James Acaster – the comedian famous for his ‘classic scrapes’ (he’s written a book on the matter) – has revealed he accidentally bought shares in a company thinking it was Netflix. They were instead for the similarly titled NextUp – a London based start-up that streams stand-up comedy specials. The confusion came about whilst James attempted to browse the web whilst snacking – a valuable lesson for all.
James said of the scrape:
“As a comedian lucky enough to have a few stand-up specials of my own on Netflix – I thought it was only right that I support them and pledge a tenner to their campaign.
Did I think it was weird that one of the world’s biggest companies was crowdfunding? Sure – but I also wasn’t paying attention as I was eating a delicious toastie. So I did what any sophisticated investor would do and ate my cheese and pickle delight whilst mindlessly entering my credit card details online.
Luckily for me, having looked at NextUp it turns out they’re not the daylight robbers I first imagined them to be. They support the comedy world and stream an incredible range of stand-up on there. Turns out I did know what I was doing – watch out investment world – there’s a new big dog in town…and he’s bringing his Russell Hobbs toastie maker.”
As well as James Acaster, NextUp is also backed by the former Head of Comedy at BBC Worldwide – Stuart Snaith, and the former President of MGM Worldwide Networks – Bruce Tuchman, both of whom were fully aware of what they were getting into.
Daniel Berg, CEO of NextUp says
“It’s great to have such an incredible comic as an investor…even if it was by accident. Cheers James (love your work) and thanks to everyone else who has come on board…intentionally or not.”
To learn more about NextUp and join James in his happy error, check out nextupcomedy.com/join-in.
