You can't just "reach out". There's a complex procurement process for government contracts. The companies that get contracts are usually those who are best at navigating the bureaucracy, not those who are the best at creating the product. Most of these companies have been in this business for a long time. It would take years for a startup to figure out how to get these contracts and build up the contacts in the bureaucracy necessary for it to actually happen.
this is very short sighted. hire a contracts person away from one of the big contractors, or get a recently retired contracts person as a consultant. other startups do this, you can too. odds are low they'll relocate to SF though, maybe they should work remotely ;)
The "contracts person" is one link in the chain. The far more important and relevant links--the ones with the connections and personal relationships with people in the government who award these contracts. One of the reasons government contracting is the wasteful, corrupt mess it is is because it's an extension of the rest of politics in Washington: a machine designed to move taxpayer money into the hands of the connected and already-wealthy.
Having a "contracts person" may slightly increase one's chances of getting smaller contracts. Having the right pedigree is the almost the only thing that matters with contracts as big as the web of HealthCare.gov contracts, and no startup is going to be able to offer a level of financial or intangibles compensation to pull those with the right pedigree away.
"One does not simply walk into government contracting."
Seriously, it's a really involved thing. E.g. you need competent, domain experienced lawyers, there's massive amounts of law and regulations to follow. I've seen it at various levels, including working closely with a small firm's lawyer who e.g. got many of its products on the GSA catalog.
