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GovDash is a software program as a service (SaaS) platform that leverages synthetic intelligence to streamline the complete enterprise improvement lifecycle for presidency contracting corporations. GovDash supplies every part wanted to assist groups win extra contracts from figuring out alternatives, guiding by the seize course of, constructing compliance matrices, annotating outlines, writing proposals earlier than delivering the ultimate product right into a Microsoft Phrase doc. Contractors can go from discovering a possibility to operating compliance and producing a high-quality proposal in a matter of days.
In accordance with Sean Doherty, CEO and co-founder of GovDash, authorities contracting companies usually depend on a “seize crew” to determine alternatives then develop potential options. Historically, it takes weeks to consolidate data and even longer for proposals groups to then create a proposal. With the GovDash platform, proposal managers can make the most of its built-in AI assistant to get the mandatory information into the platform, which then incorporates the info because it generates the proposal. Moreover, GovDash’s Phrase Assistant can create graphics to help the narrative, probably saving hundreds of {dollars} in comparison with hiring third celebration designers.
Enhancing compliant paperwork and proposals with Azure OpenAI
GovDash is constructed on the Azure OpenAI Service, leveraging its superior capabilities to optimize operations. On the inception of their Optical Character Recognition (OCR) pipeline, GovDash employed Azure Doc Intelligence to extract ground-truth textual content from PDF paperwork. This then undergoes a collection of automated prompts to wash and remodel it right into a usable format.
Spanning a number of US areas, the GovDash platform makes use of Azure’s OpenAI service and features a customized load balancer to handle fee limits and distribute workload successfully. This infrastructure has resulted in a major discount in error charges and latency in comparison with the OpenAI first-party API.
GovDash’s system integrates quite a few chained prompts to generate detailed outlines and compliance matrices, that are subsequently fed into a sophisticated Retrieval-Augmented Technology (RAG) content material era circulate. This course of manages hundreds of thousands of enter and output tokens per proposal processing tons of of hundreds of thousands of tokens every day. This structure empowers GovDash to ship extremely detailed and compliant proposals, enhancing service supply to authorities contractors.
Keep away from fashionable options by constructing for long-term use circumstances
In comparison with different corporations creating comparable options, Doherty believes the constructive reception to their product comes right down to their capacity to go deep into the federal government contracting workflow by leveraging fashions and information.
“Different corporations which have tried to do that, they’re extra like prompting engines the place they’ll say to their clients: ‘Hey, exit and discover these directions right here, copy after which paste them in’ after which the product will write one thing for you,” Doherty explains. “GovDash is extra like an worker. It takes the solicitation and does the heavy lifting up entrance then checks in together with your crew in any respect crucial factors. We’ve executed some work to have the ability to get this to work.”
As with all good concept on the market, it took time to plan and create the GovDash. Based alongside Timothy Goltser and Curtis Mason, each of whom are board members of GovDash, Doherty and firm started their founder journey by presenting concepts to family and friends who work within the authorities contracting business.
“A variety of our household mates are federal contractors, primarily within the IT companies house and, mainly, we went to them pitching concepts they usually they usually nearly shook us and mentioned: ‘No, hear, the primary downside that now we have is our capacity to get compliant and compelling proposals out the door with restricted sources,’” Doherty tells Microsoft for Startups. “Not solely as a result of there’s so much that goes into that course of, so it’s very tedious, however as a result of it instantly limits the quantity of income that they’ll herald.”
As keen as persons are to capitalize on the AI craze, Doherty advises founders to concentrate on constructing merchandise in areas the place the workflows are so sophisticated that fashions alone can’t do them. This strategy is especially essential for aspiring entrepreneurs who purpose for long-term success somewhat than short-term features.
“It’s just like the Web gold rush; everybody’s attempting to get in and toss stuff on the wall,” Doherty says. “We had a really strict set of standards for what we did right here. And since we didn’t need to go down the trail of constructing one thing and having it blown up as fashions bought higher.”
Doherty elaborates additional, saying: “I’ve seen a whole lot of mates from Y-Combinator as properly, the place they constructed one thing that’s fixing an issue within the quick time period. However in case you extrapolate out with fashions turning into a extra performant, is that also a use case?”
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