Colin Kroll
{{short description|American entrepreneur}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Colin Kroll
| birth_date = May 17, 1984
| birth_place = Rye, New York or Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
| death_date = {{circa}} {{death date and given age|2018|12|16|34}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| other_names =
| alma_mater = Oakland University
| occupation = Entrepreneur
| years_active = 2007–2018
| known_for = Co-founded Vine and HQ Trivia
| notable_works =
}}
Colin Kroll (May 17, 1984{{Cite web |title=January 03, 2019 (vol. , iss. 1) - Image 32 |url=https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/djnews/djn.2019.01.03.001/32 |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=The Detroit Jewish News Digital Archives |language=en}} – {{circa}} December 16, 2018{{cite news |last=Wattles |first=Jackie |date=December 16, 2018 |title= Colin Kroll, co-founder of HQ Trivia and Vine, found dead|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/16/business/colin-kroll-hq-trivia-dead/index.html |website=CNN Business}}) was an American entrepreneur who co-founded the video hosting service Vine and the trivia game app HQ Trivia.
Early life and education
Kroll was born in Rye, New York, or Detroit, Michigan, the son of Alan Kroll.{{cite news|url=https://siliconangle.com/2018/12/16/vine-hq-trivia-co-founder-colin-kroll-found-dead-age-34/|title=Vine and HQ Trivia co-founder Colin Kroll found dead at 34|website=Silicon Angle|date=December 16, 2018}}{{Cite web |date=2018-12-17 |title=Colin Kroll, Co-Founder Of Vine And HQ Trivia Found Dead - CBS Detroit |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/colin-kroll-co-founder-of-vine-and-hq-trivia-found-dead/ |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} After his parents' divorce when he was 10, Kroll was raised in the suburbs of Detroit, graduating from Bloomfield Hills Andover High School, and then dropping out of community college to work on coding projects for local businesses.{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-tech-whiz-behind-vine-and-hq-trivia-made-millions-in-his-20s-he-was-dead-by-34-11550283078|title=The Tech Whiz Behind Vine and HQ Trivia Made Millions in His 20s. He Was Dead by 34.|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=February 15, 2019|first1=Shalini|last1=Ramachandran|first2=Zolan|last2=Kanno-Youngs|first3=Yoree|last3=Koh}}
Kroll eventually returned to school, attending Oakland University where he studied computer science.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2018/digital/news/colin-kroll-dead-hq-trivia-vine-co-founder-1203090922/|title=HQ Trivia and Vine Co-Founder Colin Kroll Dies at 34|last=Spangler|first=Todd|date=December 16, 2018|magazine=Variety|language=en|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=December 17, 2018}}{{Cite book|title=Vine|last=C.|first=Wheeler, Jill|date=August 15, 2016 |publisher=ABDO Digital|isbn=9781680775792|location=New York|oclc=1003742778}}
Career
Kroll worked as an engineering manager at Right Media, a subsidiary of Yahoo!, from 2007 to 2009 and as chief technology officer at Jetsetter from 2009 to 2013.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/16/nyregion/hq-trivia-overdose-colin-kroll.html|title=HQ Trivia and Vine Co-Founder Colin Kroll Dies, Apparently of Overdose, Police Say|last1=Ferré-Sadurní|first1=Luis|date=December 16, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=December 17, 2018|last2=Maheshwari|first2=Sapna|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} He met Rus Yusupov and Dom Hofmann while working at Jetsetter. Hofmann, Kroll and Yusupov founded the video hosting service Vine.{{Cite web|url=https://www.recode.net/2017/12/18/16752796/hq-trivia-founders-fundraising-bad-reputation-creepy-behavior-twitter-vine|title=HQ Trivia's founders are facing fundraising roadblocks after investors learned of alleged bad behavior|last=Wagner|first=Kurt|date=December 18, 2017|website=Recode|access-date=December 18, 2018}}{{cite web|url=http://adage.com/article/digital/hq-trivia-s-scott-rogowsky-face-hot-game-show/311941/|title=HQ Trivia's Scott Rogowsky Doesn't Want You To Cheat (And Yes, Those Eyebrows Are All Natural)|last=Graham|first=Megan|date=January 16, 2018|website=Advertising Age|accessdate=January 21, 2018}} Kroll worked as general manager of Vine through 2014. Vine was acquired by Twitter in 2012 (though was shut down 4 years later).{{Cite web|url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/twitter-just-shut-down-vine-4-years-after-buying-it-30-million-174301/|title=Twitter Just Shut Down Vine 4 Years After Buying It for $30 Million|last=Heine|date=October 27, 2016|first=Christopher|website=Adweek|access-date=December 18, 2018}} After working at Twitter following the acquisition, Kroll was dismissed following "bad management" and extensive allegations of workplace sexual harassment of women. Kroll and his business partner Yusupov formed Intermedia Labs, the company behind HQ Trivia. The real-time trivia game app was launched in 2017, climbing to the top of Apple's free game app chart during the early months of 2018. Kroll and another board member forced Yusupov, who was the CEO of Intermedia Labs, out of his position and Kroll took over as CEO in September 2018.{{cite news|url=https://nypost.com/2018/09/19/controversial-hq-trivia-co-founder-named-ceo/|title=Controversial HQ Trivia co-founder named CEO|newspaper=New York Post|date=September 19, 2018|last=Vega|first=Nicolas}}
Death
Police were called to Kroll's apartment in SoHo, Manhattan shortly after midnight on December 16, 2018, when his girlfriend became concerned after making multiple unsuccessful attempts to contact him by phone throughout the previous day.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-news-hq-trivia-co-founder-colin-kroll-dead-20181216-story.html|title=Vine, HQ Trivia co-founder Colin Kroll dead at 34 of apparent drug overdose in SoHo apartment|last1=Gioino|first1=Catherina|date=December 16, 2018|newspaper=New York Daily News|access-date=December 23, 2018|last2=DeSantisi|first2=Rachel|last3=Ray|first3=Esha|language=en-US}} Kroll was found dead in his bedroom of a drug overdose.{{cite news | last = Lomas | first = Natasha | title =HQ Trivia and Vine co-founder Colin Kroll found dead of suspected overdose | website = TechCrunch | url = https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/16/hq-trivia-and-vine-co-founder-colin-kroll-found-dead-of-suspected-overdose/ | access-date=December 16, 2018}} Drugs found in his system include fentanyl, 4-Fluoroisobutyrfentanyl, heroin and cocaine, the New York City medical examiner said,{{Cite web|url=https://pix11.com/2019/02/05/colin-kroll-co-founder-of-vine-and-hq-trivia-died-of-accidental-drug-overdose-medical-examiner/|title=Colin Kroll, co-founder of Vine and HQ Trivia, died of accidental drug overdose: medical examiner|date=2019-02-05|website=WPIX 11 New York|language=en|access-date=2019-02-05}} ultimately determining Kroll's cause of death to be "accidental overdose by fentanyl-laced heroin."
References
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Category:21st-century American businesspeople
Category:Accidental deaths in New York (state)
Category:American technology company founders
Category:Businesspeople from Michigan
Category:Businesspeople from New York (state)
Category:Businesspeople from New York City
Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in New York (state)
Category:Drug-related deaths in New York City
Category:Oakland University alumni
Category:People from Rye, New York