Entrepreneurs and innovators always talk about the “next big thing.” There seems to be a mindset that true tech advancements can only be appreciated and supported by people with a vision to find those elusive “early adopters.” They know that to find success with their innovation, they must attract adopters and funding—sometimes simultaneously. To find those things, they most often are focused on the private sector. What if there’s another path with larger budgets, stickier customers and clearly defined sales channels? They may be surprised to learn that the government—in the forms of programs and licensable IP—might be able to help them achieve their technology startup dreams faster and with far less volatility.
Harnessing technology to improve overall citizen experiences holds a tremendous amount of promise for investors and innovators. A big upside for govtech ventures is that they can expose investors to loyal and reliable customer bases. In fact, research has found that govtech companies retain the vast majority of their customers each year.