During my time in private business, especially right after leaving government service, I was often told, “Why don’t you use your connections? Why don’t you get a government contract?” or they would say, “If you had the opportunity, would you refuse a juicy government contract?!”
Those who don’t know me may not believe it, but all my partners know that I consistently refuse to collaborate with the government because I used to be a government official, so it would be difficult for me to prove that I got the contract fairly.
Moreover, a business model built on cooperation with government agencies is extremely unstable. At least, in Kazakhstan. Sooner or later, the official with whom the business made agreements will change, and then all agreements will lose their force. Moreover, all contracts with the previous team will be subject to “scrutiny” by the new team. Such scrutiny can end in big troubles.
Therefore, to all startups who come to me for advice, I recommend avoiding business with the government (B2G). It’s much more promising to work with companies (B2B) or even better with citizens (B2C). Thousands of citizens won’t turn away from you at once, unlike one official.
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