HQ Trivia was getting ready to raise money at a $100 million valuation, but some investors are reportedly backing off after learning about a founder's 'creepy' behavior
- The company that makes the HQ trivia app has been taking meetings with investors, hoping to raise money at a $100 million valuation.
- But some investors are concerned about the startup's management, including one cofounder's behavior at a previous job, which reportedly made them decide not to participate in the funding round.
Intermedia Labs, the maker of the hot trivia app HQ, was seemingly on track to raise money at a $100 million valuation, but some investors decided they're not interested after hearing about a cofounder's allegedly "creepy" behavior toward women during his previous job at Twitter, according to Recode's Kurt Wagner.
From the Recode report:
"At least three prominent investors have decided against funding the startup after finding troubling conduct on the part of the founders they uncovered during due diligence, multiple sources say."
The Recode report says investors were worried about HQ cofounder Colin Kroll's behavior while he was working on the Vine team at Twitter. There were no specific details regarding his behavior, according to Recode. Kroll was a Vine cofounder along with HQ's other cofounder, Rus Yusupov. Both men started Intermedia Labs, HQ's parent company. Yusupov is also the CEO of Intermedia Labs.
Recode reports that investors also pointed to Yusupov's recent tirade against a Daily Beast reporter as concerning. We've reached out to Yusupov for comment on the report and the allegations of inappropriate behavior against Kroll.
Jeremy Liew, a venture capitalist and board member for Intermedia Labs, told Recode in a statement that he conducted an investigation into Kroll's past behavior and "did not find evidence that warrants his removal from the company."
Curious to see how HQ Trivia works? Read our walkthrough here.