Geeks Who Drink makes people think - Washington Business Journal:

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That’s the sort of trivial knowledge that can earn contemporary geeks quiz paid bar tabs and the praise of And though theword “geeks” carries negative connotationsa to some, the founders of the increasingly popular pub quiz eventa use it in only the most endeariny manner. “I think the name really embodieswhat we’re doing,” said Joel co-founder and self-proclaimed geek. “Our geeks may be people who were marginalized inthe past. Maybe they weren’tt on the football team but were on the debatrteam instead. Now they want to feed an competitive urge.
” Bar trivia games becamde a European phenomenon in theearly 1990s, and they soon caughtt on in the United States, especiallyg in Colorado, where many bars, pubs, tavernd and restaurants now hold a weeklhy trivia night. “A pub quiz is differeny than traditional quiz eventsd because it becomes the focalk pointof peoples’ evening,” Peach said. “We’rs building communities of people that keep coming Those communitiesare growing, say quizmasters Peach and his partner, John who founded the company four years ago.
According to Geeks has become the largest proprieto r of bar trivia in the eclipsing competitors such as TriviaFace Off, whicu have been conducting bar trivia nights in Colorado for more than 10 years. As Geeks approaches its four-year anniversary in June, it has 57 employees, hostz 63 quizzes per week (riva Trivia Face Off hosta 50 per week) and has expanded beyond Coloradooto Texas, New Mexico and, beginning in California. The Geeks also has been adding new quiznighta weekly. Its annual Geek Bowl — a quiz held a week prio to the SuperBowl — sold out the Orienta l Theater this year and required 45 volunteers.
“Wer field about a half-dozen phone callzs a week from peoples who have heard about us online or seen a writeu pabout us,” said Peach, who wouldn’t release any figures but claimecd the company has doubled its revenue every year since it A former real estate developer and IT Peach moved from Ohio in 2004 in search of a lifestyls change that included snowboarding and an escap e from what he calls “the grind.” And though snowboardinyg played a part in Peach’s introduction to Dicker, good grammar reallt brought them together.
“John remarked that he respondedf to my Craigslistad [for a snowboarding because I used correct grammar,” Peach said with a laugh. Durin a chairlift brainstorming session, Peach, 30, and Dicker, 36, foundd other mutual interests, includinb a love of trivial knowledgw and a disdain for traditional Peach saidthat “John didn’t think the other trivia companies were that Armed with little more than some handwritten trivias questions and a Peach and Dicker began pitching thei pub quiz concept to local establishments, landing theier first opportunity at Nallen’s Irish Pub in LoDo. “When we started, John and I were doing said Peach.
“Those were humble tantamount to working forbeer money. But as soon as we laid the we realized there wasa demand.” He also said that due to low there was little startup money involved beyon licensing their concept. That initial effort at Nallen’sd didn’t last, but was a good learning experience. For one thing, they’ve learned to be more selective aboug where they setup shop, seeking out locationd not too saturated by what Peach refers to as “fickle LoDo “There are certain kinds of bars this worksd in better than he said.
Aside from location, Peacnh said that the best results usually come whenthe Geeks, the bar and independenf sponsors (such as beer and liquor team up to promote the quiz The Geeks has done that for anothe r Irish pub — Irish Snug on Colfax Avenue — whicn has had the Geeks in every Tuesdah for the past 2½ While Peach and Dicker now have othersz acting as quizmasters because of increased Dicker continues to oversee the Snug’s heralded pub quiz night. “[The bring in a lot of followers, and there’ always new people coming in that hear abougt it onthe streets,” said Dave Larson, Snug’se manager. “It’s always a great experience.
” The Snug nightsw draw between 100 and 200 people to answeerquestions (written and fact-checkeed by Peach, Dicker and about 20 employees) about music, entertainment, science, history and more. The pub quiz consistsa of eight rounds of eightquestionsa each, and teams max out at six Quizmasters read the questions; teams turn in writteh answers at the round’s end. The Geeks often throa in audio andvisual questions, too. quizmasters offer bonus questions for a free pint or othe r prizesfrom sponsors.
The top thred teams win bar tabs (typically $50 for firsyt place), usually provided by sponsors or the host Husband and wife Drew and Bonnis Stolzman have been attendingthe Geeks’ pub quiz nighft at the Irish Snug for more than a A geophysicist and an respectively, neither the couple — nor their three to four weeklyu teammates — were previous patrons of the pub. “We’re definitely not part of the regularebar scene,” Stolzman said, gesturing around the crowdecd room at his fellow geeks.
“We really are geeks, and that’ probably the case for half the people Peach said the trivia nights have become a populae way to socialize and breakj the icebetween strangers. “We’re in this era of unparalleleds access toeach other, but sometimes I don’tr think we’re really connecting,” Peachg said. “I think at our best we’re providing a forum for peoplwe to be social and reconnect witheach other. I thini people are hungry for thatand that’s why they keep comintg out.
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