Andy Leff remembers the precise date and time he got the idea. He was driving to a supermarket in Florida when a DJ came on the radio and talked about a band no one had ever heard of going platinum thanks to an aggressive Myspace campaign.
That, Leff, remembers, was 3:07 p.m. on July 14, 2006.
“A lightbulb went off in my head. If an obscure band can do it, why cant a business,” says Leff, who couldn’t recall the bands name, only they were from Australia.
The band might benefit from Leff’s brainchild that was born that summer day more than two years ago. Last week, Leff’s full-service interactive design firm 7Mainstreet.com unveiled its “dynamic commerce community” in beta form. The new tool transforms the static online directory model by combining social networking, business networking and e-commerce. Its like a tricked-out Yellow Pages.
“We help maximize their business without having to bounce around,” says Leff, 27 and the company’s CEO. “We allow the business directory to come alive”
Businesses can take ownership of their profile listing, pictures, text, video, maps and blogs with a patent-pending feature for real-time e-commerce.
7Mainstreet claims 16 million businesses in its database and Leff reports 2,100 have activated accounts and are using features in the last four-plus months. He credits good word-of-mouth and partnering with local chambers of commerce. Clients include a Philadelphia-based chain of jewelry stores, large non-profits and health care facilities and collectibles retailers.
Leff is in negotiations with a number of large financial institutions that are looking to build thousands of their bank branches to the site, but he knows small businesses are 7Mainstreet’s bread and butter; 64 percent of small businesses do not have a Web presence.
7Mainstreet employs nearly 20 in its Rittenhouse Square office and is currently seeking to hire more developers and designers. Leff says customers are pleased with their placements in search results, and he’s proud to be helping small businesses.
“It’s nice to know a tool I thought of is actually out here and helping busineses, especially in tough economic times.”
Source: Andy Leff, CEO of 7Mainstreet
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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