SME Online Forum: Unlocking Public Sector Contracts for Technology SMEs

Jon Darby

Managing Director, BidCraft

“There must be a better way!” Those were the words that led me to form BidCraft. I wanted to put my 25 years of bidding experience in the tech sector to good use by helping others be the best bidders. 

What I love most about bidding is that it’s basically a competitive sport for business. The pain of losing and the joy of winning drives me to keep learning and help others. 

In 2022, I initiated the collaboration with the British Standards Institution (BSI) and the Association of Proposal Management Professionals (APMP) to develop PAS 360 – a freely accessible global code of best practice for bid and proposal management.

I'm a regular speaker at conferences, live events, and webinars. I’m also the proud recipient of APMP UK’s Industry Innovation award for introducing Pre-Mortems as a new bidding technique.

Eve Upton

Director, BidCraft

I make change. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it’s also led me to find things to fix my whole life. If you have a bidding capability in tatters, a set of framework documents that make your head hurt, or even a solution overview that needs beating into submission, then get in touch.

Growing up in EDS/HPE taught me the IT services business, so that’s my home turf for complex public sector bidding. My favourite tasks were those that involved leading change initiatives or bids across cultural and corporate boundaries.

I love presenting something to get people thinking. For me, that started with speaking at conferences — introversion is no barrier, people. I’ve even won awards for speaking (did I mention I’m competitive?) The community and shared therapy of the network got me hooked, and I now lend my expertise as a non-exec director for the bidding industry’s association.