INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Today the company laid off its full staff of 25 and will cease operation of its trivia, sports and word guessing games, a source close to
established business to acquire HQ and continue building our vision, had definitive agreements and legal docs, and a projected closing date
of tomorrow, and for reasons we are still investigating, they suddenly changed their position and despite our best efforts, we were unable
the 12-question live video trivia game started by two of the former Vine founders
Users could win real money by answering all the questions and not being eliminated in multiple daily games
HQ Trivia had raised more than $15 million, including a Series A led by Founders Fund
At one point it had more than 2.3 million concurrent players.But eventually the novelty began to wear off
Cheaters came in, splitting the prize money down to just a few dollars or cents per winner
Copycats emerged internationally
Engineering issues led users to get kicked out of the game.Then tragedy struck
Co-founder Colin Kroll passed away
That exacerbated internal problems at HQ Trivia
Product development was slow, leading users to grow tired of the game
New game types and viral features materialized too late.A failed internal mutiny saw staffers prepare to petition the board to remove
Yusupov from the CEO position
When he caught wind of the plot, organizers of the revolt were fired
HQ managed about 15 million all-time installs, peaking at 2 million in February 2018, while last month it had just 67,000, according to
Sensor Tower.The demise of HQ Trivia demonstrates the fickle nature of the gaming industry, and the startup scene as a whole
Momentary traction is no guarantee of future success
Products must continually evolve and adapt to their audience to stay relevant
And executives must forge ahead while communicating clearly with their teams, even amongst uncertainty, or find their companies withered by
the rapid passing of time.
