BIA/Kelsey launched Future Stars several years ago, with the idea of highlighting startup companies in the local space that needed a little boost to hit the big time. Future Stars get to participate in Future Stars Alley at our events; receive reviews from expert judges; and qualify for some stage time.

A great group of Future Stars is set for our SMB Digital Marketing event, which is Sept. 22-24 in New Orleans. The panel takes the stage at the end of Day 2. Come and cheer them on.

When one of the Future Stars breaks through with funding, major alliances or other success metrics, of course, it is very welcome news for us. We take a lot of pride in it. Today, our friends at Seva Call — a Washington D.C.-based service leads company founded in 2012 — announced that it raised a new round of $2.6 million. This is on top of $1.3 Million previously raised.

It has also recently celebrated its one millionth call to local businesses in 46 categories; and rebranded as TalkLocal. It is also expected to launch nationally in the near future, and roll out a mobile app. Co-founder Manpreet Singh tells us that BIA/Kelsey “has certainly been a big part of our progress.” (thanks Manpreet).

Future Star Manpreet Singh, Co-Founder,Talk Local (on right) with Albert Bitton of the Canadian Deals and Coupon Association

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Fast, efficient service leads has been a goal of numerous companies since the commercialization of the Internet. Richard Rosen and his team at FastCall411 pioneered the space seven or eight years ago, although their service was initially limited to hiring car service. The first car service to respond to queries would win the job.

Several new entrants have jumped into the space. ReachLocal has launched ClubLocal, a service that automatically sends out service pros to customers that send in a query. The pros, who provide discounted service, are sent out based on price quotes, reviews and other criteria.

Another new entrant is SevaCall (i.e. save a call), a five person startup based in Potomac MD that sends out leads to service providers, who can then automatically respond to customers – hopefully, within a 90 second window. The service allows up to three service providers to call consumers, who can do their own price and service comparison, set a service window, and hire who they want.

President and COO Manpreet Singh says the service, which raised $1.3 Million in first round funding, is filtering its leads to find the ideal service providers. It eventually will use call management software to filer leads based on pricing, job types done, ratings and reviews, and even inflection points.

Some service pros are being sent leads for free as an introduction to the service, but Singh tells us that the average lead cost is now $13. It is offering services in more than 50 categories, including taxicabs, florists and accountants. More than 6,000 zipcodes are currently being served, including zips in Atlanta, Boston and Kansas City.

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