Prepared tackled the slow GovTech market by providing its initial product for free. This strategy bypassed cumbersome procurement, built a large user base, and established the credibility needed to overcome the authority of entrenched, larger competitors.

In government sales, you know you have a winning product when the relationship evolves beyond a vendor-customer dynamic. The key signal is finding a 'singular champion' on the government side who gets the vision, believes in it, and works to shepherd it internally, matching your team's own excitement for the project.

Unlike private sector products that target specific demographics, government digital services must cater to an extremely diverse user base, including people with low income, no permanent address, and vast age differences. This necessitates a rigorous, non-assumptive approach to user research and accessibility from the outset.

Selling to government is counterintuitive for impatient founders. Government can't fail or be disrupted in the same way. The winning strategy is to first solve an urgent, existing problem within their constraints, build trust, and then gradually introduce broader innovation.

A common B2G sales mistake is focusing solely on the end-user. In government, users rarely have decision-making authority. The key is to understand the distinct needs of the user, the budget holder, and the ultimate decision-maker, and align your pitch with the decision-maker's high-level mission.

Unlike private companies seeking product-market fit within a specific segment, designing digital public infrastructure (DPI) requires a different mindset. The goal is creating a level playing field that enables *everyone* to participate and allows markets to innovate on top.

In government, digital services are often viewed as IT projects delivered by contractors. A CPO's primary challenge is instilling a culture of product thinking: focusing on customer value, business outcomes, user research, and KPIs, often starting from a point of zero.

Product teams often build on modern, powerful devices. In the public sector, users have varied access to technology. Success requires designing for older hardware, slower connections, and less tech-savvy users, ensuring accessibility for the most vulnerable populations.

By first helping government agencies craft regulations, a startup gains deep expertise and credibility. This naturally leads to high-value inbound interest from private sector firms needing help complying with those same regulations, creating a powerful two-sided market flywheel with built-in demand.