Stop-work orders from government agencies to their partners in industry do not, in fact, entirely pause the business of federal contracting as companies have plenty to do as they prepare for the eventual reopening.

This episode featuring Stephanie Kostro, president of the Professional Services Council, begins with a guide of what typically happens next after contractors receive those orders to stop work and wait for the directive to resume.

From there, Kostro takes our Ross Wilkers through some of the basic action items that the trade association is recommending for its member companies and more with all eyes toward the shutdown’s inevitable end.

Ongoing conversations with lenders and financial institutions are must-dos for companies well before, and while, the invoice payments freeze. Finding people inside government to speak with on deliverables is becoming more difficult, as Kostro explains.

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All government shutdowns do end at some point, no matter how dark and gloomy things may feel, and all businesses are charged with navigating both today’s environment and positioning for tomorrow’s opportunity set.

But the shutdown is where we had to start this episode featuring John Caucis and James Wichert, public sector analysts at the market intelligence firm Technology Business Research. John and James overview how TBR is monitoring the situation and how federal contractors may have had some early practice amid the Department of Government Efficiency’s pushes for cuts.

The conversation with our Ross Wilkers then turns forward to a preview of the new 2026 federal fiscal year that may be starting out without funding for agencies, but will still have plenty of priorities to follow once they open for business.

Some of those priorities featured in the discussion: IT modernization, drives for efficiencies, where the dollars are flowing in civilian and defense programs, more outcome-based contracting and the search for one integrator to overhaul the U.S.’ air traffic control system.

Booz Allen Hamilton has invested in 17 startups since the launch of its venture capital fund in 2022, which initially had $100 million to work with and is now tripled in size to $300 million.

Matt Calderone and Brian MacCarthy, respectively chief financial officer for Booz Allen and its VC organization leader, join for this episode to explain why the firm expanded the fund and all that happens after the investment.

As they tell our Ross Wilkers, technologists at both Booz Allen and the startups it invests in collaborate closely to develop the solutions for usage by federal agencies at scale.

Calderone and MacCarthy also highlight how reindustrialization is a new area for Booz Allen Ventures, in conjunction with the core tech priorities that have defined the fund over three years.

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