This week’s banishment of host Scott Rogowsky was merely a symptom of the continuing battle to determine who will lead HQ Trivia. According to a number of sources, over half of the startup’s employees signed an inside petition to depose CEO Rus Yusupov who they noticed as mismanaging the corporate. But Yusupov then fired some core supporters of the mutiny, resulting in a downward spiral of morale that mirrors HQ’s plummeting App Store rank.
TechCrunch spoke to a number of sources acquainted with HQ Trivia’s inside troubles to piece collectively how the stay video cellular sport went from blockbuster to just about bust. Two sources mentioned HQ just lately solely had round $6 million within the financial institution however was burning over $1 million monthly, which means its runway could possibly be dwindling. But its early buyers are reluctant at hand Yusupov any extra cash. “
Employees petitioned to take away HQ Trivia’s CEO Rus Yusupov
HQ reimagined gaming and cellular leisure with the launch of its 12-question trivia sport in August 2017 the place gamers all competed stay in twice-daily reveals with anybody who obtained all of the solutions proper cut up a money jackpot. The video games felt pressing since you might solely take part at designated occasions, enjoyable to play in opposition to pals or strangers, and profitable carried a significance no single-player or continuous on-line sport may match.
When TechCrunch wrote the primary protection of HQ Trivia in October 2017, it had simply 3500 concurrent gamers. But by January it had climbed to the #three sport and #6 general app within the App Store, and grown to 2.38 million gamers by March. Quickly, copycats from China and Facebook entered the market. But all of them lacked HQ’s secret weapon — its plucky host comic Scott Rogowsky. Affectionately awarded nicknames like Quiz Daddy, Quiz Khalifa, Host Malone, and Trap Trebek from the “HQties” who performed day by day, he was the de facto face of the startup.
Yet HQ had some shaky foundations. Co-founder Colin Kroll, who’d additionally began Vine with Yusupov and bought it to Twitter, had been fired from Twitter after 18 months for being a nasty supervisor, Recode reported. He’d additionally picked up a fame of being creepy round feminine staff, in addition to Vine stars, TechCrunch has realized. Rapid progress and an investigation by early HQ investor Jeremy Liew that discovered no egregious misconduct by Kroll paved the way in which for a $15 million funding. The spherical was led by Founders Fund’s Cyan Bannister, and it valued HQ at over $100 million.
Yusupov did not translate that money into sustained progress and product innovation. His public conduct had already raised flags. He yelled at a Daily Beast reporter after the outlet’s Taylor Lorenz interviewed Rogowsky with out Yusupov’s approval, threatening to fireplace the host. “You’re placing Scott’s job in jeopardy. Is that what you need? . . . Please learn me your story phrase for phrase,” Yusupov mentioned. When he realized Rogowsky had expressed his choice for salad restaurant chain Sweetgreen, Yusupov shouted “He cannot say that! We do not have a brand deal with Sweetgreen! Under no circumstances can he say that.” The subsequent day, Yusupov falsely claimed he’d by no means threatened Rogowsky’s job.
With HQ’s checking account full, sources say Yusupov was extraordinarily sluggish to make selections, permitting HQ to stagnate. The novelty of enjoying trivia for cash by way of cellphone has begun to put on off, and other people more and more ignored HQ’s push notifications to affix its subsequent sport. But past bringing in some visitor hosts and the choice to purchase a second likelihood after a incorrect reply, HQ ceased to evolve. HQ fell to the #196 sport on iOS and the #585 general app as concurrent gamers waned.
That’s when issues began to get a bit Game Of Thrones.
Pawns In A CEO War
Liew pushed for HQ to swap Kroll into the CEO spot in September 2018 whereas shifting Yusupov to Chief Creative Officer, which was confirmed regardless of an HR grievance in opposition to Kroll for aggressive administration. However, three sources inform TechCrunch that Yusupov pushed…
