From $35 in His Pocket to $82M in Government Contracts: Fox Wade’s Bold Leap

Discomfort may feel unbearable, but the moment you dive into the pool of uncertainty, you begin swimming toward extraordinary success. Many successful entrepreneurs, creators, and changemakers didn’t leave their 9-to-5 jobs because they were struggling financially. They left because they felt a deeper pull – the desire to build something bigger.

That’s the story of Marcellus “Fox” Wade, founder of Black Fox. In a podcast episode with Kizzy Parks, he shared his journey to becoming wealthy through government contracting. It’s a big deal when a company can secure more than $80 million in government contracts. It takes blood, sweat, and tears – and it’s a reality that newcomers need to understand if they want to succeed faster.

The insights are already presented in the following parts of this article. First, let’s go back to the moment when Fox Wade realized he could achieve even greater success.

Becoming an Entrepreneur Was Never Part of His Plan

Fox Wade was born in Flint, Michigan. With limited options after high school, he left home early and joined the United States Army at 18.

Over the next 14 years, he built a distinguished military career, starting as a combat engineer and eventually moving into Special Operations. His service included four tours in Iraq, one in Afghanistan, and several missions across Southeast Asia.

When he left the Army in 2014, Fox faced a new kind of uncertainty. He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but he knew he had a family to support. That led him into roles with government agencies, first with the Georgia Department of Health and later with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Washington, D.C.

It was at FEMA that he had his first real encounter with the world of government contracting. While he had been surrounded by it indirectly during his military career, this was the first time he understood the business side of it.

He further recognized later that government contracts had always been around him, even in his childhood. Growing up on government assistance, living in low-income housing, seeing trash collected, watching road crews fix streets, attending public school, and even eating school lunch — all of that was made possible through government contracts.

“We’re all exposed to it, we just don’t know,” he believes.

The spark came when he authorized a $2.3 million government contract for a company in West Virginia to install smoke and carbon monoxide detectors in low-income housing. At the time, his own salary was $85,000 a year — respectable, but only a fraction of the deal he had just approved.

At first, he never imagined becoming an entrepreneur. His mindset was focused on stability, working a traditional job with fixed hours like nine to five or eight to four. That kind of routine felt safe and predictable, and he could not picture himself stepping outside of it.

“I never saw myself as an entrepreneur,” he stated.

“I remember somebody made a statement, ‘Hey man, you’re such a great leader in the military, have you thought about having your own business?’ I was like, listen, I would never have my own business. I would never be an entrepreneur. I will always have a nine-to-five, I’ll always have an eight-to-four — that was my mentality,” Fox Wade recalled.

But by his mid-30s, he began questioning that mindset and studying how wealthy people built success. What he discovered was eye-opening.

“They didn’t become wealthy because they had a 9-5 job, or because they were college graduates. They were wealthy because they started a business, a company” he said.

Like a chain of dominoes, a series of events completely changed his mindset, and Fox Wade chose to follow his new path by founding Black Fox in 2018.

From $35 in His Pocket to $82M in Government Contracts

Fox Wade registered his company on paper in March 2018, but by May he still hadn’t landed any work.

One day, he got a call from a contact who invited him to a meeting in the city. However, with only $35 left in his pocket, he had no money for transportation. Luckily, he remembered that FEMA had once given him a Metro card that still had funds on it. That card made it possible for him to take the train.

At the meeting, Fox introduced himself, and one of the attendees mentioned he had just won a $50,000 contract but needed help delivering it. He asked Fox if he could handle the work for $30,000. Fox didn’t hesitate.

“I was like, hell yeah! You’re giving me an opportunity. I don’t care what your profit margin is at this moment, you’re giving me an opportunity. I got $35. So, I got the subcontract going and I started working on it,” he remembered.

Fox threw himself into the work, showing up daily at the client’s site as if he were part of their team. Within 45 days, the client was so impressed that they offered him additional tasks.

Because his partner held the prime contract, the work funneled back through him – this time for $660,000. In just two months, Fox went from a $30,000 subcontract to $90,000 in revenue, surpassing the $85,000 annual salary he had once earned at FEMA.

With some breathing room, he began networking aggressively through the Chamber of Commerce and other events. His personality and persistence opened new doors. One connection led him to a company holding a $12 million NBA contract that required minority business participation. Fox’s firm, certified as an MBE, secured a 10% share which is worth $1.2 million.

By September 2018, Fox Wade had transformed a start with just $35 and a Metro card into a rapid climb from a $30,000 subcontract to nearly $1.5 million in contracts.

“I went from $35 in my pocket, to $30,000, to $90,000, and now to almost $1.5 million in contract value,” Fox stated.

From early wins, Fox Wade built his business by focusing on subcontracting, using it as a way to learn the industry, gain experience, and build credibility before chasing prime contracts. He understood that jumping too quickly into large-scale projects without the right knowledge could lead to costly mistakes, so subcontracting became his strategy to grow steadily and sustainably.

“I didn’t start winning prime contracts until my third year. I subbed and the reason why I subbed is because it was just a lot of things I didn’t know,” he explained.

Fox Wade added, “Imagine that I’m a prime and I do something that I don’t know, and next thing you know I screw up that whole entire contract and now I’m blacklisted or something like that because I wanted to grow so fast.”

Since he didn’t have a mentor and didn’t fully understand the resources available to him, subcontracting gave him the safe, gradual path he needed to build confidence and experience before stepping up to prime contracts.

In just five years, his company has grown to manage roughly $82 million in contracts. A major portion comes from a subcontract in Michigan, where they hold a 50 percent share of a $27 million contract secured back in April 2024.

He said that they are heavily focused on this project while leveraging their various relationships to position themselves for a potential $30 million prime contract

The Major Learnings that Benefit Government Contractors in the Long Run

As a well-seasoned, Fox Wade carries a long list of wisdoms that newcomers need to take note, the first thing that he suggested is about four different disciplines.

The Four Disciplines

“Understanding banking discipline, understanding accounting discipline, understanding legal discipline, and understanding just overall contract management,” he suggested.

He pointed out the need for banking discipline to manage cash flow and build strong financial relationships, accounting discipline to track expenses and keep accurate records, legal discipline to navigate compliance and protect the company, and contract management to ensure obligations are met and projects are delivered properly.

These pillars, he explained, form the foundation that keeps a business stable and scalable in the government contracting space.

Pricing can Make or Break a Contract

Many new contractors underestimate the true costs of delivering a project such as fringe benefits, overhead, and general and administrative expenses. That’s why they end up leaving money on the table.

Fox Wade admitted he once won a contract but only made a 2% return because he hadn’t factored in all the costs required to actually run the work. That mistake taught him that pricing isn’t just about what you think you can deliver for, but about building a structure that ensures profitability.

Through his mentorship, he now stresses the importance of never giving the government the “cracking price,” but instead setting a price that covers all costs and leaves room for healthy profit.

“What we’re not going to do is that we’re not going to give the government the cracking price,” he advised others.

As shared by him, contractors also need to factor in the cost of things like insurance, which can vary depending on the industry. For example, healthcare work may require one kind of liability policy, IT another, and finance a different one again. If you don’t include those costs in your pricing, you’ll end up underbidding and cutting into your profit.

Read Your Contracts Carefully

Fox Wade explained that one of the most important things in government contracting is to carefully read your contracts.

“Make sure that you read your contracts” he said.

Don’t just glance at them, read them several times, highlight key parts, and even point out mistakes if you see them. This makes sure you know exactly what’s expected and protects your business from problems later.

Understand Your Niche

Instead of trying to do everything at once, he encourages people to focus on one specific skill or service that can get them started.

“How can you start with something—that power of one—that can get you going and get you started?” he questioned others

His advice is to plant yourself firmly in one area, build a strong foundation, and then expand into other services as your business matures. For him, understanding your niche is the first and most important step to growing in government contracting.

Take All the Myths Out of Your Head!

Fox Wade firmly believes that people need to let go of the myth that winning a government contract takes years. He says that with the right guidance, mentorship, and a clear focus on target opportunities, it can happen much faster than most expect.

“Take all the myth out of your head and understand that it doesn’t take a while to win a government contract. You just gotta have the right guidance, the right mentorship, and understand what targets you want to go after,” he expressed.

While many assume the process always drags on, he has seen vendors secure contracts in as little as a week at the local or state level.

“I saw vendors who have gotten contracts in a week. Now, were they federal? No, these were local and state. But I did have one person, within a month, win their first and own a federal government contract with no experience—like zero experience. Matter of fact, she’s working on it right now,” he said.

The Blueprint to Build Your Own Dream Team

When Fox Wade started to have money, the first thing he did was not buy luxury items, but instead invest in his people. His team became one of the key pillars behind his success, driving growth and helping him scale the business.

Leadership Through Empowerment and Respect

As Fox Wade scaled his company, he made it a priority to hire talented, smart, and vibrant people who brought different skills and perspectives to the table. But he knew that hiring the right people wasn’t enough on its own, the real key was emotional intelligence from the leader.

He wanted to create a company where people felt valued, empowered, and where they actually wanted to stay long-term.

“I always wanted to have a company where people don’t want to leave,” he said.

He invests in his team by giving them the freedom to make mistakes, learn, and grow, while recognizing and rewarding their contributions fairly. He frequently reminds his executive staff, “I work for y’all.”

Whether it’s equipment, tools, or other resources, he ensures they have everything required to perform at their best. For Fox Wade, leadership isn’t about micromanaging or controlling every move, it’s about supporting his people, treating them with respect and dignity, and creating an environment where they feel empowered and confident to excel.

By putting people first, Fox Wade has built a tight-knit, high-performing team capable of tackling major proposals, navigating complex opportunities, and driving the company’s growth. Through empowerment, fairness, and transparency, he creates an environment where everyone is motivated to give their best.

“Don’t be a dictator or tyrant in your own company, but understand that people are people, and give them the dignity and respect they need — and people will go all out,” he stated.

Where Did He Find His People?

Fox Wade works closely with local and state Departments of Labor, Workforce Exchanges, higher military, and nonprofits. These partnerships help him access and vet talent effectively, ensuring that candidates are not only qualified but also prepared to contribute meaningfully to the organization.

“We partner with local Department of Labors, the Workforce Exchange, whatever’s local. We partner with higher military, 85% of my staff is military,” said Fox Wade.

He prefers this structured approach over relying solely on generic online job platforms, where applicants may not fully engage with the opportunity.

He Gives His People the Freedom to Approach Tasks in Their Own Way

Equally important to Fox Wade is empowering and promoting team members. He gives his people the freedom to approach tasks in their own way and recognizes initiative and potential when he sees it.

Whatever it takes for us to get to the finish line, I’m not going to get in the way of that, because you may see something totally different than what I see the most,” he explained.

He also does not hesitate to promote an employee when he sees their hard work and potential. For example, he shared a story of quickly promoting an administrative assistant who demonstrated leadership and innovative thinking.

Getting Them to Buy Into the Mission

Fox Wade also stresses the importance of getting his team fully aligned with the company’s mission. He ensures that every staff member understands and supports the organization’s goals, which boosts collaboration and keeps everyone focused.

By connecting individual contributions to the broader mission, Fox Wade creates a unified, purpose-driven team that works together toward shared goals.