# Speaker Kit · Olufela "Lu" Fagbure _For conference organizers, summit programmers, and podcast bookers._ _Positioning: the operator helping small and minority-owned businesses win government contracts._ _Audit-aware: no em-dash, no banned vocabulary, no fabricated proof._ **IMPORTANT framing:** This kit lists **available topics**. It makes **no claim of prior stages, prior keynotes, or past speaking engagements.** Every item below is offered, not back-referenced. Do not add a "featured at" or "as seen on" line until a real, verifiable engagement exists. **Booking contact:** lu@itcustomsolution.com · (646) 671-3399 · New York, NY **Web:** felafagbure.com --- ## 1. Speaker positioning paragraph Olufela "Lu" Fagbure is the Founder & Director of IT Custom Solution LLC and an operator working where procurement, technology delivery, and responsible automation meet. His background spans more than a decade in enterprise technology and IT consulting. His sessions are practical, evidence-based, and clear about what has and has not been proven. --- ## 2. Intro one-liner for emcees > Please welcome Lu Fagbure, founder of IT Custom Solution and the operator who helps small and minority-owned businesses win government contracts. --- ## 3. Signature keynote **Title:** _Built To Be Left Out: How Small And Minority-Owned Firms Actually Win Government Contracts_ **Description (200 words):** Most small businesses never bid on government work. The standard explanation is that they are not ready, not big enough, or not connected enough. Lu Fagbure argues the real reason is simpler and more fixable: public procurement was built for firms that already have a full-time proposal team, and most small and minority-owned firms do not. The system is not rigged so much as it was never designed with them in mind. In this keynote, Lu walks an audience of small-business owners through what actually separates the firms that win from the firms that never bid. He draws on founding IT Custom Solution, earning NYC and NMSDC MBE certification, registering on SAM.gov, and completing competitively awarded public-sector technology-supply work. He is specific about what certifications get you, how to read a solicitation for the points that matter, and where bids quietly lose. The session reframes government contracting from a closed door into a method and sends every owner home with a short, concrete list of moves they can make this week. **Three takeaways:** 1. Why "we are not ready yet" is usually the wrong diagnosis, and what the real gap is. 2. What an MBE certification, a SAM.gov registration, and one well-read solicitation actually unlock. 3. The handful of places bids lose points, and how a small team avoids each one. --- ## 4. Workshop topics ### Workshop A: _Your First Government Bid: SAM.gov, Certifications, And One Solicitation_ A hands-on working session for owners who have never bid, or who tried once and stalled. Lu takes the room through the concrete entry path: setting up and getting right on SAM.gov, choosing which certifications are relevant and what each one gets you, with an honest distinction between NYC and NMSDC MBE certifications held today and the SBA 8(a) application submitted in 2026, and reading a real solicitation end to end to find the requirements that decide the award. Participants leave with a personalized first-bid checklist and a clear next action. Format: 90 to 120 minutes, capped for working interaction. ### Workshop B: _Designing Accountable Workflows In A Lean Firm_ A working session on separating repetitive workflow steps from decisions that require context and accountability. Participants map one process, identify the evidence each decision needs, name the accountable owner, and define the point at which the process must stop for review. The session stays focused on governance and operating design rather than exposing any company's internal systems. Format: 90 minutes. --- ## 5. Podcast-ready topics ### Topic 1: "Procurement is a language" **Angle:** Why technical capability and procurement literacy are different, and how a small firm learns to translate requirements into a credible, defensible response. Good for founder-journey and small-business shows. ### Topic 2: "What certifications actually get you" **Angle:** A myth-busting conversation on MBE, 8(a), and NMSDC: what each one really unlocks, what it does not, and why honesty about pending versus certified matters. Good for procurement, supplier-diversity, and minority-business audiences. ### Topic 3: "Remove friction, not accountability" **Angle:** How a lean firm uses software to organize repetitive work while keeping evidence, judgment, and accountability visible. Good for product, founder, and technology shows. ### Topic 4: "One firm, two buying environments" **Angle:** What government and commercial markets teach a multi-practice technology firm about requirements, speed, evidence, and buyer risk. Good for founder, procurement, and technology shows. --- ## 6. Session descriptions (program-ready blurbs) **Keynote, program blurb:** > Most small businesses never bid on government work, and the reason is structural, not a lack of ability. Lu Fagbure, founder of IT Custom Solution, breaks down how small and minority-owned firms actually win public contracts: what certifications get you, how to read a solicitation, and where bids quietly lose. Practical, honest, and built to be acted on the same week. **Workshop A, program blurb:** > A hands-on first-bid working session: SAM.gov, the right certifications, and reading one real solicitation. Owners leave with a personalized checklist and a clear next move. **Workshop B, program blurb:** > A practical workshop for mapping one workflow, preserving the evidence behind decisions, and keeping accountability clear in a lean firm. --- ## 7. A/V and logistics **Format options:** keynote (30 to 45 min), keynote plus Q&A (60 min), workshop (90 to 120 min), fireside or panel, remote or in person. **A/V needs:** - Wireless lavalier or headset microphone (handheld acceptable for panels). - Confidence monitor preferred for keynote; not required. - HDMI or USB-C to the house system; Lu presents from his own laptop. Backup PDF of slides provided in advance. - 16:9 projection or screen. Clicker or advancer if available. - For remote sessions: a stable link, screen-share enabled, and a tech check 15 minutes prior. **What Lu brings:** his own laptop, clicker, and a backup of slides. A short bio, headshot, and session description are available in this kit and in the press kit. **What the host provides:** the A/V above, a run-of-show with timing, and the names and titles for the intro.