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U.S. Government Growth — independent candidate strategy

Chris McCool • Account Executive – Government

Building the U.S. Government Growth Engine for ElevenLabs

An outside-in perspective on expanding secure, accessible and multilingual AI communications across federal, state and local government.

Explore the government opportunity Why Chris

$500M+ ARR

Company-reported by May 2026

FedRAMP® In Process

Marketplace status dated Aug. 31, 2026

First dedicated Government AE

A build-from-zero mandate

Voice AI • Conversational AI • Multilingual access • Secure deployment

An independent candidate strategy perspective. Not sponsored by or affiliated with ElevenLabs.

The opportunity

A large mission market is opening—before the GTM system is fully formed.

ElevenLabs has strong commercial momentum, live government proof, security investment, and FedRAMP progress. The opportunity is to turn product and mission credibility into a repeatable U.S. public-sector revenue engine.

01

Federal Civilian

Benefits, healthcare, emergency response, immigration, public information, accessibility.

02

State & Local

311 / civic concierge, constituent services, multilingual access, contact-center modernization.

03

Defense Support

Training, language enablement, recruiting, public affairs, family and base services.

Market map

A national market, activated through a few high-leverage corridors.

U.S. Government corridors

  • Federal Civilian
  • SLED
  • Defense Support
Stylized map of the contiguous United StatesCorridors connect Washington, D.C. to nationwide federal civilian and SLED targets, Texas, and the Southeast defense corridor—a national market activated through regional corridors.Washington, D.C.Executive anchorNational replication marketsCross-agency scaleTexasMidland • DFWSoutheast defense corridorHome-base advantage

Executive anchor

Washington, D.C.

Federal decision-making, policy, acquisition, agency HQ and executive sponsorship—the center of the national growth engine.

Federal CivilianDefense Support

“The market is national from day one. Washington anchors the mission—and the same playbook extends corridor by corridor across federal, state and defense support.”

Five lighthouse pursuit plays

Start where mission pain is audible—and outcomes are measurable.

Each blueprint begins with a bounded, measurable workflow and expands only after mission, deployment and procurement fit are validated.

Product architecture

Three platforms. One government communications stack.

The pursuit thesis is built primarily on ElevenAgents and ElevenAPI, with ElevenCreative supporting accessible, localized public information where appropriate.

01Primary for the five pursuits

ElevenAgents

Configure, deploy and monitor natural voice and chat agents across service channels.

  • Voice + chat
  • Omnichannel workflows
  • Testing
  • Guardrails
  • Analytics
  • Human handoff
02Integration layer

ElevenAPI

Embed speech generation, transcription and agent capabilities through REST, WebSocket and native SDKs.

  • Text to Speech
  • Speech to Text / Scribe
  • Realtime audio
  • Python & TypeScript SDKs
  • LLM-agnostic integration
03Supporting public information

ElevenCreative

Create and localize expressive public-information content across speech and dubbing workflows.

  • Expressive speech
  • Dubbing/localization
  • Voice design
  • Content production

Cross-cutting capabilities

70+ languages • Low-latency speech • Grounded workflows • Testing & analytics • Enterprise deployment controls

Product capabilities do not equal agency authorization. Every deployment remains subject to data classification, security, privacy, accessibility and procurement review.

ElevenLabs publicly presents enterprise deployment controls; Zero Retention Mode and regional data residency are among the options described for selected deployments. Availability and suitability vary by deployment; these controls are not a substitute for agency authorization.

Federal Civilian

VA Appointment & Benefits Assistant

Product fitElevenAgents + ElevenAPI speech/transcription + guardrails, analytics and human handoff.

Leadership listed as of September 24, 2026

  • Paul R. Lawrence — Performing the Delegable Duties of Assistant Secretary for Information and Technology and Chief Information Officer.
  • Dr. Steven L. Lieberman — Acting Under Secretary for Health.
Mission problem
High-volume scheduling, benefits and service questions create avoidable wait, repeat-call and access friction.
ElevenLabs capability
Conversational agents, multilingual voice, transcription, grounded knowledge and human handoff.
Priority targets
Veterans Health Administration; VA Digital Health Office; Veterans Experience Office; Office of Information and Technology; VA acquisition/TAC.
Buyer map
VHA access and scheduling owners; Veterans Experience; OIT/CIO; privacy/security; contracting.
First pilot
A bounded appointment-information and callback workflow at one network or service line, excluding clinical advice.
Candidate route to validate
VA acquisition/TAC, an approved cloud environment, and a federal reseller or integrator.
Success metrics
Answer rate; wait time; abandoned/repeat calls; completed appointments; no-show avoidance; staff hours returned.
Expansion path
Benefits, pharmacy, caregiver access, facility navigation.

Official sources

VA Office of Information and Technology (opens in new tab)VA — Dr. Steven L. Lieberman (opens in new tab)GAO — Veterans' health care access (opens in new tab)

Buyer maps are directional and not procurement guidance.

Publicly reported examples

City of Midland, Texas

Civic concierge. The city receives about 3,000 inbound calls per day, with a projected 7,000 fewer missed calls per month.

Czech public-service hotlines

About 5,000 calls per day. The published case study reports roughly 85% resolved independently, with answer rates moving toward near-universal coverage.

National pursuit portfolio

Focus the market by mission pattern—not by logo count.

A disciplined portfolio balances near-term referenceability with long-term platform expansion.

A

Benefits & healthcare

VA, SSA, CMS, state health and human services.

Why now
High interaction volume, accessibility obligations and measurable service outcomes.
Best initial play
Bounded appointment, status or benefits-information workflow.
Primary buying centers
Program operations, digital services, CIO, experience, contact-center owners and acquisition.
Reference / replication logic
Prove one grounded workflow, then reuse the pattern across benefits and health programs.
B

Emergency & public safety

FEMA, state emergency management, large municipal 311/crisis services.

Why now
Surge demand and multilingual access make elastic capacity mission-relevant.
Best initial play
Preparedness information, overflow hotline or opt-in outbound alerts.
Primary buying centers
Response and recovery, communications, CIO, accessibility and procurement.
Reference / replication logic
Replicate from a safe public-information use into state and local emergency networks.
C

Immigration, travel & public information

USCIS, State/Consular Affairs, Passport Services.

Why now
Complex processes and language barriers drive repeat inquiries and urgent triage.
Best initial play
Guardrailed status and public-information guidance in high-demand languages.
Primary buying centers
Digital, data, customer experience, contact-center, language access and acquisition.
Reference / replication logic
Turn a language-and-status pattern into broader consular and citizen-service reuse.
D

SLED citizen experience

Texas, Florida, California, large cities and counties.

Why now
Faster buying cycles can create referenceable proof for adjacent public services.
Best initial play
311 or civic concierge with multilingual access and human handoff.
Primary buying centers
City/county operations, CIO, constituent services, emergency management and procurement.
Reference / replication logic
Use Midland as a public proof point—not as an implied customer reference for Chris—then replicate by service pattern.
E

Defense people & support

OSD Personnel & Readiness, Military OneSource, services/installations, recruiting/training.

Why now
Unclassified people-support workflows offer measurable access gains without claiming classified readiness.
Best initial play
Relocation, installation-services or family-support information.
Primary buying centers
Personnel and readiness, family programs, installation services, CIO/security and contracting.
Reference / replication logic
Prove a non-classified regional workflow, then expand through program contractors and services.

Portfolio scoring lens

  • 01Mission urgency
  • 02Interaction volume
  • 03Multilingual/accessibility need
  • 04Data sensitivity
  • 05Deployment fit
  • 06Procurement path
  • 07Reference potential

12-month market expansion

Sequence proof, replication and scale.

This is a market-expansion roadmap; the First 90 Days below is Chris’s operating plan.

  1. Wave 1 / 0–90 days

    Validate low/medium-sensitivity, referenceable pilots across citizen access, public information and emergency communications; use Midland/SLED adjacency and federal-civilian access.

  2. Wave 2 / months 3–6

    Replicate into SSA/CMS/USCIS/Consular patterns; activate reseller, cloud, incumbent-integrator and GSI paths.

  3. Wave 3 / months 6–12

    Expand successful plays across enterprise federal and defense-support programs; pursue higher-assurance workloads only as authorization and deployment pathways mature.

GTM system

Government growth is a system—not a sequence of isolated deals.

These are scaling paths to orchestrate—each strengthens the others as references accumulate.

Operating pillars

  • P1

    Account prioritization

  • P2

    Mission-centered solution plays

  • P3

    Security & deployment alignment

  • P4

    Contract vehicle & procurement strategy

  • P5

    Partner & capture orchestration

  • P6

    Executive sponsorship & references

Qualification lens

  • 01Mission urgency
  • 02Funded owner
  • 03Data sensitivity
  • 04Deployment fit
  • 05Procurement path
  • 06Measurable 90-day outcome

First 90 days

Validate. Build. Execute.

  1. 1

    Days 1–30

    Validate

    • Audit pipeline, evaluations, security, procurement and FedRAMP-blocked demand.
    • Align sales, policy, product, security, legal, solutions engineering and executive sponsorship around the five lighthouse pursuits.
    • Rank agencies by urgency, fit and reference potential.
  2. 2

    Days 31–60

    Build

    • Build a 15–20 account map.
    • Package citizen contact, emergency communication and multilingual access plays.
    • Map cloud, reseller, prime and GSI routes.
    • Establish qualification, capture cadence, ROI models and mutual action plans.
  3. 3

    Days 61–90

    Execute

    • Advance 2–3 lighthouse pilots with sponsors and success metrics.
    • Confirm procurement and deployment paths.
    • Deliver 12-month pipeline, partner plan, forecast and reference strategy.
“The goal is not activity. It is a small number of referenceable wins that make the next ten opportunities easier.”

Value that compounds

Measure mission outcomes first—and let the revenue model follow.

Annual mission value

=Human-handled contacts avoided
+Staff time returned
+Repeat / abandoned contacts reduced
+Surge staffing avoided
+Translation & accessibility efficiency
+Missed-service or no-show reduction

Pursuit outcome scorecards

VA

Completed appointments • Answer rate • Wait time • No-shows • Staff hours

FEMA

Successful notifications • Response time • Surge capacity • Language coverage

SSA / CMS

First-contact resolution • Handle time • Transfers/callbacks • Digital containment

USCIS / State

Status self-service • Repeat calls • Language completion • Urgent triage

DoD support

Resolution • 24/7 coverage • Staff hours • Family satisfaction

How value compounds for ElevenLabs

  1. 01

    Pilot

  2. 02

    Production

  3. 03

    Multi-program expansion

  4. 04

    Cross-agency reuse

  5. 05

    Partner replication

  6. 06

    Reference moat

The strongest first win is not necessarily the largest contract; it is the one that proves a reusable mission pattern.

Pursuit research sources

Leadership and operating context verified from public sources as of September 24, 2026. Buyer maps, pilot concepts and procurement routes are directional hypotheses for validation—not formal agency guidance or claims of existing ElevenLabs authorization.

Why Chris

Enterprise scale, public-sector discipline, builder mentality.

Chris McCool brings 26 years of enterprise data, analytics and AI experience—combining complex-account selling, partner ecosystems and early government-contracting exposure.

Public-sector proof • DFW International Airport

Led DFW International Airport through multiple competitive public-sector RFPs and delivery orders across a decade-plus services and data modernization relationship representing an estimated $10M+ in services value and 130,000+ documented delivery hours.
  • Consistent $5M+ annual individual sales performance in complex enterprise technology.
  • Major enterprises including Walmart, Bank of America and UnitedHealthcare.
  • MicroStrategy, Netezza and IBM; IBM experience 2010–2022.
  • Built and led PALOi Advisors around enterprise data, AI and cloud across AWS, IBM and Microsoft.
  • Partner and channel experience across PALOi, TD SYNNEX, Arrow, IBM and Red Hat.
  • Nationwide enterprise selling experience, complemented by familiarity with federal civilian, healthcare and defense communities—including CENTCOM, SOCOM and SOCCENT.

12-month outcomes

What success looks like in year one.

  • 01

    Qualified federal and SLED pipeline with forecast discipline

  • 02

    2–3 lighthouse pilots converted toward production

  • 03

    Repeatable federal civilian solution plays

  • 04

    Working reseller, cloud, prime and GSI routes

  • 05

    FedRAMP progress converted into qualified opportunity momentum

  • 06

    Reference customers and foundation for a broader government team

The opportunity is to build more than a territory.

ElevenLabs can define how government communicates—more naturally, accessibly and effectively. Chris can help turn that product advantage into a durable public-sector growth system.