LeadsOnline is an investigative technology company that serves law enforcement agencies in 80+ countries. Pulse 2.0 interviewed LeadsOnline CEO Alex Finley to learn more about the company.
Alex Finley’s Background
What is Alex Finley’s background? Finley said:
“I’m the CEO of LeadsOnline, a company that provides data intelligence and ballistic analysis technology to domestic and international law enforcement agencies to help them fight crime. Prior to this role, I worked in strategy and finance at Walmart and helped them plan and launch new online businesses in the United States and China. I have a bachelor’s in business administration from Harding University and an MBA from Duke University. It was after grad school that I decided to come back to LeadsOnline, the business I had grown up around and interned with during high school and college.”
Formation Of LeadsOnline
How did the idea for the company come together? Finley shared:
“LeadsOnline was founded in 2000 with the idea of using technology to help pawn shops and other businesses dealing in secondhand goods to digitize and report tickets for compliance with local reporting requirements.”
“The LeadsOnline solution is now a nationwide database of 2 billion second-hand transactions from pawn shops, scrap yards, and online marketplaces like eBay, which police departments use to identify people, property, and patterns to streamline their investigations and oftentimes link criminal activity in one jurisdiction to another. In addition to recovering stolen property, our flagship product also has helped solve violent crimes, find missing persons, and apprehend dangerous criminals.”
“It’s an honor to help those who protect and serve, as well as the victims of crimes and their families. So we’ve grown by adding more solutions to our platform of investigative tools, including mobile devices and social media analysis plus ballistic identification to get crime guns and shooters off the street.”
Core Products
What are the company’s core products and features? Finley explained:
“Our mission is to give law enforcement the data and tools they need to advance more cases faster. In addition to the original LeadsOnline solution to search secondary market transactions to identify potential suspects, stolen items, and criminal activity patterns, we also provide:
— IBIS: Powers global ballistic identification networks, including NIBIN, the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network managed by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with advanced 3D imaging and analysis to link gun crimes across jurisdictions.
— IBIS ClearCase: Accelerates crime gun investigations by fully automating cartridge case triage.
— Quantum 3D Microscope: Delivers 3D visual and quantitative analysis for firearms examination.
— CellHawk: Simplifies the analysis and visualization of complex mobile device and geo-location data.
— NightHawk: Enables collaborative investigations with advanced social media and digital data visualization tools.
All these solutions empower law enforcement agencies with actionable insights to address a range of crimes—from missing property and people to violent crime.”
Evolution Of LeadsOnline’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Finley noted:
“We’ve added to our technology portfolio in large part by acquisitions that are strategic to fulfilling our mission. We’ve built a comprehensive platform of investigative tools that are easy to use but highly effective in delivering critical and unique data to advance cases from the crime scene to the courtroom. As criminals have become more savvy in using technology, we’re helping law enforcement keep pace by adding solutions that make it easier to analyze mobile device and geo-location data plus find social media intersections and connections, for example.”
“Another tech-related challenge facing modern law enforcement is the increase in the number of cartridge cases found at crime scenes because of machine gun conversion devices. They are cheap and easy to come by via the internet, but they enable hundreds of rounds to be fired in a matter of seconds. All those fired cartridge cases take a long time to process accurately, so we just introduced IBIS ClearCase to make it easier and faster for investigators to find out how many guns were involved in an incident and what kinds of guns may have been used. Those details allow investigators, with virtually no ballistics training, to quickly establish and pursue leads, which means offenders aren’t as likely to remain at large with the ability to shoot again.”
“We’ll continue to invest in research and development with our amazing team that includes not only software developers but also former law enforcement professionals, forensic experts, and the world’s leading scientists specializing in ballistics. Our folks understand what’s needed because many of them have worked cases—from property crimes to homicides and gangs—so they know what the challenges are and that informs how we enhance existing products, develop new technologies ourselves, or add to our platform with new M&A activity.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates the company from its competition? Finley affirmed:
“LeadsOnline distinguishes itself through an unwavering commitment to empowering law enforcement with innovative technology that helps solve crimes and deliver justice. From the outset, our focus has been on democratizing technology, making it more accessible and user-friendly for law enforcement agencies to enhance their investigative capabilities.”
“What sets us apart is our holistic approach. While many providers offer isolated data or single-purpose tools, LeadsOnline delivers a seamlessly integrated suite of solutions that support every stage of an investigation. Our platform combines unique, data-driven techniques and intuitive workflows to help investigators work smarter, faster and with greater precision in achieving justice.”
“We also try to demonstrate empathy and bring light to such dark subject matter. For example, we tell our support team “to make their day” because we know investigators are calling us because something terrible has happened. I think our values of service, energy, people and ownership come through. We have a strong sense of purpose, a desire to serve with excellence and joy, and care deeply about the success of our clients.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future goals? Finley pointed out:
“We’ll continue to introduce new advancements across intelligence and ballistics, such as ClearCase, which I mentioned earlier. It’s based on the same proven algorithms that have made IBIS the world standard for ballistic identification technology. Within minutes of using ClearCase, a law enforcement agency or crime lab can determine how many and what types of guns to look for and then submit the ideal candidates to NIBIN for further analysis and correlation to see if those firearms were used in other shootings.”
“We’re also planning to roll out next-generation updates to key technologies – offering improved digital imaging capabilities for cartridge cases and providing advanced 3D visual and quantitative analysis for firearms examination. And we turn 25 in 2025, so we plan to celebrate with some fun events for both employees and customers. In fact, we’ll be hosting our 25th-anniversary Leadership Conference in Frisco, Texas, and we’re going to make it extra special.”
“We look forward to collaborating with the new administration as they focus on restoring law and order, enhancing safety across America, and fostering a sense of pride among those serving on the front lines and in crime labs.”
Customer Success Stories
When asking Finley about customer success stories, he highlighted:
“LeadsOnline’s technology is used every day to help solve numerous cases at the local, state and federal level—as well as internationally.”
“One of the most recent examples pertains to the takedown of four gangs with approximately 40 members in Baltimore, including the confiscation of 65 guns that ATF determined were linked to 47 shootings. Local and federal authorities worked together, using the IBIS technology through NIBIN, to make those connections that should help in prosecuting the shooters.”
“Another instance of local and federal cooperation leveraging NIBIN and our ballistic technology comes out of Florida, where several counties worked together with ATF to charge 487 juveniles and young adults with more than 1,400 counts that included first-degree murder, kidnapping, burglary while armed, and aggravated assault. A mobile NIBIN trailer was used as part of a pilot ‘Young Guns’ program to get more arrests and convictions to curb violent crime among young people.”
“Here in Texas, the Arlington Police Department solved a double homicide using the LeadsOnline platform. They had no physical evidence or suspects, but a serial number in LeadsOnline was linked to property reported stolen during the crime. Investigators used the solution to track the suspect’s pawn history, discovering additional items stolen from the victims’ home. Confronted with this evidence, the suspect confessed and was convicted of capital murder.”
“Unfortunately, our business involves crime, and sometimes those outcomes are really sad for victims and their families. But we’re proud to support law enforcement in doing their jobs faster and more effectively to ultimately keep communities safer.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Finley cited:
“What began as a small company with a few dozen employees and a single software solution has grown to more than 300 team members with offices beyond Plano, Texas, to include Denver, Colorado, Montreal, Canada, Largo, Florida, Bangkok, Thailand, Dublin, Ireland and Pretoria, South Africa.”
“After bringing on our first institutional investor, TA Associates, we have been able to expand and round out our portfolio of crime-solving technology through the acquisitions of CellHawk, Nighthawk, and Forensic Technology. Most notably, the acquisition of Forensic Technology has made us the world leader in ballistic identification technology,y so we’re uniquely equipped to lead the way in crime gun intelligence solutions for law enforcement around the world.”
“As someone who first worked summer internships here, I’m amazed at how far we’ve come. I mean, I always knew it was a special place, but having the privilege to lead the company and know the men and women who use our technology makes it even more special to me. I’m grateful to our team for how they’ve responded to our growth and the associated changes in pursuit of a big mission to help investigators around the world. I also want to thank my dad, Dave Finley, who was CEO for many years and still serves on our board. I appreciate the vision he had for the company, letting me hang out when I was a kid, and the trust he’s placed in me these last few years.”
Funding/Revenue
When asking Finley about the company’s funding and revenue details, he concluded:
“LeadsOnline is privately held, so we don’t release our financials. However, we’re a profitable company with aggressive growth goals because we serve an important sector.”
