FastCall411 Helps You Search For Local Businesses

Posted by Matt on September 28th, 2007

If you have ever tried to search online for local small businesses, you’ll know that it can definitely become a pain at times. Tiny listings, out of date websites, and wrong contact information plague online local advertising. That big yellow phone book tucked in the corner of the room is still the main stay for local businesses.

A new self-funded startup out of Hollywood, CA wants you to throw that yellow book away. Just launched at DEMOfall07, FastCall411 offers a unique spin to online local directory search. With some clever use of AI, VOIP, and parallel dialing, FastCall411 claims to connect you to with reliable, proven local businesses. Need a plumber quick? Click ‘Search’ on FastCall411 and instantly a list of plumbers with reliable track records in your area are listed. Click ‘FastCall’ and instantly all those plumbers are called at the same time. FastCall411 then uses some method to decide which plumber exhibits the best in customer service (most likely call response time, or voice similarity to Mario’s), and then connects the user to the business.

Close, but no cigar.

FastCall411 is a step in the right direction, but it needs to go a bit further in order to draw some big attention. Simply connecting consumers to businesses is not enough. FastCall411 needs to offer ways to compare these small businesses. Price comparison is the main reason people call multiple plumbers in the first place. Also, until FastCall411 can garner enough listings for some major cities (it only serves Los Angeles right now), the yellow book will still be the main place people look for their local Mario.

Tags: DEMO