Asterism
A pattern of stars that is not a formal constellation — perfect example is the Big Dipper, also known as the drinking gourd, the very stars our ancestors followed north to freedom. Each star burns on its own. Read together, they make a shape in the sky we can navigate by.
That is this collective: independent firms, each our own light — aligned, when the work calls for it, into one shape.
Two directions, one relationship.
Direction one — you sub under GlowStrm. GlowStrm holds Virginia SWaM certification and primes Virginia government work. When a contract calls for your lane, GlowStrm prices you in as an independent subcontractor. You need no certification of your own — set-aside eligibility rides on the prime's certificate. You deliver your scope, invoice GlowStrm, and get paid under a written agreement.
Direction two — GlowStrm subs under you. In your home state, you hold the relationships and (where available) the certifications. You prime; GlowStrm delivers strategic communications scope under your contract and invoices you. Same paper, roles reversed.
What this is not: employment, a joint venture, or a new company. Every firm stays independent — own clients, own brand, own books. Each engagement is per contract, in writing, and ends when the contract does. That independence also keeps the model legal (Section 04).
Subcontracting under GlowStrm.
GlowStrm subcontracting under you.
Same steps, reversed roles. You identify and screen the opportunity in your market. GlowStrm sends you its intake file — W-9, certificate of insurance, capability statement, and SWaM credentials if useful for your bid's diversity participation. Teaming agreement at bid, subcontractor agreement at award. GlowStrm delivers, invoices you as the prime, and you pay per the agreement's terms.
One planning note for primes: most set-aside programs expect the certified prime to self-perform a meaningful share — on federal services set-asides the prime keeps at least 50% of the contract dollars. Build the workshare split with that in mind from the first pricing conversation, whichever of us is priming.
The rules that keep everyone protected.
Independence is the legal spine. Virginia law (and the IRS) presume a worker is an employee unless the relationship genuinely operates independently — and misclassification penalties reach all the way to debarment from public contracts. So: engaged per contract against deliverables, never open-ended; you set your own hours, tools, and methods; you stay free to serve other clients; you carry your own insurance and business identity. If an arrangement starts to feel like a job — set schedule, one client, no end date — we restructure it before a regulator reads it that way.
Working across state lines. Occasional, remote, or project-based sub work for an out-of-state prime generally does not require registering in that prime's state — isolated transactions and interstate commerce are excluded from "transacting business." A sustained presence (an office, staff on the ground, continuous work) is different: then the working firm registers as a foreign entity there. We check this per engagement, in both directions.
Getting paid, cleanly. Money always moves prime → sub against an invoice, per the subcontractor agreement — never informally, never ahead of paper. Payment timing, invoice format, and any withholding conditions live in the agreement so there are no surprises. Each firm reports its own income; the prime issues 1099-NEC forms at year end.
What your state means, both directions.
Subbing under GlowStrm is open from every state below, today, with no certification. What varies is the extra leverage — your own Virginia certification, and what GlowStrm can earn in your state (Virginia SBSD out-of-state policy, rev. Dec 2024).
The private rooms.
Each member of the collective has her own working page — a living checklist from where you are today to certified, contracted, and paid. Enter with the passcode Sharéa shared with you; your progress saves on your device.