Entertainment app launched

A Reno startup last month launched a mobile application that details nearby entertainment options but founders of Dibbs Inc. have far bigger plans.

"We want to be the Google of fun," says Scott Armstrong, the company's chief executive officer.

Users of dibbs they've been downloading it at a pace of 1,200 a week since it was launched last month use the app linked to GPS to learn about nearby shows, concerts and other entertainment options.

As the application develops, Armstrong says, the company plans to add more markets (San Francisco and Las Vegas are next up) and use artificial intelligence to deliver highly personalized listings to users.

Its founders hope, too, to add sophisticated ticketing services to allow users to act on the entertainment listings they find on dibbs.

But that's going to take money.

The company has been bootstrapped so far by Armstrong and Erin Looney, the company's president and technology guru. The cadre of 20 contractors and advisors who are building the company have been working for equity and the hope of a big payoff down the line.

Ultimately, Armstrong says, the company hopes to tap the capital markets. Just not yet.

"At some point, we're going to be reaching out to the venture capitalists. But we want to build our valuation first."

Armstrong doesn't want to talk much about the company's revenue model, other than to note the sale of banner ads as an obvious starting points.

Founders of the company, he says, have identified at least 15 possible revenue sources.

The revenue sources depend largely on the ability of dibbs to attract users who download the free app.

"To us, users are gold," Armstrong says. "And we know that they are not only downloading dibbs, they're using it."

To spread the word, the company has partnered with the magazine Reno Tahoe Tonight and radio station Alice 96.5 for cross-promotion.

Equally important, Armstrong says, has been the company's use of social media including Facebook and YouTube.

Armstrong and Looney previously worked as founders of Pindi Products Inc., a Reno-based biotechnology company.