This company wants to fix the broken economics of standup comedy
Co-founded by two former Meta executives, Punchup helps comedians own their audiences, sell tickets directly, and escape the whims of social algorithms.
In some ways, it’s never been easier to become a stand-up comedian. A handful of viral clips on TikTok or Instagram can propel an unknown comic into the feeds of millions overnight. The traditional ladder — grinding through open mics, slowly earning better slots at comedy clubs, and waiting for an industry gatekeeper to notice — no longer feels like the only path to success.
But monetizing that newfound attention remains maddeningly difficult.
Social platforms don’t reliably show comedians’ posts to their own followers. Algorithms throttle reach, especially when jokes veer into controversial territory. And even comics with enormous online audiences often struggle with the most basic logistical challenge of live performance: letting fans in a specific city know that they’re coming to town.
Danny Frenkel thinks that contradiction — massive reach paired with fragile economics — is one of the defining problems of modern stand-up. In 2023, after more than a decade working inside Meta’s advertising and data infrastructure, Frenkel co-founded Punchup, a platform designed to help comedians own their audiences, sell tickets more efficiently, and monetize their work directly.
“In 2020, [the comedian] Sam Morril had an issue with his Instagram account,” Frenkel said in a recent interview. “Everything ended up getting resolved, but it really left a lasting impression of the difference between something that you own versus an audience that you’re in some ways renting.”
That episode crystallized an idea Frenkel had been circling for years: comedians needed better tools to build durable relationships with fans — ones that didn’t disappear the moment an algorithm changed or a moderation system made a mistake.
In a recent interview, Frenkel walked through the economics of standup comedy, explained how his experience selling ads on Meta informed Punchup’s service offerings, and outlined his longterm ambitions for the platform.
You can watch the interview on YouTube or keep reading to learn how Punchup aims to fix the broken business of standup comedy.
A Comedy Obsession That Predates Punchup
Frenkel’s obsession with stand-up comedy long predates his startup. As a kid, he was deeply influenced by George Carlin, whose comedy shaped not just his sense of humor, but his worldview.
He briefly tried his hand at stand-up himself — “very poorly,” by his own admission — performing in San Francisco and New York. But after becoming a parent and returning to comedy during paternity leave, Frenkel reached a blunt conclusion: “I realized that I suck at it and I should just help others be funny as opposed to trying to do it myself.”
Still, he remained deeply embedded in the comedy world as a fan. In his early twenties, while working at Facebook in New York, Frenkel spent countless nights at the Comedy Cellar, watching performers who would later become some of the biggest names in stand-up.
That proximity gave him an early look at how little infrastructure existed to support comedians as independent businesses.
From Accenture to Facebook — and Deep Into Ads
Like many ambitious college graduates in the Washington, D.C. area, Frenkel initially drifted into consulting and politics. He interned for members of Congress and even spent time working with John Kerry. After college, he joined Accenture, following what he now describes as the default “generalist” path.
“I really regret it, actually,” Frenkel said. “I didn’t really learn very much except how to just kind of pass time.”
His career took a decisive turn when he joined Facebook during a period of rapid expansion. The hiring process was so chaotic that Frenkel didn’t even understand what job he was interviewing for — or what his role would be.
“On day one of orientation, I had to go to a coworker and literally ask her, ‘What the hell is this job?’” he said.
That job was advertising operations, back when Facebook ads were manually assembled and sold for a small right-hand column few users paid attention to. From there, Frenkel moved through marketing, data, consumer insights, ad measurement, and eventually privacy — gaining a front-row seat to the evolution of the most powerful advertising machine ever built.