Sunset Trivia
Privately held live trivia entertainment company hosting weekly games at 159 bars and restaurants across 9 Western U.S. metro areas, and serving 500+ corporate clients with team-building and private events for groups of 20 to 500+.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- Headquarters—
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sunset Trivia does
Sunset Trivia is a privately held live entertainment company that operates weekly hosted trivia nights at 159 bars and restaurants across 9 Western U.S. metro areas — San Diego, Fresno, Orange County, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, Sacramento, Phoenix, Reno, Salt Lake City, and Boise. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in San Diego, California, the company is organized as Sunset Trivia LLC with a team of approximately 12 employees. Players join games in real time at venues through the play.sunsettrivia.com platform on their mobile devices, while the company runs a bi-yearly seasonal tournament (currently Season 30) with $1,800+ in cash prizes and a public-facing standings leaderboard.
The core technology is a live interactive trivia platform featuring real-time digital game play, an 18-week cumulative tournament scoring system, and public team/venue standings. The product is delivered as a turnkey service: Sunset Trivia supplies the host, A/V equipment, custom content, and digital marketing to each venue partner, with the venue paying a recurring fee for weekly programming. Individual players attend trivia nights for free at partner venues, monetizing through the venue's food and beverage sales lift rather than direct player fees.
The company generates revenue through two streams: recurring venue partnership fees from the 159-location bar and restaurant network, and quote-based fees from corporate and private events. The corporate vertical has served over 500 bookings across a diverse enterprise client base that includes Amazon, JPMorgan Chase, Qualcomm, Adobe, Cisco, Intuit, PwC, Bristol Myers Squibb, UC San Diego, and the University of San Diego for team-building, fundraisers, birthdays, and holiday parties in both in-person and virtual formats. The company markets through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, email, and its website, and has registered "Sunset Trivia" and its "Think, Drink, & Win!" tagline as trademarks.
Sunset Trivia firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sunset Trivia
- Legal name
- Sunset Trivia LLC
- Website
- https://sunsettrivia.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Privately held live trivia entertainment company hosting weekly games at 159 bars and restaurants across 9 Western U.S. metro areas, and serving 500+ corporate clients with team-building and private events for groups of 20 to 500+.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sunset Trivia industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Live Entertainment Services
- NAICS
- Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Bingo Tournaments & Special Events (MPAEAGAK)
Keywords
Sunset Trivia business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Venue Partnership Fees: Bars and restaurants pay Sunset Trivia to host weekly trivia nights. Venues benefit from increased foot traffic, longer customer stays, and new regulars. Turnkey solution includes host, equipment, content, and marketing.
- Corporate and Private Event Hosting: Companies and individuals book Sunset Trivia for private events including team-building, birthdays, fundraisers, and holiday parties. Both in-person and virtual options available. Quote-based pricing.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Sunset Trivia product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sunset Trivia operates a live trivia entertainment business that hosts weekly trivia nights at 159 partner bars and restaurants across nine western U.S. metro areas. The offering combines in-person professional hosting, audio/visual equipment, custom trivia content, and digital marketing for venues, plus a digital Play Platform (play.sunsettrivia.com) that lets on-site players join games in real time from mobile devices. The company also runs bi-yearly seasonal tournaments with cash prizes and books corporate and private events for team-building, fundraisers, birthdays, and holiday parties.
Product overview
Sunset Trivia operates a live trivia entertainment platform centered on weekly trivia events hosted at bars and restaurants across multiple U.S. cities (San Diego, Fresno, Orange County, Los Angeles, Bay Area, Sacramento, Phoenix, Reno, Salt Lake City, and Boise). The core product consists of live trivia events using the Play Platform where teams compete, enhanced by a seasonal Tournament System offering cash prizes. The company also offers Corporate & Private Events for team-building and celebrations, and a Venue Partner Program for bars/restaurants to host trivia nights. A Host Recruitment Program sources charismatic hosts to facilitate games.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Live Trivia Events Weekly live trivia games hosted at 159 bars and restaurants across nine western U.S. metropolitan areas, where teams compete in a gamified trivia experience led by professional hosts.
- Tournament System Bi-yearly seasonal tournament offering over $1,800 in cash prizes, where teams earn points across 18 weeks and the top 100 teams qualify for semi-finals and a grand finale.
- Corporate & Private Events Custom trivia hosting for corporate team-building, birthdays, fundraisers, and private parties with in-person and virtual options, serving groups of 20 to 500+.
- Venue Partner Program Partnership program for bars and restaurants to host weekly trivia nights, with Sunset Trivia providing hosts, equipment, content, and marketing.
- Play Platform Live game participation platform at play.sunsettrivia.com where players at partner venues join trivia games in real time from their mobile devices during live events.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 500 companies have booked corporate/private events
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Sunset Trivia
Customer profileNamed customers12 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Sunset Trivia technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sunset Trivia partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sunset Trivia competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Trivia Mafia: Regional pub trivia operator running weekly trivia events at bars and restaurants, with a similar venue subscription model and live hosted format. Direct competitor in the Midwest live trivia category.
- Brainstormer Trivia: Independent regional pub trivia operator providing hosted trivia nights at bars and restaurants. Direct competitor in the host-driven venue trivia segment with similar value proposition to venues.
- SpeedQuizzing: Live trivia hosting platform and event operator that uses app-based gameplay at venues. Direct competitor on the technology-enabled live trivia model, especially relevant to Sunset Trivia's Play Platform.
- Geeks Who Drink: Direct competitor operating pub trivia nights at bars and restaurants across many US cities with a similar turnkey host/content/model structure. Closest head-to-head analog to Sunset Trivia's core venue partnership business.
Broad incumbents
- Sporcle: Established online trivia content platform with a large trivia player community. Comparable as a brand in the trivia category and as a community/engagement channel, though primarily digital rather than live venue-based.
- Game Show Network: Major trivia and game show media brand. Adjacent incumbent in the trivia entertainment category with broader media reach, providing a comparable benchmark for trivia brand monetization.
- Buzztime (eGames): Established provider of trivia and interactive entertainment to restaurants and bars via in-venue screens and games. Comparable as a B2B venue entertainment platform serving the same hospitality customer base.
Regional players
- Pour Man's Trivia: Smaller regional pub trivia company focused on specific US markets. Operates a similar weekly hosted trivia format at bar and restaurant venues in a limited geography.
Emerging players
- Jackbox Games: Provider of party/trivia-style games played via mobile devices in social settings including bars and events. Comparable as a tech-enabled social entertainment product sometimes used in venue and corporate event contexts.
- TriviaMaker: App-based trivia platform that enables venues and hosts to run their own trivia nights. Emerging competitor offering a more self-serve alternative to fully turnkey hosted trivia providers.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sunset Trivia social profiles
Digital presenceSunset Trivia financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sunset Trivia leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Sunset Trivia funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sunset Trivia M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sunset Trivia
What does Sunset Trivia do?
Sunset Trivia operates a live trivia entertainment business that hosts weekly trivia nights at 159 partner bars and restaurants across nine western U.S. metro areas. The offering combines in-person professional hosting, audio/visual equipment, custom trivia content, and digital marketing for venues, plus a digital Play Platform (play.sunsettrivia.com) that lets on-site players join games in real time from mobile devices. The company also runs bi-yearly seasonal tournaments with cash prizes and books corporate and private events for team-building, fundraisers, birthdays, and holiday parties.
Is Sunset Trivia a public or private company?
Sunset Trivia is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sunset Trivia founded?
Sunset Trivia was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
How does Sunset Trivia make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Venue Partnership Fees are the primary driver. The others are corporate and Private Event Hosting.
Who are Sunset Trivia's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Trivia Mafia, Brainstormer Trivia, SpeedQuizzing and Geeks Who Drink. Broad incumbents are Sporcle, Game Show Network and Buzztime (eGames). Pour Man's Trivia is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Jackbox Games and TriviaMaker.
Does Sunset Trivia have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sunset Trivia.
What industry is Sunset Trivia in?
Sunset Trivia's product category is Live Entertainment Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAEAGAK, Bingo Tournaments & Special Events. Its NAICS code is 713 and its SIC code is 7990.