SAN MATEO, Calif.—Three former executives from mobile marketing company Enpocket have teamed to launch a “reverse auction” service for wireless users.
Limbo 41414 unveiled a beta site that rewards users who makes the lowest offer via text message for an item that no other bidder makes. The company has run 55 auctions, selling a 42-inch plasma TV for $3.25 and a video iPod for $4.30.
The service includes an affinity program that rewards losers with credits that can be redeemed for prizes.
Two current auctions offering a Hummer or pair of tickets to the NCAA basketball championship are free for bidders; others require a fee for participants. The company generates revenue through shared data revenues from carriers and from brands looking to promote their wares.
The venture reunites Rob Lawson, Jonathon Linner and Juho-Pekka Virolainen, who cofounded Enpocket. Limbo said it is working to patent its intellectual property; the company is backed by Azure Capital Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
