SBIR/STTR Technical & Business Assistance
You Already Have
The Funding For This.
Most Founders Never Use It.
Every SBIR/STTR award sets aside federal dollars for exactly this kind of help. You get to choose who provides it. Warfighter Ready is a firm-selected Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) vendor for DoD SBIR/STTR awardees — built for defense and dual-use technology companies specifically, not a generic market-research shop working every industry at once.
What Most Founders Miss
You Can Choose Your
Own TABA Vendor.
Most SBIR/STTR awardees assume they're stuck with whatever vendor their agency defaults to. They're not. Federal law (15 U.S.C. § 638(q)) lets a small business select its own TABA provider — at no cost to the company, funded through the award itself. The catch most people never hear about: choosing your own vendor means including a short justification and a signed conflict-of-interest statement in your Phase II proposal. We help with that too.
Funded through your SBIR/STTR award. Not an out-of-pocket cost to your company.
Where You Are
TABA For Where
You're At.
Phase I
Up to $6,500Prove It's Real.
For SBIR/STTR Phase I applicants and awardees who need an early, honest read before committing another year of runway.
We focus on
Early warfighter and dual-use market validation, plus a scoped plan for what Phase II TABA support you'll actually need if you're awarded.
You walk away with
A directional validation read from real end users, and a Phase II readiness memo you can act on immediately.
Phase II
Up to $50,000Get It Funded. Get It Fielded.
For Phase II awardees who are past feasibility and need a real transition strategy — not just a bigger market report.
We focus on
Acquisition pathway and program-of-record strategy, deeper warfighter and dual-use validation, champion and stakeholder positioning, and regulatory/compliance transition readiness.
You walk away with
A named transition target, a documented pathway and timeline, and the positioning materials to make your case to the people who decide.
What We Actually Do
Four Capabilities.
One Outcome: Transition.
Warfighter & Market Validation
Before you spend another year building on an assumption, we help you get in front of real operators — and, if you're dual-use, real commercial buyers — to find out whether what you've built actually solves the problem the way you think it does.
Acquisition Pathway & Commercialization Strategy
Getting bought by the DoD is not a pitch competition, it's a budget cycle. We help you identify your realistic Program Executive Officer or Program Manager, understand where you sit in their POM cycle, and choose the acquisition vehicle — OTA, SBIR Phase III, CSO, or FAR — that actually fits your stage.
Champion & Stakeholder Positioning
The most technically correct pitch in the world doesn't move a budget line if it isn't in the language your champion already uses to defend it internally. We help you build that positioning — and the materials to carry it into the room.
Regulatory & Compliance Transition Readiness
ATO, CMMC, NIST — these requirements don't disappear because you're early-stage, they just get more expensive to fix later. We help you understand where you stand and close the gaps before they become the reason a transition stalls.
Choosing Your Own Vendor
We Help You Make
The Case — On Paper, Too.
Selecting a firm-selected TABA vendor instead of your agency's default means your Phase II proposal needs a short justification for the choice and clarity on the impact the TABA vendor enables. It's a small piece of paperwork, but it trips people up because nobody explains it.
We help you write that language as part of working with us.
Talk to Us About Your TABAWhat's Included
Your Guide
Built By Someone Who's Done This,
Not Studied It.
Warfighter Ready is led by Founder & CEO Patrick Byrne — a former Boeing Air Force One Program Manager, NATO DIANA Expert Defense Mentor, and NSSE Security Leader. The firm brings 20+ years of combined defense acquisition experience and has supported 80+ defense technology companies navigating the acquisition landscape, validated directly by uniformed operators, acquisition officials, and defense-technology investors.
UEID: K7DZUWA2J641 · CAGE/NCAGE: 14VP0
“What we're doing here, now, this is the future of readiness.”
Army Col during FIFA Field-Ready Range Days, Feb 11th, 2026
The Process
Four Steps.
No Off-the-Shelf Plans.
Scoping Call
We talk through your award, your stage, and (if you have one) your target program office. Nothing gets scoped before this conversation happens.
Custom Statement of Work
We build a TABA plan around your specific acquisition stage and technology — Phase I or Phase II, defense-only or dual-use — not a generic template.
Proposal Support
We help you write the vendor-justification and conflict-of-interest language your Phase II proposal needs to name us as your TABA vendor.
Execution
Once you're awarded, we get to work — validation, pathway strategy, positioning, or compliance readiness, depending on what your plan calls for.
Questions We Get
Common
Questions.
Can I really choose my own TABA vendor instead of my agency's default?
Yes. Federal law (15 U.S.C. § 638(q)) gives small businesses the right to select their own TABA provider. It requires a short justification and signed conflict-of-interest statement in your proposal — we help you write both.
Does TABA cost my company anything out of pocket?
No. TABA is funded through your SBIR/STTR award — up to $6,500 for Phase I, up to $50,000 for Phase II — not an additional expense on top of it.
What's the difference between Phase I and Phase II TABA?
Phase I TABA is intentionally lighter — early validation and a plan for Phase II. Phase II TABA is the full engagement: acquisition pathway strategy, deeper validation, positioning, and compliance readiness, sized for a company that's building toward an actual transition.
Do you handle intellectual property or patent work?
No — that's outside our lane, and we'll say so rather than overreach. We'll point you to qualified IP counsel if that's part of what you need.
What if my technology is dual-use, not defense-only?
That's most of who we work with. Federal law defines "commercialization" as reaching the Federal Government or commercial markets — we validate and position for both, not just the DoD side.
Do you only work with companies who join the Program of Record Playbook?
No — TABA and PoRP are separate engagements. That said, most of our TABA clients are exactly the kind of company PoRP was built for, and plenty join a future cohort once their Phase II work is underway.
What Comes Next
TABA Gets You Funded.
PoRP Gets You To Program Of Record.
TABA support is scoped to your award and your acquisition stage. If you're ready to go deeper — building the full credibility strategy across users, champions, and buyers — the Program of Record Playbook is our six-week cohort accelerator for exactly that next step.
Learn About the Program of Record Playbook →Validate your concept. Get honest user feedback.
Build the transition strategy. Name the target.
Execute full acquisition credibility — users, champions, buyers.
Let's Scope
Your TABA.
Tell us where you are — Phase I or Phase II, defense-only or dual-use — and we'll build a plan around it, not hand you a template.