Colin Kroll Co-founder of video platform Vine and quiz app HQ Trivia Date of Birth: 01.01.1984 Country: USA

1. Colin Kroll: A Tech Innovator and Entrepreneur
2. Early Life and Education
3. Career at Yahoo, Jetsetter, and Vine
4. Departure from Twitter and HQ Trivia
5. Death and Legacy

Colin Kroll: A Tech Innovator and Entrepreneur

Colin Kroll, the co-founder of the video-sharing platform Vine and the live trivia app HQ Trivia, gained prominence in the tech world for his innovative contributions.

Early Life and Education

Born in 1983 or 1984 in the United States, Kroll pursued a degree in Computer Science from Oakland University.

Career at Yahoo, Jetsetter, and Vine

From 2007 to 2009, Kroll worked as a Project Manager at Yahoo. He then joined Jetsetter as CTO from 2009 to 2013. It was during his tenure at Jetsetter that Kroll met Rus Yusupov and Dom Hofmann, with whom he co-founded the video-looping service Vine. Kroll served as General Manager of Vine until 2014. Acquired by Twitter in 2012, Vine became the most downloaded free app on the App Store the following year but was shut down in 2016. At its peak in 2015, Vine boasted an estimated 200 million active users.

Departure from Twitter and HQ Trivia

According to conflicting accounts, Kroll was fired from Twitter for "poor management" and several allegations of sexual misconduct against women in the workplace. Alternatively, some sources claim that Kroll and Yusupov left Twitter "due to disagreements with leadership."

Undeterred, the business partners founded Intermedia Labs, the company behind the online trivia game HQ Trivia. Launched in 2017, HQ Trivia topped the Apple charts for free games in early 2018, with an average prize pool of $2,000. Kroll and another Intermedia Labs board member forced Yusupov to step down as CEO, a position Kroll took over just months before his passing.

Death and Legacy

On the morning of December 16, 2018, Kroll was found dead in his Manhattan apartment at the age of 34. According to the New York Police Department, a "white powdery substance" was discovered near his body, believed to be a combination of cocaine and heroin.

Colin Kroll's untimely demise marked the end of an innovative journey in the tech industry. His contributions to online entertainment and social media left a lasting impact, inspiring a new generation of entrepreneurs.