The Comeback: Scott Rogowsky Returns with Savvy After HQ Trivia’s Fall

Scott Rogowsky, the comedian who once captivated millions as the face of HQ Trivia, is making a bold return to the mobile gaming scene with his new app, Savvy. Seven years after HQ Trivia’s meteoric rise and dramatic fall, Rogowsky is back with a fresh concept that blends nostalgia with innovation.

In 2017, Rogowsky became a household name as the charismatic host of HQ Trivia, a live mobile game show that drew over 2.4 million daily viewers at its peak. The app’s format was groundbreaking—twice-daily trivia sessions where players could win real cash prizes. But the company’s rapid growth was unsustainable, and by 2020, HQ Trivia had filed for bankruptcy, becoming a cautionary tale of startup excess.

Now, Rogowsky is leveraging his experience and fanbase to launch Savvy, an app that reimagines the live game show format. The first game, TextSavvy, is a daily word puzzle challenge where players compete against Rogowsky himself. The game is a hybrid of Wordle and Connections, offering a fresh twist on the genre.

“I believe this is my calling in a weird way,” Rogowsky tells TechCrunch. “I get up there in front of that camera, and it just flows.”

Savvy’s approach is markedly different from HQ Trivia. Instead of relying on venture capital, Rogowsky and his co-founders are self-funding the project. This allows them to focus on building a sustainable business model rather than chasing rapid growth at all costs.

“Look, I know this isn’t the thousands of dollars that you saw on HQ,” Rogowsky said in a recent broadcast. “But the difference is HQ was funded by venture capital. We don’t got that… This is a low-budge operashe because I’m paying for it!”

The app is currently in a soft launch phase, with TextSavvy peaking at around 4,000 viewers per night. While this is a far cry from HQ Trivia’s millions, Rogowsky is optimistic about the future.

“We’re not going anywhere this time,” he says. “There’s no one to fire me. There’s no drama, there’s no tension. There’s not going to be a documentary about Savvy the way there was about HQ.”

Rogowsky’s journey from HQ Trivia to Savvy is a testament to his resilience and creativity. After HQ Trivia’s collapse, he faced a series of setbacks, including the cancellation of his MLB Network show during the pandemic. But he never lost his passion for entertainment.

“I went through this very meaningful personal transformation in the last couple of years,” he says. “It gave me a lot of clarity to say, you know what, I have more to do here.”

With Savvy, Rogowsky is not just reviving a format—he’s redefining it. By focusing on sustainability and community, he’s building a platform that could stand the test of time.

As Rogowsky puts it, “This is what I want to do. I’m going to do this as long as I continue to wake up every morning and say, ‘Goddamn, I’m excited to get up there in front of that camera and have fun.'”

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