Testimony of Euripides Rubio, Ops Tech Alliance — Senate Small Business Committee, May 19, 2021

Summary

Written testimony of Euripides Rubio, President & CEO of Ops Tech Alliance (OTA), to the United States Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship on May 19, 2021, for a hearing titled Realizing the Vision of Parren Mitchell – Untapping the Potential of Minority and Women Contracting. He describes OTA as a Maryland-based SBA 8(a) and service-disabled veteran-owned small business and recounts its growth, including delayed payments from large prime contractors, an SBA 7(a) loan, the 8(a) program and incubator and accelerator training. The testimony states that without PPP the company would not be operating. It closes with recommendations: raise and enforce small business contracting goals, train contracting officers, expand accelerator programs, monitor prompt payment within 15 days and change the protest process.

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Realizing the Vision of Parren Mitchell – Untapping the
     Potential of Minority and Women Contracting




                    Testimony of


               Euripides “Ruby” Rubio

                President & CEO, OTA



                        to the



  Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship

                United States Senate




                     May 19, 2021
Testimony of Euripides “Ruby” Rubio
President & CEO
Ops Tech Alliance (OTA)

Good morning Chairman Cardin, Ranking Member Paul, and Distinguished Members of the
Committee. My name is Euripides Rubio, and I am the President & CEO of Ops Tech Alliance
(“OTA”) – a 100% Hispanic and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned business located in Bowie,
Maryland. As a Minority and an advocate for service-disabled veterans in business, thank you
for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion of how we can best tap the incredible potential
of our country’s minority and women contractors.


Ops Tech Alliance background

Ops Tech Alliance (OTA), a Maryland based company, is a certified SBA 8(a) Small
Disadvantaged Business (SDB) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
(SDVOSB) founded by a former Intelligence and Special Operations professional. The company
was formed with a single focus: to bridge the gap between operations and cyber technology in
the United States’ Government Department of Defense (DoD), Intelligence Community (IC), and
Law Enforcement Agencies (LEA). We provide mission-focused training, specialized
cybersecurity products, and support services to those government elements that require
experienced operators to support their mission.

OTA achieved a position on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in
America for three years in a row in 2018, 2019, and 2020. We also made the 2021 Inc. 5000 DC
Metro area list. The company staff has over 75 years of combined operational experience. We
are currently executing contracts providing professional services, cybersecurity products, and
training support to various National Security elements in the US Government.

With the increasing cyber threats to our nation, our backgrounds and operational experience
allow us to consistently produce superior operating results and provide an increased level of
support to our clients.


The beginnings

I grew up in an underprivileged environment, but with a strong mother who got us out of the
projects and kept us on track. She taught me to be tough and constantly encouraged me to
learn and do well in school, which led me to the Pre-Med program at the University of Puerto
Rico. Due to financial constraints, I had to drop out. I moved with my mother and younger sister
to Florida, where I decided to join the Army. I was that guy who couldn’t wait to jump out of
planes for the $50 dollars a month the recruiter offered me. But I ended up doing a lot more than
jumping out of planes—I stayed in the Army for 23 years with a career in Intelligence and
Special Operations.

After my retirement, I worked for a couple of companies in contracts supporting national security
missions. This was the perfect fit for me. I had found a way to continue serving my country as a
civilian. These roles gave me insight into what the next phase of my life could be, and the
answer was in entrepreneurship. After 23 years of action in the military, I was itching to do
something that got my adrenaline going again, something daunting and challenging. Starting a
new business was just what the doctor ordered. I started researching SBA resources online,


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went to my local SBA rep, and, in 2012, registered OTA in Maryland. A year later, I invested all
of my retirement savings into OTA and took the daunting, challenging leap of faith. The timing
was unfortunate, though, and not long after (in 2013) the US Government entered a Shutdown.
To be honest, looking back, I faced many bloodcurdling situations in my previous military career,
but this was scarier than any of them. I was in the initial stages of operating a small business
that I had already invested my savings into. Statistically, I was already expected to fail. But now,
absent the possibility of government contracts - I was alone and vulnerable. Even banks were
not a viable option; I was a risk to them, and I knew it. I was terrified, but more motivated than
ever before. I considered my life—how I grew up and the challenges I was exposed to as a
minority—and knew I would not allow for defeat.


Financial reality

By 2014, I was on more stable ground. I had acquired enough money from friends and family to
hire OTA’s first employee. This was a big step for me. Now I had people—in this case a friend
and his family—for whom I was responsible. In this same year, we got into our first service
subcontract, which added three more employees. So, by the end of 2014, I was responsible for
four families, not to mention my own. That motivated me to work even harder. This was a
significant year for OTA in terms of initial growth. But with that growth, the need for cash
became more critical. One of the biggest hurdles I faced was delayed payments by large prime
businesses. In other words, I was not going to receive payment for my services until at least 45
to 60 days after I submitted my invoices. Of course, my employees could not wait 45 to 60 days
to be paid, nor could my bills or overhead. It was a frustrating situation—even when we had
good contracts, we struggled for cash. To this day, I know this is an issue small businesses
struggle with. The current law doesn’t enforce the monitoring to ensure small businesses are
receiving prompt payment within 15 days, thereby giving fledgling small businesses more
breathing room. It is essential for the continued growth of small businesses that large prime
businesses be required to pay for services rendered within 15 days. Paying faster would not be
a burden on larger businesses, considering they are more likely to receive payments from the
government and to have larger lines of credit. But it would make a world of difference for small
businesses.

During the process of growing the company, I made mistakes, but also learned a lot of lessons.
One of those lessons was how important it is to have a good relationship with a financial
institution. Through my network, I was introduced to a bank that eventually provided us with an
SBA 7(a) loan and established a line of credit. This was a big life saver, but honestly I had no
idea these loans were available until the bank brought it up. At this stage of growing the
company, I had less time to do research and attend business training. I was unsure of what
resources were available to me and of how to find them. There was so much that required my
focus inside the company—creating and implementing processes, rules, and policies,
performing HR functions, maintaining accurate and compliant financials, etc.—that it would have
been impossible to focus equally on what I needed to know outside of the company. This is an
issue that many other business owners face as their companies start to grow. Simply put: these
small busines owners don’t know what they don’t know. Increased awareness and training on
how to take advantage of government resources should be available to them.




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Competitive Landscape

The Federal Contracting space is a highly competitive market and is currently hampered by
limited budgets, inadequate opportunities for minority small businesses and frequent contract
award protests, which is becoming a norm and needs to be addressed.

As we searched for opportunities, I found it more difficult to penetrate the federal contracting
market as a small business, so in 2015, I decided to apply for the 8(a) program. We were
approved for the program, but I found that the reality was not what I expected. Our current
clients were not familiar with the 8(a) program, so they hesitated to use it. There was lack of
awareness, training, and resolve for the government to use the 8(a), at least in my line of work,
so I ended up in the same position where I started.


Small Business Resources

We needed resources for mentorship, training, office space, and collaboration with similar
companies, so we started searching for some sort of business incubator. That’s how we
connected with Lisa Smith at the Bowie Business Innovation Center (Bowie BIC) in 2017. They
provided us with all of the above plus the Bowie BIC 8(a)-accelerator program, which brought
not only training and mentoring, but people we could talk to and ask questions about how to use
the program more efficiently. I regret receiving my 8(a) certification prior to this training, because
their resources opened my eyes to areas and functions I should have been paying attention to
from the beginning. Therefore, time and money were wasted during those years.

In the same year, we were accepted to the Veteran Institute for Procurement (VIP) growth
program. This was another great program, managed by Barbara Ashe, where we had very
valuable training and networking with other veteran-owned companies as well as government
contacts.

Without question, these two programs gave us a lot of insight into areas of our business and
client landscape that I couldn’t find anywhere else. I strongly believe that the government should
make it a requirement for small businesses to receive such training, even before they receive
certifications like an 8(a), SDVOSB, or others. I believe this will increase the success of small
businesses but also increase the confidence of US government clients so that small businesses
will be better prepared to execute their contracts. Both sides win.


In conclusion

We are a small company, but not afraid of the challenge. As a small business we have a lot
more flexibility, cost efficiency, and innovation than a large business. As a minority- and
veteran-owned small business, we have more grit, savvy, and experience overcoming obstacles
than a large business. However, the competitive landscape for minority small businesses is
extremely volatile. And of course, I am not even addressing the devastating effects that COVID-
19 had on small business and financial resources. If it weren’t for PPP, I would not be sitting
here talking to you as an operating company.

I believe these are some key steps that, if implemented by the committee, would have the
largest impact on minority small businesses:


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      Increase and enforce the contracting goals of the federal government and large prime
       contractors for small businesses, 8(a) firms, SDVOSBs, WOSBs, and HUBZone
       companies.

      Increase training for Contracting Officers on the actual process for utilizing resources like
       8(a), SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.

      Expand access and require minority businesses to graduate from programs like the
       Bowie BIC 8(a) accelerator and VIP.

      Establish monitoring to ensure that federal agencies and especially large prime
       contractors promptly pay minority small businesses within 15 days.

      Change the protest process. Protests are devastating the procurement system and
       wasting money and opportunities for minority small businesses.

Thank you, Distinguished Members of the Committee, for your time and attention to these
issues. Minorities and women are clearly in the spotlight now and I recommend focus on these
matters more than ever. I am honored to be here to speak on their behalf. I am ready for any
questions you may have.




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