Jason Cianchette while still at Liquid Wireless in a Press Herald file photo from February. (Credit: John Patriquin)

Jason Cianchette while still at Liquid Wireless in a Press Herald file photo from February. (Credit: John Patriquin)

Jason Cianchette, the entrepreneur who founded Liquid Wireless in 2008 and sold it a few years later to Publishers Clearing House for an undisclosed amount of cash, has launched a new startup in Portland.

Cianchette remained with Liquid Wireless until earlier this year, when he left to pursue a new opportunity. What we know about his new startup is slim (Cianchette told me he isn’t ready to speak in detail about it yet), but there are plenty of clues around the web.

Here’s what we do know: The startup is called HuzzApp … or Huzzapp (it’s not clear if CamelCase is the preferred style). A Google search brings up the first clue, a website with the bold meta description: “We’re building the future of television by creating mobile apps that allow users to engage in video in a whole new way.”

The website — huzzapp.com — is static, but it features a cool image of a rocket ship silhouetted by the moon above the name HUZZAPP! in a big, bold font reminiscent of a circus poster. Below the image is a single sentence: “We believe that by combining the intimacy of video with the rewards of games that we can create something truly awesome.”

Ah ha! Video + games … given Cianchette’s experience with Liquid Wireless, which generated leads for clients via click-through ads on websites and games accessed by mobile devices, and past experience as VP of Products at MocoSpace, a Boston-based startup that built a mobile gaming community, it’s a safe bet that HuzzApp will have something to do with games, advertising and lead generation in the mobile market.

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Clues can also be garnered from Cianchette’s LinkedIn profile. He’s updated his page to reflect the fact he became the founder of HuzzApp in October 2014. In this entry, he writes: “Tablets and smartphones enable a new form of entertainment that combines the intimacy of live action video with the rewards of casual games.” He continues: “We are building a managed service platform that lets content creators develop interactive television experiences for tablets and smartphones.”

Sniffing around for more clues, I find HuzzApp on CrunchBase, an online database of startups, where Cianchette describes it as a “mobile app company focused on interactive video games.”

On AngelList, a website for investors, entrepreneurs and job-seekers in the startup world, Cianchette calls HuzzApp “interactive TV for iPads.” He also gives us a glimpse of HuzzApp’s first product in the AngelList entry: “Our first app is a Trivia game that combines live action video of a hilarious host asking the user trivia questions and responding to their answers. The app gives the user casual game features like points, levels, badges and virtual currency.” HuzzApp will begin developing native apps for the iPad before delving into the iPhone and Android devices, according to AngelList. The startup’s native apps will “provide the user experience along with server components to track all of the available content for the apps along with tools that speed up the video production process,” Cianchette writes.

Like a bloodhound on a trail, “HuzzApp Trivia” becomes a new Google search term to explore. That turns up two videos on YouTube of people auditioning to be HuzzApp Trivia hosts. I don’t think either made the cut, as Cianchette posted a photo on Twitter on Nov. 19, exclaiming “First day of shooting for HuzzApp trivia!” Neither of the YouTubers are the host in the pic.

So, there you have it. HuzzApp — in its initial iteration, at least — is a startup that will produce native apps and, perhaps, tools for content creators to develop interactive videos and games for the iPad.

Given Cianchette’s track record, HuzzApp will certainly be a Portland startup to watch in 2015. I’ll bring you more details when Cianchette is ready to publicly discuss the company and its mission.

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