Archon growth playbook

Prerender every route to static HTML at build time, so each page is a real file with status 200. Use the framework's static export, or a prerender step that writes /blog/index.html, /privacy-policy/index.html and one file per post. Give every page its own title, meta description and canonical tag. The homepage title should say what Archon does (for example "Archon: FedRAMP compliance automation for software companies"), not just the brand name. Add sitemap.xml and robots.txt, submit them in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools, and add Organization and SoftwareApplication structured data. Then check that each page returns 200 with its text visible without JavaScript.

Search engines and AI answer engines rank what they can fetch. Today the only thing they can read is the brand name, so every post and claim Archon writes does nothing for search. Fixing the status codes and serving HTML turns the existing blog into search traffic. It costs a few days of engineering and no ad spend, at the moment the 20x deadline is sending vendors to search for help.

[ ] curl -I https://archon.inc/blog returns 200, not 404
[ ] curl -I https://archon.inc/privacy-policy returns 200
[ ] Raw HTML of every page contains its headline and body text
[ ] Homepage <title> says what Archon does, not only "Archon"
[ ] Unique meta description and canonical tag on every page
[ ] /sitemap.xml lists every public URL
[ ] /robots.txt references the sitemap
[ ] Organization + SoftwareApplication JSON-LD
[ ] Search Console and Bing verified, sitemap submitted
[ ] CI fails on any non-200 public route

• Prerendered pages drift from what the app shows

  Prerender during the same build that deploys the site, so they never diverge.

• Thin pages get indexed but don't rank

  Pair the fix with the 20x content in ideas 2 and 8.

• Your websiteCrawl check (November 9-10, 2026, repeated on www and with a trailing slash): a reader that does not run JavaScript gets only the title "Archon" from the homepage; /blog and /privacy-policy, both linked from the homepage, answer HTTP 404; /sitemap.xml and /robots.txt also return 404; a web search for site:archon.inc returned no archon.inc pages.Source
• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source
• Site researchSite setup: domain registered January 13, 2025; hosted on GitHub Pages; Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and PostHog installed; no trust center found.Source

Rewrite the hero around the decision buyers face now: which 20x class they need, and how Archon's SDK and environment get them there. Lead with Archon's real advantage, controls shipped as code. Restate the time claim against 20x (from first commit to a submitted package), add a short "Rev5 or 20x?" explainer under the hero, and update the YC profile and the docs to match.

Buyers judge a vendor on whether it understands the current rules. A 20x-native message makes Archon current, and it gives the content in ideas 8 and 21 a home.

• An unproven new time claim

  Only state numbers you have reached with a customer; otherwise describe the steps.

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source
• Competitor researchKnox Systems: "FedRAMP in 90 days for 90% less"; "See all 18 ATOs"; named customer results such as Kovr.ai ("75% faster compliance readiness").See the research Source
• Competitor researchVanta: "FedRAMP simplified for a faster path to Certification"; requirements organized by 20x certification classes; Vanta Government Cloud on AWS GovCloud; labelled "FedRAMP 20x Class C Certified".See the research Source

Host the booking on archon.inc/demo with an embedded calendar and three questions: target class or impact level (Low, Moderate, unsure), cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP), and whether there is an agency sponsor or a deal waiting on authorization. Send a confirmation email from archon.inc, track the booking as a conversion, and route the answers to the founder's prep notes.

Fewer hops and a familiar domain lift booking rates, and the answers let a three-person team prepare a specific call instead of a generic one.

• Questions reduce bookings

  Keep it to three, all optional except email.

• #1 Let Google and AI assistants read archon.inc: the blog and privacy pages answer 404 to crawlers and there is no sitemap

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• Site researchSite setup: domain registered January 13, 2025; hosted on GitHub Pages; Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and PostHog installed; no trust center found.Source
• Y CombinatorProfile: Winter 2025 batch, founded 2024, team of 3, San Francisco: "We help software companies sell to government."; claims FedRAMP cut from 16 to 6 months and about $1M saved per company; three open engineering roles.Source

Publish a current release with an updated README: what the mock covers, how it maps to 20x controls, a five-minute example and a "talk to us about your package" link with UTM tags. Point the npm homepage and repository fields to a public repo or to archon.inc/docs, fix the reference page, and add a changelog. Add an opt-in postinstall message or a docs signup that lets teams ask for a readiness review.

Developer interest is the cheapest pipeline Archon has. A live, maintained package converts those downloads into conversations and shows buyers the product is active.

• Making the repo public exposes work in progress

  Publish only the mock SDK; keep the environment SDK private.

• npm@archon-inc/sdk: 10 versions (1.0.0 to 1.0.9), all published between January 17 and January 27, 2025; 228 downloads from October 10 to November 8, 2026; the package's listed GitHub homepage returns 404, and the public GitHub organization shows two repositories, last updated in June 2025.Source
• Your websiteSDK reference (archon.inc/sdk): TypeDoc pages for @archon-inc/sdk, described as a "mock" implementation for testing integrations before the compliance process begins, replaced at runtime by the Environment SDK; the page shows search as not available and the module list as "Loading...".Source
• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source

Make /docs a real home: what Archon covers (NIST 800-53 at FedRAMP Moderate, mapped to 20x), a 15-minute quickstart (install the SDK, run the mock container, see compliant auth and audit logs), a page listing the controls the SDK covers, a FAQ and a path to the deploy stage. Update the copyright and link docs from the main nav.

Technical evaluators decide whether a vendor is credible from its docs. A working quickstart makes the "about a week to integrate" claim believable.

• Docs go stale

  Update them in the same pull request as each SDK release.

• #4 Republish the SDK: 228 developers a month still download a package last updated in January 2025

• Your websiteDocs: the /docs landing page is titled "Hello from Archon Docs" and holds only a logo and two links; the single guide (Getting Started/Overview) describes three stages, Integrate, Deploy and Audit and sell, targets NIST 800-53 at FedRAMP Moderate and offers audit partners "at a discount"; footer copyright 2025.Source
• Your websiteSDK reference (archon.inc/sdk): TypeDoc pages for @archon-inc/sdk, described as a "mock" implementation for testing integrations before the compliance process begins, replaced at runtime by the Environment SDK; the page shows search as not available and the module list as "Loading...".Source
• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source

Convert the hero and logo images to AVIF or WebP at display size, lazy-load anything below the fold, set long cache lifetimes for static files, add accessible names to icon buttons, enlarge touch targets, and fix the console error. Re-run PageSpeed and aim for accessibility of 95 or more.

A lighter page loads fast on agency networks and phones, and a clean accessibility score is one less objection from a public-sector reviewer.

• Images look worse

  Check quality on retina screens before shipping.

• Google PageSpeedHomepage (November 10, 2026): mobile performance 97 and desktop 100, so speed is not the problem; but the page downloads 10.8 MB, 10.4 MB of it images, with about 9.6 MB to save from image delivery and 9.5 MB from cache lifetimes; accessibility 84 (buttons without an accessible name, touch targets too small); one browser console error; no real-visitor data yet.Source

Label the row clearly (for example "Our team has worked at" if that is what it shows) and move it next to a short founder bio. Then add real proof: one quote from a design partner or customer, a count of packages in progress, or an advisor or 3PAO partner who agrees to be named.

Clear, honest proof builds trust with a cautious buyer faster than ambiguous logos, and it protects Archon from questions about implied endorsement.

• Customers won't be named

  Use an anonymized quote with the company's sector and size.

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• Competitor researchParamify: "Automate Compliance, Manage Risk, Build Trust."; one data model across FedRAMP, CMMC, SOC 2, DoD ATO and GovRAMP; holds FedRAMP 20x Class C; "3 days to value"; a large customer logo wall, a CDW case study, testimonials and a pricing page.See the research Source
• Competitor researchKnox Systems: "FedRAMP in 90 days for 90% less"; "See all 18 ATOs"; named customer results such as Kovr.ai ("75% faster compliance readiness").See the research Source

Build a 12-question check: data types, agency users, cloud, existing SOC 2, logging, MFA, vulnerability scanning and deployment pipeline. It returns the likely class, the top five gaps and which gaps the SDK and environment close. The report is emailed and offers a 20-minute review. Prerender a results-explainer page so it ranks for "FedRAMP 20x class".

A personalized gap report is the most useful thing a confused buyer can get this year, and it captures intent at the moment of re-planning.

• Wrong class advice

  Label it as guidance, and confirm on the call.

• The rules change

  Date the tool and review it when FedRAMP updates its rules.

• #1 Let Google and AI assistants read archon.inc: the blog and privacy pages answer 404 to crawlers and there is no sitemap

• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source
• Your websiteDocs: the /docs landing page is titled "Hello from Archon Docs" and holds only a logo and two links; the single guide (Getting Started/Overview) describes three stages, Integrate, Deploy and Audit and sell, targets NIST 800-53 at FedRAMP Moderate and offers audit partners "at a discount"; footer copyright 2025.Source
• Competitor researchParamify: "Automate Compliance, Manage Risk, Build Trust."; one data model across FedRAMP, CMMC, SOC 2, DoD ATO and GovRAMP; holds FedRAMP 20x Class C; "3 days to value"; a large customer logo wall, a CDW case study, testimonials and a pricing page.See the research Source

Publish three packages: SDK (free); Readiness (fixed fee: gap assessment, policies and documentation drafts); and Authorization (fixed fee or a starting price: compliant environment, package preparation, audit coordination with partner discounts), with continuous monitoring as a monthly add-on. Show what is included, typical timelines and what is not included (3PAO audit fees). Add a cost calculator comparing a typical do-it-yourself budget with Archon's.

Transparent pricing pre-qualifies leads and shortens procurement for a small team that can't afford long discovery calls.

• Pricing too low for complex scopes

  Use "from" prices with clear scope limits.

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• Competitor researchstackArmor: "100% Controls Coverage for FedRAMP ATO"; says its accelerator reduces ATO time and cost "by 40%"; "over 40 ATO projects"; "firm-fixed pricing" and "100% cost transparency".See the research Source
• Competitor researchParamify: "Automate Compliance, Manage Risk, Build Trust."; one data model across FedRAMP, CMMC, SOC 2, DoD ATO and GovRAMP; holds FedRAMP 20x Class C; "3 days to value"; a large customer logo wall, a CDW case study, testimonials and a pricing page.See the research Source

With one customer's permission, publish a timeline: when they installed the SDK, when they deployed to the compliant environment, when documentation was drafted, when the audit started and when the package went in. Include engineer-hours spent and a quote. If no customer can be named, publish it anonymized with sector and size.

Concrete dates make the speed claim believable, and the page doubles as a sales asset and a search page for "FedRAMP timeline".

• The customer can't be named because of their own government deals

  Anonymize the story and keep the dates.

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• Competitor researchKnox Systems: "FedRAMP in 90 days for 90% less"; "See all 18 ATOs"; named customer results such as Kovr.ai ("75% faster compliance readiness").See the research Source
• Y CombinatorProfile: Winter 2025 batch, founded 2024, team of 3, San Francisco: "We help software companies sell to government."; claims FedRAMP cut from 16 to 6 months and about $1M saved per company; three open engineering roles.Source

Publish a fair guide, "Three ways to get FedRAMP in 2026", and one comparison page per rival: who each route suits, where your code runs, lock-in, typical cost and timeline, and what the vendor shows publicly (20x Class C, ATO count). Date each page and cite the rivals' own pages.

Comparison searches are late-stage. Framing the choice by route instead of by feature puts Archon's real difference, no lock-in and controls in your own code, at the centre.

• Claims go out of date

  Date the pages and link sources.

• #1 Let Google and AI assistants read archon.inc: the blog and privacy pages answer 404 to crawlers and there is no sitemap

• Competitor researchParamify: "Automate Compliance, Manage Risk, Build Trust."; one data model across FedRAMP, CMMC, SOC 2, DoD ATO and GovRAMP; holds FedRAMP 20x Class C; "3 days to value"; a large customer logo wall, a CDW case study, testimonials and a pricing page.See the research Source
• Competitor researchKnox Systems: "FedRAMP in 90 days for 90% less"; "See all 18 ATOs"; named customer results such as Kovr.ai ("75% faster compliance readiness").See the research Source
• Competitor researchVanta: "FedRAMP simplified for a faster path to Certification"; requirements organized by 20x certification classes; Vanta Government Cloud on AWS GovCloud; labelled "FedRAMP 20x Class C Certified".See the research Source
• Competitor researchstackArmor: "100% Controls Coverage for FedRAMP ATO"; says its accelerator reduces ATO time and cost "by 40%"; "over 40 ATO projects"; "firm-fixed pricing" and "100% cost transparency".See the research Source

Publish trust.archon.inc with Archon's own controls: how the SDK is built and signed, vulnerability scanning and SBOMs for each release, data handling in the environment, subprocessors, the status of any audits (say only what is true), and a security contact. Gate detailed reports behind an NDA request. Later, offer the same trust center as a feature for customers.

A compliance vendor that shows its own posture shortens customer security reviews and earns credibility no headline can.

• Overstating certifications

  State status precisely, such as "in progress" or "planned".

• Site researchSite setup: domain registered January 13, 2025; hosted on GitHub Pages; Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager and PostHog installed; no trust center found.Source
• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source

Formalize two or three assessor and advisor partners. List them on archon.inc/partners with what the discount is, and agree a two-way referral: they send vendors who aren't ready to Archon; Archon sends ready packages to them. Add a co-branded readiness checklist and a quarterly joint webinar.

Partners see pre-audit vendors long before they search. A named partner list also adds third-party credibility.

• Assessor independence rules

  Keep referrals to introductions; check each assessor's own independence policy.

• Your websiteDocs: the /docs landing page is titled "Hello from Archon Docs" and holds only a logo and two links; the single guide (Getting Started/Overview) describes three stages, Integrate, Deploy and Audit and sell, targets NIST 800-53 at FedRAMP Moderate and offers audit partners "at a discount"; footer copyright 2025.Source
• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source
• Competitor researchstackArmor: "100% Controls Coverage for FedRAMP ATO"; says its accelerator reduces ATO time and cost "by 40%"; "over 40 ATO projects"; "firm-fixed pricing" and "100% cost transparency".See the research Source

Use "GovRAMP (formerly StateRAMP)" across the site, and publish a GovRAMP page: how it relates to FedRAMP 20x, how the SDK and environment cover both, and a short readiness checklist. Target software vendors whose first public-sector buyers are states, cities and universities.

State and local deals are often a startup's first government revenue, and matching the program's current name is free relevance.

• Mixed terminology in state laws

  Mention both names, as the program itself does.

• #1 Let Google and AI assistants read archon.inc: the blog and privacy pages answer 404 to crawlers and there is no sitemap

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• GovRAMPStateRAMP announced its rebrand to GovRAMP in February 2025; the program now operates as GovRAMP, with both names still used in some state policies.Source
• Competitor researchParamify: "Automate Compliance, Manage Risk, Build Trust."; one data model across FedRAMP, CMMC, SOC 2, DoD ATO and GovRAMP; holds FedRAMP 20x Class C; "3 days to value"; a large customer logo wall, a CDW case study, testimonials and a pricing page.See the research Source

Publish a short weekly note: one 20x change, what it means for a startup, and one action. Post it on the blog (prerendered), on LinkedIn and as an email newsletter, with a signup on every page and in the docs. Link Archon's LinkedIn and X accounts from the footer.

A steady, expert voice builds an audience that turns into demos when each company's deadline comes, and every post adds a page to the now-crawlable site.

• Founder time

  Alternate writers between the co-founders.

• #1 Let Google and AI assistants read archon.inc: the blog and privacy pages answer 404 to crawlers and there is no sitemap

• Your websiteHomepage (checked November 10, 2026): H1 "Sell your software to the government"; description "Save 10 months and $1M on FedRAMP certification. Archon automates federal software compliance so you can sell to government faster."; a logo row of State, NIST, HHS, NASA and Y Combinator with no testimonials or case studies; no pricing page; "Book a Demo" links to a Notion page; footer copyright 2025; the site mentions SOC 2, FedRAMP and StateRAMP; no newsletter, live chat or social links found.Source
• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source
• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source

Package the ticketing system as Archon Monitor: it pulls findings from scanners and the SDK's audit logs, opens tickets with deadlines tied to the relevant controls, tracks fixes, and produces the monthly evidence and trend charts 20x expects. Sell it monthly to customers after authorization, and later to vendors authorized elsewhere.

One-off authorization revenue becomes a subscription, and customers stay because their monitoring history lives in Archon.

• Too much scope for a small team

  Start with only the monthly evidence pack.

• HiringSoftware Engineer, Full Stack (San Francisco, $120K-$170K): build a scalable, secure ticketing system for incident and workflow management with API integrations to third-party services; React, Node, Postgres and TypeScript; Keycloak, Auth0, Okta or Azure AD; mentions FedRAMP, DoD SRG, DISA STIG and NIST 800-53.Source
• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source

Publish a small set of hardened base images (for example Alpine, Node, Python and Postgres), rebuilt automatically, with scan results, SBOMs and STIG checklist results shown per image. Each image page links to the readiness check and the environment. Keep enterprise features, such as FIPS-validated builds and support, for paying customers.

Engineers pull hardened images long before procurement starts; making Archon's name part of their build pipeline creates inbound demand at the source.

• Maintenance burden

  Start with three images and automate everything.

• Overstating compliance

  Publish the scan and checklist results, not a guarantee.

• HiringSoftware Engineer, Security (San Francisco, $120K-$170K): hardening containers and applications to DISA STIG, automated container build processes, vulnerability scanning and DAST/SAST; offensive security experience such as CTFs.Source
• HiringFounding Engineer, Infrastructure (San Francisco, $130K-$210K, 0.50%-1.50% equity): build highly available systems for orchestrating software deployment across multiple production environments; Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm, Jenkins and Docker on Azure and AWS; TLS, x509 and FIPS; US citizenship required.Source

Ask the people on demo calls what language they use, then ship the next SDK (most likely Python or Go) with the same mock-first pattern, the same docs quickstart and the same control mapping. Publish it to that language's package registry with a tagged link back to the readiness check.

Each new language opens another population of developers to the free first step that already draws hundreds of downloads a month on npm.

• Splitting a small team

  Generate shared parts from one specification.

• #4 Republish the SDK: 228 developers a month still download a package last updated in January 2025

• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source
• HiringFounding Engineer, Infrastructure (San Francisco, $130K-$210K, 0.50%-1.50% equity): build highly available systems for orchestrating software deployment across multiple production environments; Kubernetes, Terraform, Helm, Jenkins and Docker on Azure and AWS; TLS, x509 and FIPS; US citizenship required.Source
• npm@archon-inc/sdk: 10 versions (1.0.0 to 1.0.9), all published between January 17 and January 27, 2025; 228 downloads from October 10 to November 8, 2026; the package's listed GitHub homepage returns 404, and the public GitHub organization shows two repositories, last updated in June 2025.Source

Package an "AI to government" track: a landing page on what AI prioritization means under 20x, a checklist for AI-specific concerns (logging of prompts and outputs, data boundaries, access control), SDK examples for audit-logging AI requests, and a cohort-style programme with fixed dates and pricing. Promote it inside YC and to AI startups with public-sector customers.

A specific segment with a regulatory tailwind converts better than "any software company", and cohorts make a three-person team's delivery predictable.

• The prioritization rules change

  Base the offer on AI controls, not on the queue advantage.

• #8 A free "Which FedRAMP 20x class do you need?" readiness check that ends in a booked call

• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source
• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source

Turn the ask into a standing programme: a short archon.inc/intro page for YC and investor networks, a fixed thank-you (for example a credit toward the next engagement, or a donation), a one-line description founders can forward, and a free 30-minute "is FedRAMP worth it for you?" call for anyone introduced.

Warm introductions from peers convert far better than cold outreach, and a standing offer keeps the network sending them after launch week.

• Low-fit introductions

  Ask one qualifying question on the form.

• Launch YCLaunch post by the co-founders: a free SDK, Node.js only, with compliant-by-default authentication, logging and access control; about a week to integrate; FedRAMP condensed into four steps (integrate, self-serve onboarding and documentation, audit, federal approval); claims about $1M (roughly two-thirds) saved and 16 months cut to 6; government IT is 20% of the US software market; asks for introductions to companies that want to sell to government.Source
• Y CombinatorProfile: Winter 2025 batch, founded 2024, team of 3, San Francisco: "We help software companies sell to government."; claims FedRAMP cut from 16 to 6 months and about $1M saved per company; three open engineering roles.Source

Build a regularly updated tracker from FedRAMP's public announcements and marketplace: authorizations by class and month, average time from submission to authorization where public, and the key dates ahead. Add a short monthly commentary and an embed others can cite. Use only public data and cite each source.

A data page becomes the reference journalists, assessors and AI assistants cite, building links and authority that no single blog post earns.

• Data errors

  Link every number to its public source, with an update date.

• #1 Let Google and AI assistants read archon.inc: the blog and privacy pages answer 404 to crawlers and there is no sitemap

• FedRAMPFedRAMP 20x: "The pilots are over. FedRAMP 20x is here to stay." Class B (Low) and Class C (Moderate) are listed as available now; the Moderate pilot's first authorizations came on March 6, 2026, and AI-prioritized offerings and GRC tools were among those let in; FedRAMP will stop accepting new Rev5 certifications on June 11, 2027; a lesson learned: "Trending validation data over time promotes confidence in a provider's security program."Source
• Your websiteCrawl check (November 9-10, 2026, repeated on www and with a trailing slash): a reader that does not run JavaScript gets only the title "Archon" from the homepage; /blog and /privacy-policy, both linked from the homepage, answer HTTP 404; /sitemap.xml and /robots.txt also return 404; a web search for site:archon.inc returned no archon.inc pages.Source