How Meroxa Turned Government Contracts Into a Growth Engine: A Playbook for B2B Startups

Most startups avoid government contracts like the plague. The paperwork alone is enough to send founders running. But in a recent episode of Category Visionaries, DeVaris Brown, CEO of Meroxa, revealed how government contracts became their secret weapon for sustainable growth.

Starting Small, Thinking Big

Meroxa’s government journey began with the Air Force and Space Force, but their strategy wasn’t to land massive contracts immediately. Instead, they focused on proving their capability to handle complex data challenges. As DeVaris explains, “We’ve just shown time and time again that we can handle very complex, esoteric data formats and things and do it in real time and get it into formats that machines and humans can leverage to go do their job.”

This approach led to a surprising discovery: “The government is such a good place, especially Department of Defense, as a source of business. There’s so many problems that could get solved, and there’s a big pot of gold at the end of every one of those rainbows.”

Breaking Through Bureaucracy

The common narrative about government contracts focuses on their complexity. DeVaris doesn’t deny this reality: “It just takes time. It’s more paperwork than you probably have ever done in your entire life, but at the end of the day, it’s all worth it. And if you do a great job, they will be your biggest advocate for you.”

The key is viewing bureaucracy not as a barrier but as a filter that eliminates less committed competitors. This perspective shift has helped Meroxa turn government contracts into a sustainable growth engine.

Building Credibility Through Scale

One unexpected benefit of government contracts is the instant credibility they provide. As DeVaris notes, “If you wonder about scale, a single flight generates so much data per second, we’re handling billions of records… You can’t fake scale, right? You can’t fake complexity.”

This proven ability to handle government-scale challenges becomes a powerful selling point for commercial clients. When potential enterprise customers question a startup’s ability to handle their scale, having NASA as a reference customer tends to end that conversation.

Expanding Beyond Defense

A common misconception is that government contracts mean defense contracts. DeVaris challenges this view: “The government isn’t just defense… Department of Energy, that’s at the federal level, right? Like there’s state and local and municipal and county. There’s so many different ways that you can get involved in it.”

This breadth of opportunity has shaped Meroxa’s growth strategy. DeVaris projects their revenue split will be “60% to 70% government, 30% to 40% commercial” in the coming years, showing how government contracts can become a foundation for sustainable growth.

The Execution-First Mindset

Perhaps the most counterintuitive aspect of Meroxa’s success is their focus on execution over traditional startup metrics. DeVaris advises: “Just get in and do great work and don’t pay attention to timelines and what other competitors are doing… Just go in and do your job and do it at the best levels because it’s literally a faucet that never stops flowing.”

This execution-first mindset has helped them stand out in an environment where many companies quote “multiple years and all this resource” for similar projects.

Future Growth Strategy

Looking ahead, Meroxa isn’t planning to reduce their focus on government contracts. Instead, they’re using their government success as a foundation to build multiple billion-dollar verticals across both government and commercial sectors.

For startups considering this path, DeVaris’s experience suggests that government contracts, while challenging, can provide a stable foundation for growth. The key is viewing the initial complexity not as a barrier but as an opportunity to build a sustainable competitive advantage.