A new trivia app from the creators of Vine aims to give you free money, as long as you know your stuff.
HQ Trivia is a live trivia game that streams at 9PM every day, and 3PM on weekdays. Each show features 12 questions you must answer correctly to win the cash prize. You have 10 seconds to answer each question. Get one wrong, and you're out of the game. The prize is then split between all winners.
"We wanted to make it interactive," said HQ Trivia co-creator Rus Yusupov. "We wanted to make it more social. It's not like TV where you're hoping for those moments. You're along for the ride."
It may sound like an easy way to win money, but the questions are designed to be difficult. The company has a team of writers, researchers and fact-checkers coming up with the prompts. Currently the top winner of all time has won just $560.
"It's a game of skill," Yusupov said. "You have to know your stuff on HQ. It pays to be right."
HQ Trivia launched in late August, thanks to a couple million dollars of venture capital funding from Lightspeed, according to Yusupov. The game hit its highest number of concurrent users ever Sunday night, when more than 120,000 people were playing at the same time. Fourteen players split the $7,500 prize.
Yusupov and Colin Kroll, who both co-created Vine with Dom Hofmann in 2013, wanted to launch an app that uses live video to its full potential. After a few other companies, including live video app Hype, they decided to make a game inspired by "Jeopardy" and other game shows combined with Hollywood-style production and livestreaming.
The game doesn't currently have any means for monetization, and the cash prizes come from its funding. However Yusupov hopes in the future it will add sponsorship opportunities.
For now HQ Trivia is focused on growing its user base, and is only available for iOS. Because the game happens at the same time every day, Yusupov said he's getting emails from offices who book conference rooms so co-workers can play together and help each other out. Even Yusupov's table at dinner on Sunday all logged on at 9PM to play.
"We see a lot of folks in the chat saying, 'I want to pay off my student loans,'" Yusupov said. '"I've got to win that prize.' One guy is saving money to buy his girlfriend a diamond ring. It's really interesting to see it take over offices, and living rooms and restaurants."