, and the compliance-scoring add-on in design-partner testing. Discovery is the
wedge; scoring is the business.
RadarTank completes the procurement-intelligence family: VerdictTank (review), RFP Tank
(federal compliance), ProposalTank (writing), RadarTank (state/local discovery). Each
shares Stack Auth login and the RFP Tank scoring engine; each owns a distinct wedge. The
family flywheel is the strategic value beyond any single product.
## Appendix A: Competitor Pricing Deep Dive
| Competitor | Pricing | Source |
|---|---|---|
| GovWin IQ (Deltek) | ~$10,000+/yr, scales with seats | Deltek SLED coverage docs |
| GovSpend | ~$3,000-6,000/user/yr, custom quote | Public benchmarking |
| BidNet Direct | Free basic + paid per-state/region | BidNet vendor solutions |
| OpenGov Procurement | Free vendor access | OpenGov site |
| Euna Supplier Network | Free account + premium discovery | Euna site |
| BidSparq | $249/mo, free trial | BidSparq alternatives page |
| Civic IQ / GovSignals | Quote-based | Vendor sites |
Pricing figures are from public sources and third-party benchmarking; actual pricing
varies by organization and contract terms.
## Appendix B: Platform Adapter Map (50 states + D.C.)
| Group | Count | States | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Florida MFMP | 1 | FL | SETTLED (live) |
| 8 platform adapters | ~35 | CGI, Jaggaer, PeopleSoft, Ivalua, Periscope/BuySpeed, Euna, WebProcure, SAP/Ariba | OPEN |
| 13 long-tail | 13 | Custom front-ends (incl. ID Infor, NC Power Pages, SD ESM, WY Public Purchase) | OPEN |
| 7 login-walled | 7 | KY, ME, MD, MI, NY, WV, WY | OPEN |
Full fingerprint table and per-state map live in the repo (SOURCE-ADAPTER-MATRIX.md and
references/platform-fingerprints.md).