What does it take to become an Elev8 GovCon Honoree? We caught up with some of the leadership at two-time recipient FedWriters – Mitchell Cho, Founder and CEO; Marc Fain, Chief Revenue Officer (CRO); and Communications Manager Abigail Casas – to find out more about this company’s unique start, its success at retention and growth, and about its culture of giving back.
A Unique Start
From its roots as a proposal and technical writing company, FedWriters has grown over time and expanded its capabilities and now boasts 300 plus employees, $40M in revenue, and impressive past performance supporting key Federal agencies including DOD, US Coast Guard, DOJ, NIST, and USAID, more than 80 in total.
“We support of the good and important work of the Government,” said CEO Mitchell Cho. “It’s about doing things that matter, from a security perspective, a scientific perspective, and general citizen well-being. Supporting the Government as a force of good also allows us to attract and retain like-minded professionals in our workforce.”
Communication Throughline
That view of important work means for every FedWriters employee, there is a story they are telling, a message they want to deliver. Attracting communication experts and then giving them important stories to tell, the what and the why, both in the hire and the team’s output, is critical.
“Post-2010 there were very specific writing and publication guidelines established that we are masters of—such as the Plain Language Act, Privacy Act, NARA guidelines and more, and we bring a breadth, depth of the experience and an ability to champion clear, compelling, and compliant communication.”
FedWriters has also embraced AI, NLP, and machine learning by turning this know-how into internal tool sets to enhance its services. “We’ve developed internal tools that enable us to condense a 300-page report into clean, clear text. This allows citizens to feel more connected to where their tax dollars are going and get excited about what’s happening,” said CRO Marc Fain. We want people and citizens to know what the government is doing, what the National Science Foundation is doing, what NASA is doing, what NOAA is doing because it’s really cool stuff and people should know about it and be able to read about it.”
Commitment to Community
As FedWriters continues its growth, giving back to the community that it works and lives in, the communities that support it, is critical. “We talk about being Fairfax grown so we’ve committed as a corporate partner with George Mason University’s Costello College of Business and are working with multiple departments to help grow future workforces, donating funds, resources, and time. We engage with students, sharing information and imparting knowledge about the industry and government contracting.”
“We recently undertook an event packing meal-kits for students in Fairfax to make sure they have weekend meals so they can focus on school, on friends, on not worrying about food security.” Cho also serves as the Chair of the Fairfax City Economic Development Authority, where he provides input on his experiences working in Fairfax City and helping other entrepreneurs start and grow in the city.
Retention and Growth
FedWriters’ ability to offer meaningful and exciting projects is a strong draw for both new and existing employees. Beyond that, being part of a growing team that offers diverse projects, the ability to grow in your field, and to do work that makes people happy, drives both attraction and retention.
“We believe in the goodness of government and what government does is a force for good,” said Cho. “We support impactful projects like agriculture and food security programs around the world for USAID, NOAA’s climate monitoring efforts, and innovative initiatives in the field of aeronautics communication at NASA. The work we do improve the lives of Americans, and you can’t really get a more noble mission than that.”
FedWriters continues to thrive by aligning its mission with the values of its team members and the needs of the communities it serves. It’s no wonder the company has become a standout in the GovCon space, combining exceptional communication, innovative technology, and a heartfelt commitment to making a difference.
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