You need a lobbyist
The honest kernel: relationships matter, and knowing how an agency thinks helps. The part that is not true: nothing in the award process requires paid influence, and a contracting officer running a competitive solicitation is bound to evaluate what is in front of them against the stated factors, not who you know. What actually helps is showing up early, during market research, and being a known, credible name to the program office by the time the solicitation posts. That is relationship building. It is not lobbying, and it is free.
It is all wired for the incumbent
The honest kernel: incumbents win recompetes often, and that is real. They already know the requirement, already have past performance on this exact work, and often shape the market research that leads into the next solicitation. The part that is not true: wired implies the outcome is decided before the competition opens, and a recompete is still a real evaluation against real factors. Incumbents lose recompetes. The way to compete with an incumbent's advantage is to out-prepare it, not to assume the door is closed.
It is only for tech companies
The honest kernel: technology spending is large and visible, so it is what shows up in headlines. The part that is not true: the government buys almost everything a business can sell, construction, janitorial and facilities work, professional services, manufactured goods, logistics, food service, and far more. If a commercial customer would buy what you sell, some part of government very likely does too.
It is too much paperwork to be worth it
The honest kernel: registration has real steps, and a compliant proposal takes real, sometimes tedious work. Neither of those is a myth. The part that is not true is the conclusion, that the paperwork makes the return not worth it. Simplified acquisition and micro-purchase tier opportunities exist specifically because Congress wanted a lighter-paperwork path into this market for smaller businesses. The heaviest paperwork lives in the biggest awards, which were never the realistic first target anyway.
Small businesses cannot win
The honest kernel: a small business competing against a large one for an open, unrestricted award is a real uphill climb. The part that is not true: a large share of federal contract dollars is either set aside for small businesses outright or governed by a goal built specifically to get money to them, and most of what a small business needs to compete for was never a fight against large businesses in the first place. The businesses that do not win are usually the ones that stopped watching, not the ones that were too small to begin with.