Focus lays groundwork for success

S4 Inc. specializes in informationdomain-based solutions and servicesfor Defense Department clients.The Burlington, Mass.-based companyreported $16.8 million in government contractingrevenue last year, up from $9.12million in 2006. Overall, S4 has registered a74.54 percent growth rate in the past fiveyears to rank No. 37 on the 2008 Fast 50 list.S4 provides services to DOD in twomajor domains, said Chandu Shah, presidentand chief executive officer. Enterpriseinformation technology support servicesinclude help desk, networking andengineering.The other domain is information effectssupport, "which is all the strategic communications,planning, policy and informationoperations,"he said.AlthoughBurlington ishome to S4's supportstaff, morethan half of thecompany's employeesare located at Wright-Patterson AirForce Base in Dayton, Ohio, and inArlington, Va. The rest are at Air Forcebases in Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts,Nebraska, Texas and Utah.Shah formed S4 in 1999 when he purchaseda five-person contractor that hadbeen partnering with Northrop GrummanCorp. and was looking for a buyer.As a result of the successful partneringwith Northrop Grumman and other contractwork, S4 won its first prime contract, a$7 million award from the Customs andBorder Protection agency, at the end of2001. Work began the next year, and "bythen, we had a couple of Air Force contractsthat we won as a prime contractor," he said.Small companies typically grow throughsubcontracts, but S4 began bidding earlyfor prime contracts. "If you're a prime,you're in control of how the contracts areperformed, how the contracts are sharedwith the team," he said.In addition to Northrop Grumman, S4now has ties with General Dynamics Corp.and Lockheed Martin Corp., in addition toseveral smaller companies.The company graduated from its 8(a)small-business status in May. Shah saidmany 8(a) companies struggle and fail aftergraduation because they depend too muchon the program and its sole-source contracts."I knew those danger areas early on,and so we were building a solid foundationhalfway into the program," Shah said.His best advice to new small companieshoping to win federal contracts is to stayfocused and network. "Work very hardand attend a lot of conferences," he said."That's where you meet the decision-makers."