The Operator,
On Stage
Practical talks on procurement literacy, supplier diversity, technology delivery, and accountable workflows, grounded in verified operating experience across enterprise technology and public-sector procurement.
Procurement Is a System.
Learn the System.
Every year, government at every level buys more goods and services than any customer on earth, and most small firms never sell them a dollar's worth. Not because the work is beyond them, but because the system was written in a language nobody taught them. This keynote walks the room through government contracting the way an operator learned it: registration, certification, the bid, the debrief, the relationship, and the discipline of staying in the game long enough to win it. Built from the real path of a firm that went from a standing start to a certified MBE with delivered government engagements in two states.
What the audience leaves with
A plain-language map of the procurement system: who buys, how they buy, and where a small firm's first realistic entry points are.
The certification stack explained honestly: what MBE, 8(a), and registration actually get you, what they don't, and the order to pursue them in.
The operating habits that separate firms that win eventually from firms that quit: bid cadence, debrief discipline, and past performance as a compounding asset.
Working Sessions
Your First Government Contract
A hands-on walk from zero to bid-ready: SAM.gov registration done right, UEI and NAICS codes demystified, certifications worth pursuing by state and city, reading a solicitation without drowning, and a live anatomy of a real small-business bid. Built for chambers of commerce, small business development centers, APEX Accelerators, and supplier diversity programs.
- Registration and certification, step by step
- How to read a solicitation in 20 minutes
- Bid / no-bid decisions that protect your time
- What a winning small-firm proposal looks like
Designing Accountable Workflows in a Lean Firm
A practical session on separating repetitive workflow steps from decisions that require context and accountability. Participants map one process, identify the evidence each decision needs, and define the point at which the process must stop for review.
- Separate repetitive steps from judgment
- Attach evidence to important decisions
- Name one accountable owner
- Define stop and review conditions
On Air
The 99% problem: why most small businesses never bid on government work, and what would change if they did.
One firm, two buying environments: what government and commercial markets teach a technology operator about requirements, speed, evidence, and buyer risk.
Building software for your own industry: what shipping Winrove, OpsTicket, and OnboardIQ taught a services founder about product.
The MBE journey, honestly: what minority business certification actually opens, what it doesn't, and how to work the difference.
Booking Details
| Speaker | Olufela "Lu" Fagbure, Founder & Director, IT Custom Solution LLC |
| Based | New York. Available for travel and virtual sessions. |
| Formats | Keynote (30 to 45 min), workshop (90 min to half day), panel, fireside, podcast. |
| Audiences | Small business and supplier diversity programs, chambers of commerce, procurement and industry associations, founder communities, universities. |
| A/V | Standard: lavalier or handheld microphone, HDMI for live demonstrations during workshops. |
| Emcee intro | "Our speaker is the Founder & Director of IT Custom Solution, a multi-practice technology firm serving government and commercial buyers. Please welcome Lu Fagbure." |
Select "Speaking or Advisory" in the inquiry form. Every serious request is reviewed personally.