Built for Government: A GovTech Podcast Where Founders Tell the Real Story
Most GovTech content sounds the same. Press releases, pitch decks, and panel debates that circle the same talking points. Built for Government is a GovTech podcast built for the people doing the actual work - founders, operators, and the agency decision-makers evaluating public sector software. One host. One founder. One conversation that goes somewhere real.
What Built for Government Is - and What It Is Not
Built for Government is a one-on-one video podcast hosted by John Kitsmiller, founder of energizeGTM. Every episode is a single conversation between John and one founder building public sector software - whether that is municipal finance software, grant management software, public safety software, government compliance software, or anything in between.
There are no panels. No sponsors. No roundtable debates about where GovTech is headed. Just the real story behind a real company - how it started, what it took to build, where it is going, and what the founder learned along the way that nobody warned them about.
The audience is GovTech and LegalTech practitioners: founders building in the space, operators running sales and GTM, and the agency buyers and evaluators who work with public sector ERP software, government budgeting software, and related platforms every day. These are not observers. They are participants. They know when something is polished versus when it is true.
Who Should Be a Guest on a GovTech Podcast Like This
If you are building software for government - municipal finance software, water utility management software, fire department software, EMS management software, wastewater management software, public transparency software, contract management software for government, or any other public sector vertical - you have a story worth telling.
The right guests are founders and CEOs who have been through the work. You have navigated procurement. You have sold into agencies that move slowly and buy carefully. You have built something that makes government run better, and you have the scar tissue to prove it.
You do not need a media background, a polished narrative, or a PR team. You need a real story and a willingness to tell it honestly.
What a Built for Government Episode Covers
Every episode follows the same five-part structure. The conversation flows naturally - guests always know where they are in the discussion, and the structure gives the episode shape without making it feel scripted.
Your Company
Who you are, what you have built, and where the company stands today. This gives the audience context before you go deeper.
The Origin Story
Why GovTech, how the company started, and what problem you saw that nobody else was solving. This is usually where the most interesting material lives.
Product and Impact
What your platform does, what changes for agencies when they adopt it, and the outcomes that matter. Not the feature list - the real-world difference your public software makes in how agencies operate.
Hard Lessons
What building for government has taught you. What took longer than expected. What you would do differently if you were starting over. This section tends to be the one audiences remember most.
Where You Are Headed
The next 12 to 18 months. What you are building toward. Where the company is going. This gives the audience something to watch for and gives you a chance to put your direction on the record.
What the Recording Process Looks Like
The format is designed to be low-friction from the start.
- Format: One-on-one video conversation with host John Kitsmiller
- Length: 20 to 30 minutes published (recorded at 35 to 40 minutes to allow for editing)
- Recording: Remote via video call - no travel, no studio required
- Published on: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other major platforms, with short clips distributed on LinkedIn
- Prep required: None beyond reviewing a brief topic outline sent a few days before the recording
- Approval: You have a chance to flag anything before the episode publishes
Most guests are booked and recorded within two weeks of reaching out. No prep calls. No scripts. No rehearsals.
What You Walk Away With as a Guest
A Built for Government episode gives you a platform to tell the real story of your company - not the pitch deck version, not the press release version.
When your episode publishes, you receive:
- A full-length episode published on YouTube and distributed to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other major platforms
- Short-form clips - 45 to 90-second excerpts from your best moments - posted to LinkedIn
- Clip files delivered directly to you so you can post them on your own channels
- Distribution to John's LinkedIn following of GovTech and LegalTech founders and operators
Most guests walk away with two to three clips they continue using as LinkedIn content for weeks after the episode publishes. That is shelf-stable content from a single 35-minute conversation.
About the Host
John Kitsmiller is the founder of energizeGTM, a GTM strategy consultancy working exclusively with GovTech and LegalTech SaaS companies under $5M ARR.
He spent 25 years in enterprise and SaaS sales - including roles at Microsoft and Dell - before founding four companies of his own over a 30-year career. He spent nearly eight years selling SaaS directly into Prosecutor's Offices and public law agencies, which gives him a practitioner's understanding of what it actually takes to sell into government.
John is not a journalist or a media host. He is a founder and operator who has been in the same rooms you have been in. That background shapes how these conversations go. He asks the questions that matter to founders and operators - not the surface-level questions, not the PR-friendly questions. The audience can tell the difference, and so can you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Being a Guest
Who is the Built for Government podcast for?
Built for Government is built for GovTech and LegalTech professionals - founders building public sector software, operators running sales and GTM at those companies, and the agency decision-makers who evaluate and buy software. The audience lives in the same world the guests do, which makes the conversations substantive rather than superficial.
What kind of companies make the best guests?
Founders and CEOs building any kind of public sector software - municipal finance software, government compliance software, public safety software, grant management software, water utility management software, EMS management software, government budgeting software, public sector ERP software, and similar platforms. The common thread is that you have sold into government, navigated procurement, and built something that modernizes how agencies operate.
How much time does being a guest require?
The recording itself takes 35 to 40 minutes. You receive a brief topic outline a few days in advance so you know what is coming - no prep calls, no scripts, no rehearsal. Most guests are booked and recorded within two weeks of reaching out.
Do I have any control over what publishes?
Yes. You have a chance to review the episode and flag anything before it publishes. No surprises.
What is the difference between Built for Government and other GovTech podcasts?
Most GovTech podcast formats rely on panels or trend discussions. Built for Government is structured differently - one founder, one conversation, one complete story. The host is a GovTech sales practitioner and founder, not a journalist, so the questions come from inside the work rather than from the outside looking in.
Ready to Be a Guest on Built for Government?
If you are building public sector software and want a platform to tell the real story of your company, reach out directly. We will find a recording time that works, send a brief topic outline a few days before, and get your episode recorded and on its way to publication.
The conversation takes less than 40 minutes. The content lasts a lot longer than that.
