Little to lose

Startup firm Demandbase garnered $8 million in venture funding in a round led by Sigma Partners. Altos Ventures and Adobe Systems, which led a round in 1Q07 for $3.3 million, also participated.

Demandbase will use the funding to expand its offerings, which seek to carve a contemporary niche for lead generation practices. Two new services will also be announced today:

Demandbase Stream, a downloadable web app that enables marketers to identify and contact business prospects visiting their websites. A ticker streams site visitors across marketers' desktops, enabling them to view contact details and pursue potential clients. The app is free; marketers are charged for every person they wish to contact.

Demandbase Direct provides online access to Demandbase's Central platform, where clients can access feeds from partners like D&B/Hoovers, Zoom Info, Lexis Nexis Business Information, Data Marketing Solutions, List Orbit, Opt-In Builders, and others, according to MediaPost. Only businesses with revenue over $5 million are tracked. The model is pay-as-you-go and has spent eight months in beta.

Demandbase was founded in 2006. Bob Spinner from Sigma Partners shall join its board of directors.