DDI's $5M VC Deal: Cloud-Based 'LeadFire' Emerges From Beta, Automates Lucrative B2C Pay-Per-Lead Model On A Massive Scale

BELVEDERE, Calif., Jan. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Du Molin & Du Molin, Inc. (DDI) venture capital group announces the newest product to emerge from its incubator after a beta test involving more than 700 participants. Code named 'LeadFire', the SaaS (software as a service) next generation lead gen platform was developed with $5M of DDI funding.  It allows large online lead aggregation companies to customize, launch and manage organic lead generation campaigns for thousands of their SMB customers in local vertical markets.

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130114/SF41578 )

"LeadFire's patent pending local organic search engine technology is designed to generate targeted, qualified leads by the thousands – leads that actually convert into appointments and sales," says Peter Avritch, CTO and chief architect of LeadFire. "PPC is just too expensive, so we came up with a Google-safe organic solution which includes easy-to-manage marketing portals, online directories, social media and of course, mobile."



Beta testing was done in the dental practice vertical by a subscriber-based dental marketing firm located in the U.S.  The dental vertical was chosen to test LeadFire's ability to increase profit margins using local organic search in a market with notoriously high PPC costs.  More than 700 dental practices participated, choosing from multiple targeted sub-markets such as braces, dentures, etc. LeadFire produced more than 60,000 verified dental appointment leads, with cost-per-lead significantly lower than paid search.



The beta test's participating dentists were enthusiastic about the lead conversion they experienced. Mark Mancin, D.D.S., of Gladstone, MO, described LeadFire as both extremely effective and cost efficient. "We are currently averaging approximately 20 new patients per month via their web marketing portals," said Mancin. "Production for one 'sedation [dentistry] case' generated $32,000 for the practice."

LeadFire's financial model is based on licensing the technology to a limited number of lead aggregation companies that have an ongoing need for high-volume leads in different B2C vertical markets such as health care, financial services, insurance, building trades, real estate, etc.

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