• E-Newsletter

In celebration of Veteran’s Day, the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority is proud to highlight our interview with U.S. Army veteran Jared Shepard, CEO of Reston-based Hypori, and Founder/Chair of Intelligent Waves and Warriors Ethos. In addition, U.S. Army veteran Donnell S. Johns, founder, Veterans Growing America, will be the featured guest speaker during the FCEDA’s next Entrepreneurship 101 workshop on Tuesday, November 14. Find out more and register below.

---

Executive Profile: Jared Shepard, CEO of Hypori & Founder of Intelligent Waves, Warriors Ethos

Fairfax County’s strategic location near the federal government, along with access to talent, especially cleared talent, are among the reasons that make Fairfax County a pivotal location for conducting government-related information technology services, according to Jared Shepard, CEO of Reston-based IT firm Hypori, Founder and Chairman of IT firm Intelligent Waves, and Founder and Chairman of Warriors Ethos, a nonprofit organization.

“We call this area the Tech Beltway and if you are a government contractor, you want your company based here,” said Shepard. “The amount of technology leadership that comes here to solve problems for the U.S. government is unequivocal. There’s nowhere else that you can go and find the same type of concentration.”

Shepard sat down with the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) to tell us about how and why he started Hypori and Intelligent Waves. A U.S. Army Veteran, Shepard also talks about his motivation for launching Warrior Ethos, which helps Veterans launch civilian careers.

Click here to read FCEDA’s Q&A interview with Jared Shepard.

---

Upcoming FCEDA event features Veterans Growing America founder Donnell E. Johns

Veterans Growing America founder Donnell E Johns, Sr., a U.S. Army National Guard Veteran, will be the featured guest speaker during the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority’s next Entrepreneurship 101 session on Tuesday, November 14. Founded in 2019, Veterans Growing America is an organization that provides a forum for Veteran and Military Spouses to showcase and grow their businesses. Donnell will discuss his entrepreneurial journey and share valuable tips for business success.

Click here to register for the free in-person workshop at FCEDA headquarters in Tysons, Virginia.

In addition to the Entrepreneurial Spotlight, a panel of small business experts will provide an interactive in-person workshop on how to start your business. We will provide you with informative step-by-step information sessions that will cover registering your business, permitting requirements, business feasibility and business plan basics, business certifications, financing options and government resources.

---

Weekly Business News Digest

A Big Deal: Tysons-based Guidehouse, a consulting firm that advises government organizations and businesses, announced that it will be acquired by Bain Capital in a $5.3 billion deal, the Wall Street Journal reported. In 2018, Veritas Capital acquired the U.S. public-sector consulting business of Big Four accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers for an undisclosed price and rebranded it as Guidehouse. Guidehouse provides management and technology consulting and other services to federal-government agencies including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, and to state and local governments, as well as businesses. Guidehouse will continue to jointly serve governments and businesses and retain its strategy around acquisitions if the deal closes, the company’s Chief Executive Scott McIntyre said, adding that he expected Veritas to hold Guidehouse for four to six years.

They Grow Up So Fast! Four Fairfax County-based companies landed on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500, now in its 29th year: ShiftMed (Tysons) at no. 151 was 942 percent growth; ID.me (Tysons) at no. 206 with 688 percent growth; Expel (Herndon) at no. 266 with 511 percent growth; and BlackSky (Herndon) at no. 342 with 377 percent growth. The Deloitte Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech companies — both public and private — in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2019 to 2022. In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the company’s operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least US $50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least U.S. $5 million. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America.

Expanding the Base: Tysons-based V2X reported new records in the third quarter of 2023, including a new top-line record for the company. In the three months that ended Sept. 29, 2023, revenue increased five percent to $1 billion and because of the strong $1.3 billion contract awards, the total backlog reached an all-time high of $13.3 billion during the quarter, reported GovConWire. Chuck Prow, president and CEO of V2X, said in a statement published Monday the record revenue reflects the company’s client and mission support commitment while the backlog provides solid revenue visibility moving into 2024. At the quarter’s end, V2X has a strong liquidity position, with more than $500 million in capacity. According to Prow, V2X is executing the “Expand the Base” component of its strategic framework. The company achieved extended scope through client engagement initiatives on existing business. The results are $332 million and $1.2 billion worth of awards in the third quarter and year-to-date. V2X plans to leverage its converged capabilities and pursue new businesses, according to the article.

Bridge to Hawaii: Enlightenment Capital-backed IntelliBridge, based in Tysons, has acquired Hawaii-based RevaComm, a digital transformation firm serving federal civilian and defense agencies, according to WashingtonExec. “We are excited to welcome RVCM’s expert team of almost 200 software, cyber, and design professionals to the IntelliBridge family, where they will find colleagues just as passionate about applying technology to solve our nation’s greatest mission challenges,” said Cass Panciocco, IntelliBridge president and CEO. “This combination will form one of the largest pure-play providers of secure, agile software solutions to the U.S. Federal government, creating opportunities for both our customers and employees.”

Combined Companies: Columbia, Maryland-based AI-business intelligence solutions provider BigBear.ai, which has a Chantilly location, announced a definitive merger agreement to acquire Tysons-based Pangiam, a provider of Vision AI for the global trade, travel, and digital identity industries, for $70 million in an all-stock transaction. “The combination of Pangiam and BigBear.ai will position our combined companies to vault solutions currently available in market,” said Kevin McAleenan, CEO of Pangiam. “With our shared mission and a complementary customer base and product set, our teams will be able to pursue larger customer opportunities, enhance our technology development, and accelerate our growth. We’re thrilled to soon join the BigBear.ai team.” Yahoo Finance has more.

Another Polar Express: Falls Church-area based Northrop Grumman has completed thermal vacuum testing on the satellite constellation it is building for a Space Norway-led mission to provide broadband communications across the northern polar region, reported ExecutiveBiz. The Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission comprises two satellites, each carrying an X-Band payload for the Norwegian defense ministry, a Ka-band payload for Viasat and Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization payloads for the U.S. Space Force. In 2019, Space Norway, a subsidiary of the Norwegian government, selected Northrop to design, develop, integrate and test two broadband satellites for the ASBM program.

I’ll Drink to That: Reston-based Leidos has deployed a potable water dispenser to the International Space Station to help astronauts sustain quality water in space and support space exploration research efforts, according to ExecutiveBiz. The Exploration Potable Water Dispenser provides ISS crew members with potable-quality water for hydrating dry food and beverages and features an updated design for transmitting health and status telemetry data to assess system performance and allowing updates through ground commanding. The water dispenser was launched to space aboard Falls Church-area based Northrop Grumman‘s Cygnus spacecraft as part of NASA’s Cargo Mission program.

Best Overall Credit Union: Tysons-based  PenFed Credit Union was named Best Overall Credit Union by personal finance digital platform Money on its 2023-2024 Best Banks list. “We are proud to be recognized by Money for providing our members with great rates and world-class service,” said PenFed President and CEO James Schenck. “In 2024, we look forward to continuing to help our nearly 3 million members achieve their financial dreams.”

Huge Window: Women’s entrepreneurship is booming post-pandemic, according to a technical.ly feature article. Half of all businesses started in the pandemic era were founded by a woman, compared to just 29 percent in 2019. A business incorporation surge and the role women have played reversed decades-long trends during COVID-19 disruptions. “The pandemic just opened up a huge window for people to be able to do their thing, no holds barred,” said Omi Bell, the DC-based founder and CEO of Fairfax County-based  Black Girl Ventures, which connects women of color to capital and other business resources. “It shifted how we think everything has to happen.”

Cybersecurity Regulations: Tysons and Bedford, Massachusetts co-headquartered MITRE has developed recommendations on refining cybersecurity regulations to secure the U.S. critical infrastructure sector in response to a request for information from the Office of the National Cyber Director, according to ExecutiveGov. The Center for Data-Driven Policy led a cross-analysis of the RFI’s posed questions to help the ONCD develop evidence-based, actionable plans to address obstacles to harmonizing critical infrastructure cybersecurity regulations.

---

Contract Wins

Peraton (Reston) won an eight-year, $2.8 billion contract to provide enterprise operations and maintenance services for U.S. Special Operations Command. GovConWire

Amentum (Chantilly) secured a five-year, $441.3 million contract from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command for services in support of command, control, communication, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. GovConWire

SES Space & Defense (Reston) obtained a $270 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) low-latency high-throughput satellite services. SpaceNews

SOS International (Reston) received a contract from the Defense Intelligence Agency to provide artificial intelligence and machine learning technology development services for the modernization of the agency’s data-driven decision-making capabilities. ExecutiveBiz

---