David Leibner is one of those guys. You meet him and immediately want to get to know him better. You know the type, handsome and confident with a strong handshake and a salted caramel voice. He looks and acts like he knows what’s going on…and that’s because he does. He’s the mastermind and creative genius behind one of the coolest apps for your phone and it’s one of those ideas that once you realize the brilliance of it you smack your head and say, “Why didn’t I think of that!?”

An 18 year resident of Las Vegas, via New York, Leibner works and lives downtown, participates in and supports downtown ventures and is the Founder and CEO of It’s On Me and Gift Local; a digital gifting app that interfaces with your desktop and smoothly performs on both Android and iPhone platforms. As of this writing there are three major cities with offerings – Las Vegas (75 locations), San Diego (30 locations) and newly launched New York City (6 locations) with more than 250 new locations to be added within 6 months across those cities. The participating merchants are a carefully curated group of locally owned restaurants and bars; no big box chains to weed through when looking to give a gift. Currently the app encompasses dining and cocktails, but they aim to bring personal services on board (like spas and hair salons) soon. The app literally takes gift “cards” to a whole new level and it’s a win-win-win for merchant, gift giver and gift recipient.

Let’s start with the merchants. Frequently, merchants will employ couponing services like Groupon to drive business in the doors. The downside is, “Once a customer has had your $20 [menu item] for $10 they aren’t going to come back and pay full retail for that same dish, no matter how much they liked it,” says Leibner. When someone uses a gift from It’s On Me it has been purchased at full retail value, no discounts. With the sign-up fee, a merchant is guaranteed a certain amount of sales. In the event that doesn’t happen, It’s On Me gives the merchant that specified dollar amount of gifts to use as they please. They can send them via email or text to clients who haven’t visited in a while. They can run a promo on Facebook to encourage participation. However they decide to use them. Sign up is available through the website and merchants can even add a free “affiliate button” to their website linking clients directly to the purchasing site of It’s On Me to purchase gifts for themselves or someone else. No cash spent on mailing or printing. Cost effective and genuinely effective marketing – go figure!

Bloggers like me, who write about food, can also be affiliates. Very soon you will see the affiliate button on my site – be on the lookout for it. When I write about someplace that is part of the It’s On Me network, I will be sure to point it out.

As a gift giver, how many times have you “forgotten” someone’s birthday? This app allows you to send a gift immediately to a recipient in any of your multiple contact lists (personal, Facebook, Twitter) and it will arrive via text, email, Twitter or Facebook message. Heard someone had a bad day? You can send shots of their favorite spirit at the neighborhood bar or coffee and a muffin, or a slice of pizza. The gift you choose will show up as a photo (like a gift card), but they can use the dollar amount to select anything they want. Of course you can choose a dollar amount instead of a specific item. And you can gift from your desktop or your phone.

When you receive a gift card, do you lose it, only to find it after it has expired? Yeah, me too. With It’s On Me, your gifts are in your phone. When was the last time you walked out the door without THAT? You don’t need the app to receive the gift, but you will need to download it to redeem your gift. Redemption is easy. Once you receive your check, open the app, find your gift and enter the receipt info from the check. The gift amount is automatically deducted and the server will charge you the balance if there is one. Don’t really like that bar or restaurant? No hassle re-gifting with ease!

Possible new logo for It’s On Me – keep your eyes peeled for changes!

Leibner and his team have created a unique ecosystem (think economic system) that is totally interactive, symbiotic and easy to navigate. The logo is easy to recognize, but watch for changes once the aforementioned service options become available. All too often finding local merchants with quality products can be a crap shoot. By vetting these merchants for you, the guess work has been taken out of gift giving by providing you with a list of premium locally owned businesses. Gifting local will forever be changed.

David says, “We thought it would be great for you to see how good it feels to receive a gift so click here goo.gl/0fvrdH and your next round is on us”.