Scott Rogowsky is a stand-up comedian — he’s adept at poking fun at himself. This self-deprecating humor led him to wander through New York City Comic Con with a photo of himself printed like a “Wanted” poster, capturing moments as he queried strangers, “Have you seen this guy?”

The people passing by exhibited a moment of recognition, gazing at the tall, bearded figure as if he were someone they had encountered long ago, yet couldn’t quite identify.

“You seem familiar! Where do I know you from?” one person inquires, as if Rogowsky might be an acquaintance from a gathering.

“I recognize your face,” another person remarks, studying the 41-year-old intently.

Eventually, a cosplayer adorned as a Ghostbuster makes the connection.

“Weren’t you the guy who hosted that online game show?” he questions. “Like, every evening?”

Rogowsky was merely having a laugh at his own expense, fully adopting the role of a faded internet celebrity. “I understand my position,” he tells TechCrunch. “I’m not strolling around expecting everyone to recognize me.” 

However, just seven years prior, he was incredibly well-known. 

Rogowsky once represented HQ Trivia, an application that skyrocketed into popular culture, only to diminish from public memory almost as quickly. Between 2017 and 2019, Rogowsky hosted the interactive mobile game show bi-daily. At its highest point, it attracted over 2.4 million nightly viewers. It achieved 20 million downloads throughout its lifespan.

Now, the comedian is returning with his own app named Savvy, which shares a significant connection with HQ. Savvy’s inaugural game, TextSavvy, is a live daily game show where participants have the chance to earn cash — but this time, contestants compete against Rogowsky in a word puzzle format that resembles a mix of The New York Times’ Wordle and Connections, rather than trivia. 

“In a peculiar way, this seems to be my destiny,” Rogowsky states. “I step in front of that camera, with thousands watching from their homes — millions, back in the HQ era — and it comes naturally.”

[embedded content]

HQ Trivia was launched by the creators of Vine — the short-form video platform that preceded TikTok — becoming a cultural phenomenon. Major news outlets reported on workers halting their tasks during the day to engage in HQ at 3 p.m. It offered groundbreaking — appointment entertainment in a novel format for the streaming generation — until the venture collapsed under a wave of unfortunate events. 

One of the founders, Colin Kroll, passed away from a drug overdose; the other founder, Rus Yusupov, was a contentious figure who had disputes with his team. He once warned a reporter that he would terminate Rogowsky if she published an interview in which Rogowsky expressed admiration for Sweetgreen salads (Yusupov apparently didn’t want to provide free advertising to the fast-food chain). Ultimately, HQ Trivia fell prey to the same pitfalls that lead many startups to fail. The company had secured a $15 million funding round at a $100 million valuation, but it was — quite literally — handing out cash, and it never created a viable strategy to monetize or establish a sustainable business model. The firm eventually declared bankruptcy in February 2020, with its downfall becoming the subject of dramatic documentaries and podcasts investigating how such a promising app disintegrated so dramatically.

This, understandably, was a significant setback for Rogowsky. Yet more misfortune was on the horizon. An avid baseball fan, Rogowsky departed HQ Trivia in 2019 for a role hosting a daily show on MLB Network. He believed he had finally reached his peak — he still brightens at the memory of encountering Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez in the restroom. However, his show was canceled when the pandemic interrupted baseball. Over the years, he attempted several times to replicate a venture like HQ, but it was a series of false starts.

“Bizarre things occurred that were beyond my control, and I felt as if I were being tossed around on a raft in the sea, just battered by matters I couldn’t manage, and that reflected my general outlook on life,” he comments.

He considered his showbiz career to be over and opened a retro store in California. Yet, he yearned for comedy.

“I underwent a profound personal change in the past couple of years,” he revealed. This process culminated in a week-long mountain retreat known as “the Hoffman Process,” a program he describes as a digital detox intertwined with lessons in psychology and neuroscience that assisted him in “regaining control of [his] life.”

“It provided much clarity to say, you know what, I still have more to accomplish here,” Rogowsky states. “Emerging from that retreat, I felt, ‘I have something meaningful to share. People find me humorous and entertaining. I consider myself funny and entertaining.’”

Viewers tuned into HQ Trivia for the chance to win cash, though the odds of success were low. Millions returned each evening due to Rogowsky’s sharp wit and charisma, which garnered him a dedicated fanbase that still affectionately refers to him as “Quiz Daddy.” 

“From a psychological and emotional perspective, I struggled to process the whirlwind of events around my viral fame,” Rogowsky reflects. “And during the seven humbling years since, I’ve developed a vastly different outlook… I have my supporters, my core audience right here. They’re with me, and it’s about spreading the word.”

Over the years, Rogowsky has received numerous messages from individuals eager to assist him in creating the next HQ. But last year, a direct message from European game designer Johan de Jager captured his interest. 

“The concept was that the host competes against the audience, providing a two-way interaction,” Rogowsky explains. “Imagine HQ if I wasn’t merely posing questions but also responding to them… This introduces a new dimension that hadn’t been considered before.”

Yet, in an era dominated by AI, where players can effortlessly search for answers, Rogowsky was doubtful that a trivia-based game could maintain fairness, prompting Savvy to choose word puzzles instead.

The highest payout Savvy has offered in a single game is approximately $400 — a modest amount in comparison to HQ’s occasional six-figure prize offerings. This is because Rogowsky and his co-founders are self-funding the venture.

“Listen, I understand this isn’t the thousands of dollars you witnessed on HQ, the hundreds of thousands we eventually reached,” Rogowsky remarked during a recent TextSavvy episode. “However, the distinction is HQ was financed through venture capital. They had $8 million initially. They secured an additional $15 million from other investors. We don’t have that… This is a low-budget operation because I’m footing the bill!”

Rogowsky mentions he has conversed with potential investors about Savvy and even received appealing proposals. However, venture capital often entails pressure on founders to maximize profits swiftly, a model that can predispose a business to failure, as HQ illustrated. 

“Investors seek to 10x and 100x [their capital]… I would be truly content to achieve a level of profitability where we can continue to expand the company, hire more staff, and create more games,” Rogowsky expresses. “I’m not in the market for an eight-figure or nine-figure exit. This is what I’m passionate about. I will pursue this as long as I awake each morning feeling, ‘Wow, I’m thrilled to step in front of that camera and enjoy myself.’”

TextSavvy is currently in a “Season 0,” a soft launch that enables the team to address any technical issues before a formal launch on March 1. To this point, without extensive marketing, TextSavvy has peaked at roughly 4,000 viewers in one evening. 

This number pales in comparison to the HQ era. Nonetheless, when TechCrunch initially covered HQ, the app only had about 3,300 concurrent viewers. Who’s to say Savvy can’t replicate that success?

“We’re not going anywhere this time,” Rogowsky assured. “There’s no one here to dismiss me. There’s no conflict, no drama. There won’t be a documentary about Savvy as there was for HQ.”