In this episode of GovCon Unscripted, Chelsea sits down with Katie Bigelow, Founder & CEO of Mettle Ops, to talk about ethics, resilience, and the hard truths of competing in federal contracting.

Katie shares her journey from Army aviation to GovCon CEO, breaking down what it really takes to lead a mission-driven company, build customer trust, and stay resilient in a market where you lose far more than you win.

On this episode, we discuss:

• Why integrity, not shortcuts, drives long-term success
• How process protects culture, employees, and customers
• Army aviation, competition, and grit carried into entrepreneurship
• Losing ten times for every win and pushing forward anyway
• What it means to build a mission-driven small business in GovCon

Timestamps:

[00:00 ] – Introducing Katie Bigelow & Mettle Ops

[06:12 ] – Ethics, mission, and doing business the right way

[10:45 ] – Process, transparency, and fixing mistakes as a team

[17:00 ] – Grit, competition, and lessons from Army aviation

[19:20 ] – Losing ten times for every win in GovCon

[24:30 ] – Building resilience as an entrepreneur

[30:15 ] – What success really looks like inside a mission-driven company

Links and Resources:

• Chelsea’s LinkedIn Profile

• Katie Bigelow’s LinkedIn Profile

• Mettle Ops Website

🎧 Listen now on:

🔹 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/govcon-unscripted/id1766384482

🔹 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1NL0kFAvmgECLTJpUZYNHy

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