HUNT A KILLER
HEADQUARTERS: Baltimore FOUNDERS: Ryan Hogan (CEO), Derrick Smith EMPLOYEES: 50
Childhood pals Hogan and Smith are profiting from true-crime fervor and quarantine boredom with their murder-mystery game Hunt A Killer, sold by subscription for $25 to $30 a month. Its boxes of clues include police reports, news clippings and financial records, often inspired by real murders. The four-year-old company expects revenue to reach $50 million this year, nearly double last year’s $27 million; subscriber figures have hit 100,000. “Whether people want an escape from politics or the pandemic, Hunt A Killer engages your brain with something else,” says Hogan, 36. “Even if that’s solving a heinous crime.”