Napex and FLC form partnership to help small businesses use federal lab technologies and win DOD contracts

Daryl Thomas, executive director of the National Apex Accelerator Alliance (Napex), said his organization has entered a strategic partnership with the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer (FLC) to link federal laboratory innovations with small businesses that can commercialize and supply them to government buyers.

Thomas told podcast listeners that Apex Accelerators — state- and region‑level offices that coach businesses on government procurement — provide hands‑on services such as capability‑statement development, market research, bid‑matching, and post‑award performance support. He said those services reduce the costs and risks of government contracting, and that the Napex–FLC alignment is intended to make federal lab technologies more visible to companies that can scale them for defense and commercial markets.

The partnership follows a program transition cited in the interview: the National Defense Authorization Act prompted a move of the Apex Accelerator program from the Defense Logistics Agency into the Department of Defense’s Office of Small Business Programs, positioning Apex to support a broader industrial‑base goal. Thomas said Apex Accelerators are being used to grow the number of small suppliers, boost competition and bring fresh innovation to the defense supply chain.

Why it matters: Thomas framed the move as a response to a longer‑term decline in the number of small businesses competing for government work, which he said reduces innovation and competitiveness. He described the partnership with the FLC as complementary: Napex focuses on procurement readiness and matchmaking; FLC provides lab‑origin technologies and tech‑transfer know‑how.

Thomas stressed the practical, day‑to‑day help Apex Accelerators offer. He described tools Apex programs provide at no cost — including market‑research subscriptions and bid‑match services — and said many Apex advisors have prior procurement experience (for example, former contracting officers) that helps clients avoid common pitfalls. “It’s one thing to get the contract. It’s another to perform well on it,” he said, emphasizing post‑award support such as invoicing and contract performance practices that affect future ratings and eligibility for new work.

The interview included concrete examples: Thomas recounted entrepreneurs who secured an initial federal contract that allowed them to scale to multimillion‑dollar firms, and a woman‑owned company that, after correcting gaps in its certifications and marketing, grew substantially while working with an Apex Accelerator.

Thomas also discussed operational risks. He noted that federal funding and payment timing can be affected by events such as a federal government shutdown, advising businesses to maintain strong cash flow and a diversified customer base to withstand delays in government payments. The episode cited an approximate federal procurement scale of about $500–$700 billion annually; that figure was stated by the guest during the conversation and is presented here as the estimate given in the interview.

The interviewer remarked that “tech transfer is a contact sport,” a phrase Thomas echoed as he outlined plans for Napex to introduce Apex clients to FLC resources and industry‑lab matchmakers. Thomas said Napex lists FLC as a strategic partner on its website and will encourage Apex Accelerators to incorporate FLC resources when identifying clients with technologies that would benefit from lab‑to‑market connections.

What’s next: Thomas said Napex will continue training and expanding its national alliance — he described Napex as an alliance of roughly 90 Apex Accelerator programs with about 300 offices and over 650 trained staff — and to promote the Napex–FLC connection to help businesses recognize lab‑origin opportunities. The podcast directed listeners to show notes on federallabs.org for additional resources and next steps.