What Winning Strategies Washington does

Winning Strategies Washington (WSW) is an independent, bipartisan federal government relations and grants procurement firm founded in 2001 and headquartered at 409 7th St NW in Washington, DC. The firm provides a full range of government affairs services to clients seeking to influence federal policy and secure federal funding, including direct lobbying, strategic counsel, policy analysis, regulatory expertise, crisis management, intelligence gathering and monitoring, and Hill Day/Fly-In management. WSW also operates a dedicated grants practice that identifies federal funding opportunities, develops proposals, arranges direct connections with funders, cultivates congressional support, and creates new funding streams through legislative channels. Its federal marketing practice helps clients secure GSA schedules, navigate contract negotiations, and identify strategic teaming partners for federal procurement.

The firm operates as a professional services boutique with a 24-person team citing 8+ decades of combined experience. WSW serves clients across defense, healthcare, higher education, telecommunications, energy, life sciences, and behavioral health sectors. Service delivery is through direct, personalized engagements led by senior professionals — not a tech-enabled or productized platform. The firm monetizes through professional service fees with individualized scopes of work rather than standardized or publicly disclosed pricing, and it does not generate any disclosed software, SaaS, or technology revenue.

WSW's competitive position rests on bipartisan credibility (combining Republican and Democratic experience), Capitol Hill pedigree (former Chiefs of Staff, Committee Staff Directors including Nancy Fox's tenure as Republican Staff Director of the House Appropriations Committee), and embedded relationships across Appropriations, Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, HELP, Finance, and key federal agencies (HHS, CMS, FCC, EPA, DOD). The firm is privately held under partnership-style ownership, with Donna Mullins as Chair and Michael Merola as Managing Partner, and has no external investors, parent company, or disclosed funding rounds. It participates in the Winning Circle of Companies network alongside Princeton Public Affairs Group, Princeton Strategic Communications, and O'Donnell & Associates.

Name

Winning Strategies Washington

Legal name

Winning Strategies Washington

Website

https://wswdc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Winning Strategies Washington is an independent, bipartisan federal government relations and grants procurement firm founded in 2001, providing direct lobbying, strategic counsel, and federal marketing to defense, healthcare, higher education, and other sector clients seeking to influence federal policy and secure funding.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Relations & Lobbying Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Management Services (8741)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Affairs, Government Relations & Lobbying (BPAFADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Intergovernmental Affairs & Federal Grants Administration (BPAIAAAC)

Keywords

• Federal lobbying services
• Government affairs consulting
• Grants procurement services
• Public policy advocacy
• Regulatory affairs consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Relations Services: WSW provides a full range of government relations services including direct lobbying, strategic counsel, crisis management, and government marketing. Revenue is generated through professional service fees charged to clients seeking federal government relations representation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Winning Strategies Washington is an independent, bipartisan federal government relations and grants procurement firm that helps organizations build and sustain a presence in Washington, DC to advance their policy and funding priorities. The firm delivers direct lobbying, strategic counsel, crisis management, grassroots and grasstops advocacy, federal grants identification and proposal development, federal marketing and GSA schedule procurement, and Hill Day/Fly-In management services.

Product overview

Winning Strategies Washington (WSW) is a federal government relations and grants procurement firm that provides professional services rather than software products. The firm offers a suite of integrated consulting services including Government Affairs (direct lobbying, strategic development, policy analysis, regulatory expertise, intelligence gathering, crisis management), Grassroots and Grasstops Management, Grant Services (identifying opportunities, proposal development, funder connections, congressional support cultivation), Federal Marketing (opportunity identification, GSA schedule procurement, contract negotiations, strategic teaming), and Hill Day/Fly-In Management. These services are delivered by experienced professionals and are not structured as separate branded products or modules but rather as an integrated service offering focused on helping clients advance their policy and funding priorities in Washington, DC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Federal Government Relations Services Full-service federal advocacy offering that develops policy and budgetary priorities for each client and plans and executes lobbying, regulatory engagement, monitoring, and crisis response activities to advance proposals into law and influence federal decision makers.
• Grassroots and Grasstops Management Services Outreach offering that designs and executes advocacy campaigns, including letter-writing, email, social media, and phone call mobilization, as well as grasstops leader identification and stakeholder education to influence federal policymakers.
• Grant Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Multiple millions of dollars secured through competitive grant process for clients

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Princeton Public Affairs Group (PPAG)minorOthersWSW is a member of the Winning Circle of Companies, which includes PPAG - America's largest state government affairs firm. This affiliation provides cross-referrals and shared resources among affiliated government relations firms.
• Princeton Strategic CommunicationsminorOthersWSW is affiliated with Princeton Strategic Communications, a full-service creative and strategic communications firm, through the Winning Circle of Companies affiliation.
• O'Donnell & AssociatesminorOthersAffiliated firm listed as part of WSW's affiliate network, providing complementary government affairs services.
• 162 StrategiesminorOthersDavid Camp, Of Counsel at WSW, is CEO of 162 Strategies, advising select clients on disability government affairs policy.
• VirFin SolutionsminorOthersJohn Yaros serves as President of VirFin Solutions, a financial technology consulting firm, while also working with WSW clients.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Crossroads Strategies: Bipartisan federal lobbying, grants, and strategic consulting firm in Washington, DC. Comparable boutique scale with overlapping services in appropriations, healthcare, and federal funding advocacy.
• Mehlman Consulting: DC-based bipartisan federal lobbying and government relations firm. Comparable boutique size and positioning, with similar focus on healthcare, tax, and federal funding issues and a comparable team-of-veterans structure.
• Cornerstone Government Affairs: DC-based bipartisan government affairs firm offering lobbying, grants, and strategic counsel. Comparable mid-size boutique with strong appropriations and federal funding expertise, competing for similar healthcare, defense, and education clients.
• Forbes Tate Partners: Bipartisan strategic lobbying and communications firm in Washington, DC. Comparable integrated offering spanning federal lobbying, public affairs, grants strategy, and coalition management for similar client profiles.
• Cassidy & Associates: Long-standing bipartisan federal government relations and grants firm based in Washington, DC. Highly comparable boutique model focused on lobbying, appropriations, and grant procurement for healthcare, defense, and other federal-funding-seeking clients.

Broad incumbents

• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld (Public Policy): Major international law firm with a top-tier Washington public policy practice. Competes for large healthcare, defense, and appropriations lobbying mandates, but at much larger scale and as part of a broader legal platform.
• Holland & Knight (Public Policy & Regulation): Large full-service law firm with one of the largest DC lobbying practices. Competes for similar federal affairs and grants work but offers a far broader portfolio including legal, regulatory, and litigation services.
• Venable LLP (Government Affairs practice): Full-service law and lobbying firm with a substantial federal government relations practice. Comparable in service breadth (lobbying, grants, regulatory, federal marketing) but materially larger and bundled with legal services.
• Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck (Policy): National law and lobbying firm widely regarded as one of the top DC government relations practices. Comparable bipartisan model and strong appropriations presence, but materially larger and integrated with legal services.

Emerging players

• Invariant (government affairs): Newer DC-based bipartisan government relations firm with comparable service offerings. Smaller and earlier-stage than WSW but addressing the same client segments in appropriations, healthcare, and technology policy.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WSWDC
• Facebookfacebook.com/WSWDC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Winning Strategies Washington