The business development and capture expertise that can be gained from an experienced mentor and later used by the protégé is critical and, in some cases, difficult to obtain outside of the mentor-protégé arrangement. For both the mentor and protégé, this is where the adage of know your partner before you partner rings especially true.īoth mentor and protégé should also understand that a mentor-protégé arrangement is not designed to be a handout to the protégé or an open window for large mentors to enter and participate in set-aside contracts, but an opportunity for the protégé to use the mentor’s resources, financial assistance, and expertise to help grow the protégé from the developmental stage to the next level of size and sophistication.Ī high level of commitment from the mentor and protégé is necessary in seeking and obtaining valuable federal procurement opportunities. In addition, protégés are typically still in their developmental stage and may find it difficult to adjust both to operating a more highly structured co-owned company and meeting those complex performance requirements, as well as stepping up to the operational and organizational standards to which a large mentor is more accustomed.įrom a protégé’s standpoint, it’s important to both select mentors that align with the protégé’s core competencies and goals as well as continue to develop business outside of the mentor protégé relationship. Similarly, a protégé may be concerned with a potentially overwhelming mentor, whose larger business is more structured and whose business model and culture lends more to controlling rather than being control by the protégé. A mentor should ensure itself that the protégé is the right fit and will be an able partner with the ability to perform reliably on contracts and operate the joint venture in an effective manner. The protégé’s owner is even named individually as the “project manager” or what is now termed by the SBA as the “responsible manager.” Recent changes in the rules allow the mentor to have some participation in corporate governance and operations-related activities of the JV, but the ultimate decisions are still to be made by the protégé.įor these reasons, mentors need to know their protégés and vice versa. Even more challenging is that the protégé must have virtually total control over the JV, its management and the day-to-day operation of the contract. For starters, mentors may be frustrated that the protégé has little to no management experience, and may or may not make the ideal partner on these contracts, especially those contracts having more complex performance requirements. By the same token, the large business drools at the chance to capture a piece of the business that would otherwise be reserved only for smalls.īut the program has some shortcomings. The small business partner relishes the opportunity to be backed by a large company and use its qualifications and past performance to compete on set aside contracts for which the small would otherwise not qualify. This program can have tremendous benefits.
Once the exclusive domain of the 8(a) world, since 2016 such joint ventures are now permitted with all qualified small businesses government-wide under the SBA’s All Small Mentor Protégé Program. What this really means is that a large mentor can set up a joint venture with a small protégé and allow that JV to compete on small business set aside procurements as a separate small business concern without the dreaded prospect of being considered “affiliated” for SBA size determination purposes. The goal of the program is to enhance the capabilities of the protégé, assist the protégé with meeting the goals established in its SBA-approved business plan, and improve the protégé’s ability to successfully compete for contracts. This program is designed to encourage approved “mentors” (typically large businesses) to provide various forms of business development assistance to small and developing “protégé” firms in connection with government contracts. This is especially true with regard to the SBA’s Mentor Protégé Program. Joint ventures in government contracting have become increasingly popular, particularly in small business set aside contracts.
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