ZAPPOS INVESTS $500,000 IN NEW STARTUP APP MAKER IN LAS VEGAS

The developers behind iphone app Rumgr confirmed they have receivedan angel investment from Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh which will allow Rumgr to operate for one year and to hire 2 employees including an Android developer.

It's too soon to tell whether Rumgr is an idea whose time has come. But it's
clearly a new development for Las Vegas.

This is the first in what could be a wave of tech spinoffs from an established
company, a model of economic growth which is commonplace in California's Silicon Valley.

The founders of Rumgr all have Zappos ties having worked 4 years at Zappos Henderson
before leaving to focus on Rumgr. The trio of founders will work from a downtown
apartment provided by CEO Hsieh.

The Zappos link make it easier to obtain funding the trio agreed. Rumgr isn't the
first tech startup to receive an investment from Hsieh, but Rumgr is the first startup
to sucessfully spinoff from Zappos.

A handful of other Zappos employee startups are in development but have not yet launched.
Encouraging employees to be creative is a central tenet of the Zappos philosophy even
if that means losing a valued employee.

In an email to the R-J, Hsieh said, "we have always encouraged employees to pursue their
passions." Within Zappos, employees are encouaged to apply for jobs in other departments
if there is an opening for their dream job."

Hsieh's investments so far have been a bit informal, but he is in the process of forming
a Vegas tech fund through the Downtown Project, a separate company he started to invest in
downtown redevlopment.

Rumgr is a garage sale application.