Entrepreneurs Need a Big Partner to Do Business with the Government
In a blow to Workhorse, U.S. Postal Service awards billion-dollar truck contract to Oshkosh and Ford
The first COVID-19 vaccine on the market was developed by BioNTech and nurtured through the FDA and sold to the Federal government by their partner Pfizer. From the White House in July 2020, the President of the United States said,
We think we have a winner.
Holy mackerel. BioNTech could not have pulled that off. Someone at Pfizer earned their annual bonus. Entrepreneurs should take notice of how BioNTech did that. I know I have. My company has a smartphone health screening platform. I have been seeking a big company partner to help us navigate all the government toils and snares necessary to bring our product to market.
From electric cars to solar energy and especially to space travel, no entrepreneur in America benefits more than Elon Mush from markets where the government is either the major customer or highly subsidizes other customers. In describing his contributions to politicians, Musk said,
In order to have your voice be heard in Washington, you have to make some little contribution.
That is one of the few times that Musk has ever been understated. Musk doesn't have a big company partner, but he is a rootin' tootin' social self-promoting phenom like few others. He is also a great engineer and an exceptional entrepreneur. Depending on the day he is the richest person in the world. He is as anomalous in this as he is in many other things.
Given the stratospheric valuation of Tesla, I have been looking for another entrepreneurial company more realistically valued that will benefit from the electric vehicle explosion that is occurring. I have had my eye on Workhorse, which purchased General Motors electric truck factory in Lordstown, Ohio. That seems like a great niche market for an entrepreneurial company to thrive. Workhorse was in the running to build the United States Postal Service’s new generation of mail trucks. That would have been huge.
Yesterday it was announced that the U.S. Postal Service awarded a multibillion-dollar, 10-year postal delivery vehicle contract to Oshkosh Defense.
Oshkosh had teamed up with Ford Motor Co. on its proposal based on a transit van. I was sick to my stomach reading that. For once procrastinating saved my bacon.
Like Pfizer, Ford used their credibility and relationships to deliver the government order. Entrepreneurs alone aren’t in a fair fight.
Musk said,
I haven’t found Washington to be as… as coin-operated as some people may assume.
He would say that. The government is a massive customer of his. But that’s not the way it looks from my perch.
Maybe, though, it’s a great time to invest in Workhorse. You gotta know when to hold them, know when to fold them, know when to walk away, know when to run…
