How to Find a Teaming Partner with OryonIQ Orbit

Finding a teaming partner is easier when you know exactly what you bring and what gap you need filled. OryonIQ Orbit suggests potential partners based on your company profile and tells you why each one fits. This guide walks through the process from a new account to a first conversation, and then shows you how to check a partner before you sign anything.

Quick answer: Create a free OryonIQ account, complete your profile with your company, position, state and primary NAICS code, then review the partners Orbit suggests and the reasons each one fits. Send a connection request to the strongest matches, use the built-in chat once they accept, and verify the partner on SAM.gov and in its award history before you commit.

What you need before you start

Before you open Orbit, gather four things: your NAICS codes, your certifications, a current capability statement, and a target opportunity or market. These tell you what you offer and what you are missing. Without them, you will judge matches on instinct instead of on the gap you are trying to close.

• NAICS codes. Know your primary NAICS code and any secondary codes you hold in SAM.gov. Your primary code is one of the profile fields Orbit uses for matching, so pick the one that best describes the work you want to win.
• Certifications. List any SBA certifications you hold, such as 8(a), HUBZone, Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB/EDWOSB) or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). A certification is often what makes you attractive to a larger partner, and what you look for in a smaller one. If you are working toward 8(a), see our 8(a) certification guide.
• Capability statement. Have a one- or two-page summary of your core capabilities, past performance, differentiators and company data (UEI, CAGE code, NAICS). It is the first thing a serious partner will ask for.
• A target opportunity or market. Teaming works best around a specific pursuit: a solicitation, a recompete, or an agency you are focused on. If you have not picked one yet, our playbook on mapping targeted GovCon pursuits shows how to narrow your focus first.

Write down the gap in one sentence before you look for anyone. For example: "We have the cybersecurity staff but no past performance with this agency," or "We are the prime but need a HUBZone firm for a set-aside requirement." That sentence is your filter for every match you review.

Step by step: finding a partner in Orbit

The process has six steps: create a free account, complete your profile, review your matches and the reasons behind them, send connection requests, talk in chat, and verify the partner before committing. The first four happen in Orbit. The last step uses public federal data and the award data in Polaris.

1. Create a free account

Sign up for OryonIQ at app.oryoniq.com. A free plan is available and no credit card is required. Use your work email and the details of the company you will be teaming as, so the matches you get reflect that business rather than a personal profile.

2. Complete your profile

Orbit's matching relies on four profile fields: your company, your position, your state and your primary NAICS code. Fill in all four, and fill them in accurately. A missing or vague field gives Orbit less to work with and gives potential partners less reason to accept your request.

• Company: use your legal or registered business name, the same one that appears in SAM.gov, so partners can find and verify you.
• Position: state your actual role. A partner deciding whether to talk to you wants to know if you can make teaming decisions.
• State: enter where your business is based. Location matters for on-site work, state and local bids, and HUBZone considerations.
• Primary NAICS code: choose the code for the work you want to team on, not just the one you have used most in the past.

If your focus changes, for example you start pursuing a different market, update your primary NAICS code so your matches follow your strategy.

3. Review your matches and why each one fits

Orbit suggests teaming partners and explains why each match fits. The reasons draw on signals such as aligned NAICS codes, contract overlap and geographic relevance. Read the reason, not just the company name. It tells you whether the match is useful for the gap you wrote down earlier.

Use your gap sentence to sort the matches:

• Aligned NAICS codes can point to a partner who does the same work and can add capacity, or to a potential competitor. Decide which you need.
• Contract overlap suggests the partner already works in the same space or with the same buyers, which can bring relevant past performance or customer knowledge.
• Geographic relevance matters when the work is performed on site, or when the requirement favors local firms.

The OryonIQ team can also suggest connections, so the list you work from is not limited to automated matches. Shortlist three to five partners rather than contacting everyone.

4. Send a connection request

Send a connection request to each partner on your shortlist. Treat the request as a first impression: the other company is deciding whether you are worth their time, just as you are. A profile that is complete and accurate does a lot of that work for you.

Prioritize the matches where the reason for the fit lines up most closely with your target opportunity. If a request is not accepted, move on to the next match on your list rather than waiting.

5. Start the conversation in chat

Once a partner accepts your request, you can message them through Orbit's built-in chat. Keep the first message short and specific. Say who you are, which opportunity or market you are pursuing, what you bring, and what you are looking for. Offer to share your capability statement.

Good early questions include:

• Are you tracking this opportunity, and do you plan to bid as a prime or a sub?
• What past performance do you have with this agency or this type of work?
• Which certifications and set-aside eligibility do you hold?
• What share of the work would you expect to perform?

If the conversation goes well, move to a call and exchange capability statements. Keep sensitive pricing and technical details for after you have a non-disclosure agreement in place.

6. Check the partner before you commit

Before you sign a teaming agreement, verify what the partner has told you. Three checks cover most of it: their SAM.gov entity registration, their certifications, and their federal award history. All three use public data, and you can review award history alongside your pursuit in Polaris.

• SAM.gov entity search. Use the entity information search on SAM.gov, which is available without an account. Confirm the company's registration is active and check that it has no active exclusions. An inactive registration or an exclusion is a serious problem for any federal pursuit.
• Certifications. If the partner claims an SBA certification, confirm it in the SBA's Small Business Search (formerly the Dynamic Small Business Search), which shows certified firm profiles.
• Award history. Look up the partner's past contracts in FPDS and USAspending award data. Polaris brings FPDS and USAspending award data into the same search you use for opportunities, along with DSBS small business data, so you can see which agencies the partner has worked for and in which NAICS codes. You can also search USAspending.gov directly.

Once the checks are clean, put the relationship in writing. Our guide to teaming agreements and joint ventures covers the main structures and what to include.

What makes a good match

A good teaming match fills a specific gap in your bid, has past performance you can verify, holds the eligibility the opportunity requires, and is someone you can work with day to day. A partner that only repeats what you already have adds names to the proposal but rarely adds strength.

• Complementary capability. The partner covers work you cannot perform yourself, or adds capacity you lack. This is where Orbit's match reasons help most.
• Relevant past performance. Look for contracts with the same agency or similar scope, confirmed in the award data rather than taken from a slide.
• The right eligibility. For a set-aside, check that the team's structure meets the rules for that set-aside. Our guide to FAR Part 19 and small business set-asides explains the basics.
• Clear roles. Agree early on who primes, who subs, and roughly what share of the work each party performs.
• Working fit. Responsiveness in the first conversations is a fair preview of how the partner will behave during proposal deadlines.

Some of the best partners are also your competitors on other bids. Our post on competimates covers how to team with them on one pursuit without giving away the next. For a broader look at why relationships matter in GovCon, read your network is your net worth.

Frequently asked questions

Is Orbit free?

OryonIQ offers a free plan with no credit card required. Check the app for which Orbit features each plan includes.

How does Orbit decide which teaming partners to suggest?

Orbit uses your profile, including your company, position, state and primary NAICS code, and explains why each match fits using signals such as aligned NAICS codes, contract overlap and geographic relevance. The OryonIQ team can also suggest connections.

What should I include in my first message to a potential teaming partner?

Say who you are, which opportunity or market you are pursuing, what you bring and what gap you are trying to fill. Keep it short, offer to share your capability statement, and suggest a call if there is a fit.

How do I check a teaming partner before signing a teaming agreement?

Confirm the partner has an active registration and no exclusions in the SAM.gov entity search, verify any SBA certifications in the SBA Small Business Search, and review its federal contract history in FPDS and USAspending award data, which you can search in Polaris.

What is the difference between a teaming partner and a joint venture?

A teaming arrangement usually means one company primes and the other subcontracts under a teaming agreement. A joint venture is a separate arrangement in which the partners bid together as one entity. Each has different rules, especially for set-asides.