Talklocal is a Washington D.C.-based local services marketplace that connects consumers to top-rated local businesses by phone in about 90 seconds. The platform uses a proprietary algorithm to match businesses based on service area, service type, online reviews, call analytics and other quality indicators, and a VoIP alert system that lets businesses press “5” to speak to consumers. Consumers use the site for free while businesses receive free lead previews and a pay-per-conversation model, paying only when they choose to connect in real time. The company has served 49 states, 9,000 ZIP codes, and says it has called businesses with consumer leads over one million times; it began driving significant revenue last year and that revenue is steadily growing. Talklocal plans to use the funds to double down on marketing and advertising as it expands nationally, build client and customer service teams, and strengthen home-services verticals such as heating and cooling. It is opening a new office near the University of Maryland, College Park, plans iPhone and Android apps in the coming weeks, and is pursuing partnerships with startups, community leaders and social media influencers. Seva Search builds Seva Call, a search engine that connects consumers with local businesses in near real-time by allowing users to enter availability and service details and then triggering businesses to call them. Customers input dates, times, name, phone number and a description; businesses call back and the first business that answers and meets the customer’s criteria connects with the customer. The system keeps customer contact details hidden until a business chooses to collect them, and businesses can receive requests via text and email as well as phone. By tracking calls, appointment bookings and ratings, Seva plans to train its algorithm to learn which businesses to call first and when, and will add features like follow-ups and price matching in the future. Seva Call had been in private beta and the company planned a D.C. Metro rollout within a month and a nationwide launch by early 2012. Operating metrics from testing showed that 1 in 4 companies with a relationship to Seva answer incoming calls versus 1 in 8 among businesses without a relationship; the company raised $1.3 million in Series A financing to support its launch.

Total raised

$4M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Sep 2014