OutreachGenius: Using AI to capture missed revenue opportunities
For home‑service contractors like plumbers, roofers or painters, missing a call from a potential customer often means losing the job, and the accompanying revenue. It’s a problem David Owasi understands all too well.
Running a painting franchise during university showed Owasi just how easily revenue can slip through the cracks for business owners. He found that he was missing out on business simply because he couldn’t answer calls from interested customers fast enough.
“If you're not able to pick up that phone as soon as they call, there's a high chance, almost 50% or more, that they've already spoken to a competitor,” says Owasi. “I knew I was leaving so much money on the table.”
He found that follow-up presented another major gap. “People will express interest in a job, but if you don't follow up, then you never get the job.”
In 2023, he started OutreachGenius to help home-service businesses answer inquiries. Today, the Winnipeg‑based company works with businesses across North America, helping them capture missed opportunities, revive dormant leads and book more jobs using AI voice agents tailored to their industry.
For half our calls, people don’t even know they are speaking to AI in the first place. People just care about being helped.
David Owasi
Founder, OutreachGenius
Building AI assistants for contractors
OutreachGenius does more than pick up a call when it comes in. It has the full conversation, and because it’s connected to a contractor’s CRM, it can book an appointment on the spot. It also follows up automatically by text, email or phone until the customer responds.
“For half of our calls, people don't even know they're speaking to AI in the first place,” says Owasi. “People just care about being helped.” Contractors benefit from providing a better client experience when people’s inquiries get answered.
That instant response is only part of OutreachGenius’ value. The bigger opportunity is hidden inside a contractor’s existing database. Many home-service businesses have hundreds of old inquiries sitting untouched, potential customers who asked for a quote but never booked. OutreachGenius brings those leads back to life and turns them into real revenue.
“We mine the potential leads or revenue you have in your CRM,” explains Owasi. “Follow-up is not sexy, but AI obviously doesn't have any issue doing as much follow-up as needed.”
His company focuses on high-value home-service sectors, like painting, roofing, windows and doors, and siding. The businesses often have small teams that are busy completing jobs in the field. Hiring qualified office workers to answer calls can often be difficult. For these businesses, even one revived lead can make a big difference.
What we’ve seen is that the biggest value comes from mining the leads you already have, often generating 30% to 40% more revenue.
David Owasi
Founder, OutreachGenius
Measuring impact through jobs booked
OutreachGenius focuses on one metric above all: the number of new jobs it brings in for the franchisee or business owner. So far, Owasi says the results have been significant.
One painting franchise generated an extra half-million dollars in revenue simply by having OutreachGenius revive old leads that were sitting in its CRM. Another client, a flooring franchise, brought in $100,000 in new contracts from a single AI-handled call.
“What we’ve seen is that the biggest value comes from mining the leads you already have, often generating 30% to 40% more revenue,” he says.
Currently, most of OutreachGenius’s clients are in the United States, but Owasi and his team are working to change that and are increasingly partnering with Canadian franchisees. But he sees a clear cultural difference in how the two markets approach AI adoption. He hopes his technology’s strong results will help shift that mindset.
We know the market is there. That’s what we are optimizing for.
David Owasi
Founder, OutreachGenius
Growing with BDC support
Since it started in 2023, OutreachGenius has grown steadily, from $300,000 in annual revenue to around $500,000 today, with projections to surpass seven figures this year. BDC’s support, including a recent investment as part of a US$1 million round, has played a meaningful role in this growth.
“Their belief in us has been really helpful,” says Owasi. “When BDC backs a company like ours, it opens a lot of doors.”
The investment is helping the company hire senior talent, expand marketing and accelerate growth. “It’s just allowing us to move a little bit faster,” he says.
Looking ahead, Owasi’s goal is clear: scale OutreachGenius into a multimillion-dollar business while helping home-service contractors capture the opportunities already coming their way.
“We know the market is there,” he says. “That's what we're optimizing for.”
Next step
Get preferential-rate consulting and financing to invest in AI, automation and advanced computer vision equipment with the LIFT program.