About 6DOTS
A product studio that started as a network of people.
6DOTS is a product studio in Great Falls, Virginia. Ross Day started it in 2016 to connect technical people, and the name is short for Degrees of Technical Separation. Today we build software products, engineer sensing systems, and recruit the engineers and BD people who do both.
The story
- Founded
- November 2016
- Founder
- Ross Day
- Based in
- Great Falls, Virginia (Washington DC metro)
- The name
- Degrees of Technical Separation
- Products
- DemandAI.Pro, GivingStump, and NextMAG (with Nextage LLC)
In November 2016, Ross Day started 6DOTS to connect technical people with each other and with work worth doing. The premise was in the name: everyone worth working with is a few degrees of technical separation away.
That network turned into a product development and commercialization studio. We take technical products from concept through manufacturing to first revenue. That covers product definition, supplier and contract-manufacturing relationships, pricing, positioning, and direct selling.
Today we build and operate DemandAI.Pro and GivingStump, and we build NextMAG, a $399 research-grade magnetometer, with Nextage LLC. We're also recruiting again, which is where 6DOTS started.
What 6DOTS does today
We build software products
We build and operate DemandAI.Pro, which takes demand letters from an 8+ hour manual process to about 5 minutes, and GivingStump, a tree-services marketplace where contractors pay 5% only when they win. We take a small number of client builds on the same stack.
We engineer sensing systems
With Nextage LLC we build NextMAG, a research-grade 3-axis magnetometer: 2.7 nT at 1 Hz with GPS-disciplined timing, for $399 where incumbent instruments cost $3,000 or more. A research university bought the entire first production run.
We recruit technical people
We run searches for engineering, hardware, RF and sensor, AI and software, and federal BD, capture, and proposal roles at defense, space, sensing, federal tech, and software companies. DC metro and remote.
Ross Day
Founder & CEO · Great Falls, Virginia
15+ years in federal technology; $80M+ in delivered federal contracts.
Ross Day on LinkedInRoss Day founded 6DOTS in November 2016 and runs it from Great Falls, Virginia. He spent nearly ten years in federal capture and corporate development, and he builds and ships hardware and software himself. That is why 6DOTS judges engineers on shipped work and knows what a real capture or BD person looks like.
2016–present
Founder & CEO, 6DOTS
Runs a product development and commercialization studio that takes technical products from concept through manufacturing to first revenue: product definition, supplier and contract-manufacturing relationships, pricing, positioning, and direct selling.
2023–present
Head of Acquisition (part-time), Flex Embedded
2019–present
Advisor, Bastille
Bastille builds wireless threat detection for federal and enterprise customers from Herndon, Virginia. Ross closed a cabinet-level federal agency as a new customer.
2019–present
Advisor, careMESH
Health IT in Reston, Virginia: secure clinical communications and a national provider directory.
2009–2019
VP Corporate Development, Infina, Ltd
At Infina, a woman-owned small business in McLean, Virginia, serving federal agencies, Ross owned corporate development and federal capture and was responsible for the majority of company revenue. That meant the GSA Schedule, GWACs and IDIQs, set-asides, teaming with primes, and multi-year agency relationships carried through recompetes.
Education
Kansas State University
How we work
Builder-led
Every engagement is led by people who ship their own products. We live with our architecture decisions, so we make good ones. Ross ships hardware and software himself, so candidates are judged on shipped work.
Network-powered
When a project needs a specialist, such as an RF engineer, an iOS developer, or a capture lead, we pull from the 6DOTS network, not a staffing agency. The network is warm referrals, not job-board scraping.
Outcome-priced
Scoped deliverables with working software at every milestone. If it does not ship, it does not count. Recruiting is quoted per search, on contingency or retained terms.
Common questions
Who runs 6DOTS?
Ross Day. He founded 6DOTS in November 2016 and runs it as Founder & CEO. Clients and candidates work with him directly. He brings 15+ years in federal technology and $80M+ in delivered federal contracts.
Is 6DOTS a software studio or a recruiting firm?
Both. 6DOTS started in 2016 by connecting technical people and grew into a product studio. Today we build and operate DemandAI.Pro and GivingStump, build NextMAG with Nextage LLC, take a small number of client engineering projects, and recruit engineers and federal BD, capture, and proposal people for defense, space, sensing, federal tech, and software companies. Because we ship our own hardware and software, candidates are judged on shipped work.
Where is 6DOTS based?
6DOTS is based in Great Falls, Virginia, in the Washington DC metro area (Northern Virginia). We work with companies and candidates across the United States and are remote-friendly.
What does the name 6DOTS mean?
6DOTS is short for "Degrees of Technical Separation." The idea is that everyone worth working with is a few degrees of technical separation away. The company started in 2016 by connecting technical people, and recruiting is part of the business again.
How do I reach Ross Day?
Use the contact form at 6dotsdc.com/contact or email rday@6dotsdc.com. Ross replies directly. He is also on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/rosspday.
Talk to Ross
A product to build, a hard technical problem, or a role to fill. Send a short note and Ross replies directly.