The Real Cost of Chasing Federal R&D the Old Way

Federal R&D funding is non-dilutive and abundant. So why is it so expensive to pursue? Because the traditional stack is built for big primes, not small businesses.

What the old way actually costs

• Opportunity monitoring services can run $5,000 a month — and most just send a keyword-matched feed with no human judgment.
• Proposal consultants typically take 10% of your award. A $1M Phase II means $100,000 out of your check — or a heavy monthly retainer instead.
• A dedicated BD hire is $90,000 to $150,000 a year fully loaded, plus the months it takes to find and ramp them.
• And the hidden cost: your best engineer pulled off the product to write proposals.

The math, re-priced

RFP Pipeline replaces that entire stack:

• Expert-curated monitoring for $299/month — not $5,000.
• Proposal builds for a flat $999 (Phase I) or $1,999 (Phase II) — no success fee, ever. On a single Phase II award, you keep the $100,000 a consultant would have taken.
• Your business-development department, without the headcount.

More shots on goal

Lower cost per proposal means you can submit more proposals. More submissions — each one higher quality as your library and AI improve — compounds into more non-dilutive capital over time.

See the full pricing, or why it works.