Become co-owners of The Comedy Crowd!
From today you can own a share in The Comedy Crowd and help us change the way comedy is made and discovered.
Plus owning shares is a great way to get a bit of company during isolation 😉.
5 years ago we started with a dream – to enable talented creators from all backgrounds to make the comedy they love and showcase it to the world.
So we did the best thing we could think of to make this happen. We held a meetup in a cafe. The coffee was lukewarm and the seats were lacking a comfortable bottom padding. But there was a spark. People wanted to be part of a crowd making comedy. Something exciting was happening.
We started to tell creators about all the opportunities we could find to make comedy. We even started calling people “creators” whether they liked it or not. The Comedy Crowd was born.
(Comedy Crowd Trivia: we were originally called “Comedy From Script To Screen”, and our company is called “Grassroutes Entertainment”. Nice one to know for the next pub/Zoom quiz.)
The events continued and the competitions started. Forget the fancy frills and months of production. Show us something quick and funny in 2 minutes or less.
And in 2019 Comedy Crowd TV arrived. A place where this Comedy Crowd community could work together to make shows. And a channel showing the best original comedy to fans. You responded in your thousands and it’s been amazing.
Getting closer to the dream now right? The Crowd has grown to over 8000 creators and counting.
And the industry partners have followed. BBC Comedy Controller Shane Allen has recommended us as a place to go for new creators. We’ve worked with comedy commissioners at ITV, C4, UKTV, Sky and more.
We’ve seen sketch scripts from the UK performed in the US, and entries from all over the world to our competitions.
Your Comedy Crowd TV original shows have been produced with more to follow, as we want to work with the best new talent to help you make the comedy you believe in.
The success stories have begun. Michael Spicer has shot to stardom with his amazing Room Next Door videos and is on the Late Late Show with James Corden every week, and many other Comedy Crowd stars are on the verge of following suit.
In 2020 the covid crisis rolled in and comedy has proven more important than ever, as people continue to do the most naturally human thing: laughing in the face of adversity.
Now the next step is here. We are raising funds to grow the Comedy Crowd channels, to fund and produce more exciting content with you and to continue working with major channels. But this is a Crowd. A community, and none of this would be possible without you. So we want you to be with us every step of the journey.
From today you have the chance to own a stake in Comedy Crowd. So as we continue to grow, you can be part of that. Shares are worth £12.35 in this round, and whether you want 1 share or 1,000 shares of Comedy Crowd on your mantlepiece, as long as you do display us on your mantlepiece ahead of any outdated birthday cards that’s all we ask.
Here are the 3 things you can do:
1. I want to find out more and hear from the team:
Join us for a free webinar on Thursday 21st May to hear more from us about this, ask any questions about the future of Comedy Crowd TV and everything we are doing to help creators:
2. I’m ready reserve my Comedy Crowd shares now:
If you want to join in now you can make a pledge on the 360 Equity platform today and reserve your shares (there are extra perks for being in first too).
**If you are based in the US, Canada, Australia or Japan and want to get involved please hit reply to this email instead as crowdfunding rules are different in your countries.**
3. Any other way I can get involved?
Please share our posts to spread the word about the chance to support and own a share in The Comedy Crowd:
FAQs
What is the 360 Equity platform?
A crowdfunding platform that allows you to buy shares in Comedy Crowd and other exciting new businesses
Is there any cost to doing this?
Only the price of your shares, which starts at £12.35 for 1 share.
360 Equity take 7% of any profit you make on the shares. So e.g. if the company was sold for £20 / share you would make £7.65 profit per share on top of your original investment, and 360 Equity would take 54p of that.
What are the benefits of doing this?
You are officially a card carrying Comedy Crowd share owner. So as well as being awesome, when people ask what you do you can say whatever you normally say, plus you own shares in the world’s largest Crowd of comedy creators supporting independent comedy. Then bask in the surprised silence that follows.
You will own a share in everything Comedy Crowd, including the original comedy shows we produce, the Comedy Crowd TV channel, and everything to do with the Comedy Crowd community.
How do I get my money back?
You can’t sell your shares, so you will only get your money back or make a profit if:
a) the company is sold
b) the company is publicly listed
c) the company buys them back off you
This is unlikely to happen quickly so buying shares means joining us for the long haul.
What is SEIS and should I take advantage of it when I get my shares?
If you get your shares early you will see an option to take advantage of the SEIS benefit.
SEIS is a UK tax incentive for investing in early stage businesses. It is primarily beneficial if you are a higher rate tax payer. Here are some docs that explain more:
https://www.360equity.co/news/what-is-eis-seis
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/venture-capital-schemes-tax-relief-for-investors
Got any other questions? Shoot us an email at theccteam@thecomedycrowd.com and we’ll get right back to you.