As someone that went through the process as a startup (in the US): the biggest impediment is timing/paperwork. In the best case scenario, you apply as part of

As someone that went through the process as a startup (in the US): the biggest impediment is timing/paperwork. In the best case scenario, you apply as part of a round (filing out a ton of paperwork), wait 3-6 months to hear that you got it, and then have to receive the money in tranches (Which sometimes includes terms like net 30days). Often, you don’t get final payment till final deliverable. How that played out for our company was for us to take out a loan against the award, just so we can get the work done. So it helps, but as others have said as a small startup it is not easy to do. We had the advantage of folks on the team who had done this sort of thing multiple times, and knew how to navigate the process.