In this exclusive interview for CanadianSME Small Business Magazine, Joe Noss explains how he’s using artificial intelligence to level the playing field for small businesses in Canada’s government procurement landscape. As the founder and CEO of Publicus, Joe brings firsthand experience from the intersection of technology, consulting, and policy, and a passion for democratizing opportunity in a complex, high-stakes market. With Publicus, he’s empowering entrepreneurs to cut through bureaucratic barriers, compete more effectively, and unlock the economic potential of government contracts—driving a fresh wave of practical innovation in the public sector.
Joe Noss is the CEO and Founder of Publicus, an AI platform that helps small businesses win government contracts. After three years at Deloitte implementing technology for government clients, Joe saw how procurement complexity favored large firms over capable small businesses.
Publicus was founded to fix Canada’s government procurement system. What inspired you to take on such a challenging problem, and what unique approach does Publicus offer to small businesses?
When I was at Deloitte, I saw firsthand how broken government procurement is. It takes 6-12 months for the government to buy anything because of complex RFP processes designed to prevent corruption. These rules make sense, but they’ve created massive barriers to entry.
Small businesses waste 20+ hours monthly searching 30+ websites for RFPs, then spend weeks writing proposals – while large firms like Deloitte have entire teams doing this, winning contract after contract.
What’s changed is AI can finally automate this complexity. Publicus monitors all government opportunities, identifies which ones you can win, and generates compliant proposals using your past work and 20 years of procurement data. We’re giving small businesses their own AI-powered business development team.
This matters because when small businesses can compete for government contracts, we get better innovation, more competitive pricing, and ultimately better government services. We’re democratizing access to a $30 billion market that’s been dominated by a handful of large players for too long.
Government procurement is the hidden reason government struggles with efficiency – and we’re fixing it
Many contractors find government bidding complex and time-consuming. How does Publicus’s AI platform simplify the process, and what has been the most surprising feedback from early users?
Our AI currently monitors all government opportunities across 30 websites and sends personalized recommendations based on your business can actually win. When you click on an opportunity, instead of a dense 100-page document, you see key requirements instantly extracted – deadlines, security clearances, mandatory qualifications, budget hints. What used to take hours now takes minutes.
We’re launching our proposal generation feature in the next two months, which will be the real game-changer. It will analyze 20 years of winning proposals and your past work to auto-generate compliant first drafts – cutting weeks of work down to hours.
The most surprising feedback so far? Pure relief. One contractor told us: ‘I actually got my evenings back just from not having to search anymore.’ Another discovered they’d been missing 40% of relevant opportunities despite using paid services. Several users were shocked we found RFPs perfectly suited to them that they’d never seen before.
What really struck us was contractors saying they finally feel they can compete. One told us: ‘For the first time, I’m not drowning in the process – I can actually focus on winning.’
What are some common misconceptions that SMBs have about doing business with government, and how does Publicus help companies overcome those barriers?
The biggest misconception is that government contracts are either ‘free money’ or impossible to win. Both are wrong.
Some SMBs think government work is easy money. In reality, it’s incredibly competitive. You need the right certifications, insurance, security clearances, and past performance records. The RFP process is rigorous, and the government absolutely makes you work for it.
But the opposite misconception is equally damaging: that it’s so hard only big firms can win. Yes, breaking in is challenging. It’s a classic catch-22 where you need government experience to win contracts, but struggle to get that first win.
What SMBs don’t realize is there’s a proven playbook. Start with smaller contracts under $40K that have simplified requirements. Build your past performance record. Learn the procurement language. Once you understand the system, it becomes an incredibly lucrative, predictable revenue stream.
Publicus helps break this catch-22. We identify starter opportunities SMBs can actually win. We show you exactly what requirements you’re missing. We help you write proposals in government language. Most importantly, we level the playing field so you’re not competing blind against firms with 20 years of experience.
The path exists. We just make it visible.
You’ve worked at the intersection of tech, policy, and government. What lessons have shaped your perspective on innovation within public systems and building technology for the public sector?
Working at Deloitte implementing AI for government taught me three key lessons.
First, government has the most institutionalized, paper-heavy processes of any sector, which makes it perfect for AI automation. Every process has dozens of forms, reviews, and approvals that follow predictable patterns. That’s exactly what AI excels at handling.
Second, government is deliberately slow to adopt technology, and that’s actually wise. They’re protecting citizen data and public trust. When I see SMBs worried about AI, I tell them their caution is valid. Government should be thoughtful about these risks.
But here’s the third lesson: we have a responsibility to harness AI’s benefits while managing its risks. AI has the potential to free public servants from soul-crushing paperwork so they can focus on actually serving citizens. Similarly, it can empower small businesses to compete for government contracts instead of being buried in process.
At Publicus, we’re building with both perspectives: respecting why government moves carefully while showing how AI can eliminate the worst parts of bureaucracy. We’re not trying to revolutionize government overnight. We’re automating the tedious parts so humans can focus on the meaningful work.
As an entrepreneur committed to public problem solving, what final advice do you have for founders and small business leaders eager to drive positive change through technology?
Entrepreneurship at its best is about solving real problems that create positive change. When you’re successful as an entrepreneur, it means you’ve identified something painful enough that people will pay you to fix it. That’s the fundamental equation: create value, receive value in return.
My advice to founders and small business leaders is this: stay obsessed with customer problems, not your solution. Every successful business creating positive impact starts with deeply understanding what’s broken and why it matters. At Publicus, we spent months interviewing contractors before writing a single line of code. We learned they were drowning in manual processes, missing opportunities, losing to bigger firms not because they weren’t capable, but because the system wasn’t built for them.
The trap is when we chase money without creating genuine value. When you prioritize capturing value over creating it, you lose your way. But if you’re genuinely driven by solving customer problems, you’re already making positive change.
Technology is just a tool. The real innovation comes from understanding problems so deeply that your solution feels inevitable. Focus there, and the positive impact follows naturally. Every small business solving real problems is making the world better.
