When Dane McLeod took a look at the tech industry in 2009, he noticed that everyone was buzzing about social games such as “Farmville” and online deals. So the recent college grad decided to start a company that combined the two trends.

The result? GoSave.com, a website where people compete against each other in game show-style contests to earn points that they can later redeem for gift cards.

The site, which launched last month, also awards points to members who shop online at GoSave’s partner retailers including Target Inc. and iTunes. GoSave even provides special discount coupons for those purchases.

Prizes are typically gift cards to restaurants or retailers. McLeod, president of the downtown L.A. company, said he needed more than discount offers to get people to come to the site, and games were the answer.

“By creating these casual games that draw people to the website, I was really looking to create something that could engage people,” he said.

McLeod raised $360,000 in funding from family, friends and private investors to start GoSave, which now has 10 employees. He planned to launch the site in September last year, but decided to rebuild it from scratch after a first effort didn’t have enough of the social networking element.

“We scrapped the old website and went back to square one,” he said. “We wanted it to be more social.”

Game Grab

Jirbo Inc., a West L.A. company that develops mobile phone applications, has snagged an Activision Blizzard Inc. veteran as its new chief executive.

Will Kassoy, who was a senior vice president at the Santa Monica video game publisher, will oversee Jirbo’s operations, which include an app gaming division.

Jirbo has developed more than 200 mobile apps, including Sportsbook, which helps users place bets on college and professional sports games, and Paper Football, a game where players flick on an on-screen paper football. The company also operates an advertising network, AdColony, which places video ads on mobile apps.

Staff reporter Natalie Jarvey can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 230.