Trivia app founder is dead of OD
Colin Kroll, the CEO and cofounder of the popular app HQ Trivia, was found dead in his SoHo apartment early Sunday from an apparent drug overdose, police sources said.
Cops found Kroll, 34, unconscious in the bedroom of his Spring St. home with drug paraphernalia around him after his concerned girlfriend called authorities about 12:20 a.m. because she hadn’t heard from him, sources said.
Kroll reportedly took cocaine and heroin prior to his overdose, according to TMZ.
“We really honestly don’t even know all the details. I’m sure they will unfold as they may but please keep in mind that people are grieving,” a woman, who identified herself as a cousin, told the Daily News.
Kroll co-founded HQ with Rus Yusupov, and the game debuted in August 2017. HQ users compete with other players as part of a live game show and win prize money if they get all 12 trivia questions correct.
Yusupov remembered his friend in a tweet Sunday.
“I will forever remember (Colin) for his kind soul and big heart,” he wrote. “He made the world and internet a better place. Rest in peace, brother.”
At its height, HQ drew more than 2 million players a game, and in March banked $15 million in venture funding, giving it a reported postmoney valuation of $100 million. But its popularity has waned in recent months – HQ did not have a place in the iPhone App Store’s top 200 most downloaded free apps as of Sunday morning, despite having spent much of last year in the top 10.
Scott Rogowsky, HQ Trivia’s main host, referred to Kroll as a “true visionary” in a video message to the app’s users Sunday night. “First and foremost, Colin was good friend and colleague, a person of compassion and generosity,” he said.
Sunday night’s Spongebob Squarepants-themed trivia game was canceled.
“Colin was an animal lover. He’d sometimes bring his dog Tater to the office. As such, we’re donating what would have been tonight’s $25,000 cash prize to the Humane Society in Colin’s honor and memory.”
HQ Trivia launched months after Vine, which allowed users to upload six-second videos, shut down.