This was like any other pitch pitch to investors: justify the valuation, address risks, and make lots of impressive-looking pie charts and graphs. But this time, Pete McEntegart was raising money for a technology startup, selling his own shares.
The 57-year-old North Carolinian has tried his luck as a Goldman Sachs investment banker, Sports Illustrated columnist and startup co-founder. But a few years ago, on Christmas Day, he had an epiphany. “I was on the run and realized I wanted to make another big move before I got too old,” he says. Diversity. He decided it was time to pursue a career in stand-up comedy. Pete McEntegart was no more; From that day on he would be known as Pete Smack.
It doesn’t take a business genius to understand that making jokes is not the easiest way to make money. And as with any startup, it takes a while for many comics to turn a profit — if a profit is to be made at all. So Smack decided to raise money for his comedy venture and hold himself accountable to investors.
He turned to crowdfunding service Wefunder and became the first entertainer to solicit investors on the platform. Early last year, it raised nearly $60,000 from 104 investors, the majority of whom pledged between $100 and $150. Buying into Smack is a legitimate investment regulated by the SEC. The comedian spent $5,000 on lawyers to set up the seed round, so to speak.
Smack pitched to potential investors with a humorous presentation posted on its Wefunder page. “You can’t have a truly diversified portfolio unless you’ve invested directly in a stand-up comedian,” he began.
Courtesy of Pete Smack
Smack offered family, friends and strangers on the internet the chance to split 10% of his gross revenue through 2029. On January 1, 2030, their investment converts to equity with a preliminary valuation of $1 million. “While I can’t guarantee what your financial return will be, the attorneys were pretty adamant about it,” Smack wrote on the Wefunder page, “I’m sure you’ll have a fun and entertainingly documented journey.”
Smack explained in detail how it plans to provide returns to its investors. It will focus on corporate shows and cruise ships, as well as “55 and over” active living communities. Moreover, he is a clean comedian and as he wrote in his speech, “CLEAN = GREEN ($$$).”
Smack also offers predictions of what investors’ collective income share could look like by 2029; The conservative estimate is $55,000, the upside scenario is $116,500, and the dream scenario is $228,000. Some of their data is less quantitative.
Courtesy of Pete Smack
Smack’s background in stand-up comedy began in the 1990s, when he began writing sitcom scripts after college and before his job at Goldman Sachs. He needed to write some stand-up material for Jerry for a “Seinfeld” show and realized it felt natural to him. In 1996, Smack registered for an open mic in Virginia, but the event was canceled when no one showed up.
“I went home and performed for my two roommates,” Smack says. “I used a ping pong paddle as a microphone.”
Nearly a decade later, while living in New York and writing for Sports Illustrated, Smack took a comedy class and attended a show at the end of the class. But he never gave stand-up a real chance. He now believes that he can be successful in this.
So far, Smack has used the seed money to rent a venue and film the special called “Last Man Standing,” which will be released on VOD platforms on September 22 via Comedy Dynamics. He thinks the money will last him a few years; He can keep his expenses low because he moved in with his mother after his father died in 2024. “I’m trying to figure out how to make this work as both a living and a business,” he says.
Courtesy of Pete Smack
Smack sends out a monthly newsletter informing investors about its progress. But the pressure he feels is mostly self-imposed. “They’ll be excited if they make money,” he says of Smack supporters, “but they just want to be along for the ride.” According to the six-page annual report, Smack generated $18,497 in revenue and $9,585 in expenses in 2025. He says 2026 is at a similar pace.
He hopes a broadcaster will license his special and is writing a TV pilot based on his own life. He’s also exploring creative cash sources, such as speaking to corporate audiences about how lessons learned from stand-up can translate into business success. He filmed a TEDx talk that hasn’t been released yet, and is working on a new watch that he dreams of taking to the Edinburgh Fringe. He presented some headline ideas to investors in his October newsletter.
“The working title for the new show is ‘A Happy Schmedium,’” he wrote. “(Other contenders: ‘Time Flies,’ ‘Time Flies,’ and ‘Time Is a Great Circle.’) The overall theme is the passage of time.”
He feels that progress reports help his supporters feel invested in his career. “You know,” says Smack, “because they literally are.”