I think a lot of these massive tendering companies got started by meeting tenders they didn't get. Like for Microsoft, first they added all the features that were necessary for the tenders, and only after that, they started winning tenders. That's the story of the Windows NT POSIX subsystem that nobody ever needed.

It also helps to be flexible with the truth. If you get this one million dollar tender then you'll be doing one million dollars of business with the government so you can check that box.

If you meet all checkboxes, have the lowest price and still don't get the tender, you can usually sue the government for corruption. These processes are strictly regulated to avoid that.