When bad data burns irreplaceable relationships
Fireant builds digital solutions for Australia’s public sector—mobile apps, web platforms, and enterprise software for frontline workers, first responders, and volunteers. Founded in 2019, they spent their first few years operating like most startups: referrals, existing networks, word of mouth.
That works until it doesn’t. Eventually, you exhaust your network. Eventually, you need to prospect cold.
Thomas Mynott, Fireant’s Head of Partnerships, was tasked with building Fireant’s outbound motion from scratch. Not improving an existing process. Not optimizing workflows. Building the entire function from nothing.
The challenge: Australia’s already a small market. Public sector digital solutions? An even smaller niche within that market. Fireant couldn’t afford spray-and-pray outreach. They needed precision.
Australia’s a small market, but then we’re also playing to a small niche in that small market.
When your addressable market is measured in hundreds of potential customers instead of thousands, every contact matters. Bad data doesn’t just slow you down—it burns relationships you can’t afford to waste.
Thomas had used sales intelligence tools before in previous roles. He knew exactly which one he’d pick.
Four weeks later, Fireant had a mature outbound motion running.
Within four weeks, we were able to go from literally nothing to an entire business development team executing as you would expect a mature sales team to be executing.
Not an MVP. Not a proof of concept. A fully functioning team hitting KPIs.
The Australia data problem
When Thomas evaluated sales intelligence platforms for the Australian market, two names dominated: Lusha and ZoomInfo.
He’d used both in previous roles. The choice was immediate.
I consistently use Lusha because the data accuracy, particularly here in Australia and New Zealand, is leaps and bounds above ZoomInfo.
Not marginally better. Leaps and bounds better.
For U.S.-based companies, ZoomInfo’s data might work. But for Australia and New Zealand? The accuracy gap is significant. When you’re targeting decision-makers in public sector organizations—CTOs, CIOs, digital transformation leads—wrong contact information doesn’t just waste time. It closes doors.
In a small market, you don’t get second chances. If you reach out to the wrong person or with outdated information, you’ve damaged your reputation with that organization. Word travels fast in niche sectors.
Data accuracy is a foundational requirement to hitting any KPI.
Lusha’s AU/NZ data accuracy gave Fireant the precision they needed. Not to prospect at scale—to prospect effectively within their constrained addressable market.
The business case that actually stacks up
Data accuracy wasn’t the only factor. Cost mattered too.
Lusha provides it at such a reasonable cost that it’s really easy to put the business case forward. With ZoomInfo, it’s a huge investment, and the data accuracy isn’t there. The business case doesn’t stack up.
For a startup building outbound from scratch, that matters. ZoomInfo requires significant budget for data that doesn’t work as well in the Australian market. Lusha delivers better accuracy at a price that makes the ROI obvious.
The ROI per lead, per booked meeting, per SQL, is actually incredibly cost-effective.
When you’re pitching budget for a brand-new sales function, you need a business case that’s easy to approve. Better data at lower cost? That’s a straightforward decision.
Four weeks from nothing to execution
Thomas didn’t have six months to build and refine a prospecting strategy. Fireant needed pipeline. Fast.
His tech stack: LinkedIn Sales Navigator for targeting. Lusha for verified contact data. HubSpot CRM for management. All integrated.
Week 1: Set up infrastructure and integrations
Week 2: Build initial target lists and workflows
Week 3: Launch outreach and refine processes
Week 4: Full team executing like a mature sales organization
Within four weeks, we were able to go from literally nothing to an entire business development team executing as you would expect a mature sales team to be executing.
That speed came from two things: accurate data and clean integrations. Lusha’s HubSpot sync meant contacts flowed directly into the CRM, verified and complete. No manual data entry. No cleanup work. No delays.
The team could focus on outreach instead of data management. When every contact in your CRM is already accurate, you skip the entire data hygiene phase that usually slows down new outbound programs.
Four weeks. Zero to mature execution. That’s what happens when data accuracy and integration actually work.
What “critical” means
When asked to describe Lusha in one word, Thomas chose: Critical.
Not helpful. Not useful. Critical.
Data accuracy is a foundational requirement to hitting any KPI.
In a small market targeting a niche sector, accurate contact data isn’t a performance enhancer. It’s foundational infrastructure. Without it, you can’t hit any KPI. With it, you can build an entire outbound motion in a month.
Thomas has seen enough sales tools to know what works and what doesn’t. He’s used both Lusha and ZoomInfo across multiple roles and markets. His recommendation is unambiguous:
The options on the table will be Lusha, ZoomInfo, and maybe a third, Australian-based solution. But Lusha is the best of the three options, 100 times out of 100. So go with Lusha first.
100 times out of 100. Not “usually better” or “depends on your use case.” 100 out of 100.
That clarity comes from experience. When you’ve used both platforms and seen the accuracy difference firsthand, the choice becomes obvious.
The integrations that keep improving
Beyond data accuracy and cost, Thomas values something else: Lusha’s expanding integration ecosystem.
I love that Lusha is ever increasing its number of integrations to other platforms.
When you’re building sales infrastructure, integrations determine how well your stack works together. Lusha connects to HubSpot, Salesforce, LinkedIn, and an expanding list of tools that sales teams actually use.
For Fireant, that meant building their outbound motion on a platform that would continue to improve and expand rather than staying static. As they add new tools to their stack, Lusha’s integrations keep data flowing seamlessly.
When precision matters more than scale
Fireant operates in a unique position: a small market within a small country, targeting a specific niche within that market.
They can’t prospect like U.S. companies with massive addressable markets. They can’t afford spray-and-pray outreach. They need to reach the right people with accurate information the first time.
That’s exactly what Lusha enabled:
Superior AU/NZ data accuracy compared to competitors
Cost structure that made the business case easy
Clean HubSpot integration that eliminated manual work
Fast implementation that got them to execution in 4 weeks
Ongoing platform improvements through expanding integrations
Lusha is the best of the three options, 100 times out of 100.
From nothing to a mature outbound motion in four weeks. Not because Fireant cut corners. Because they built on accurate data and clean integrations that let them move fast.
When Thomas had to build Fireant’s outbound function, he didn’t experiment with multiple tools or run lengthy evaluations. He knew from experience which platform delivered better data for the Australian market at a price that made sense.
Four weeks later, the results proved him right.
