NextUp was founded in 2016 by the comedy-loving quartet Daniel Berg, Sarah Henley, Kenny Cavey and Stuart Snaith.Â
Their startup was born out of an earlier passion project: a YouTube channel documenting the UK comedy scene, featuring standup sets and interviews with a range of up-and-coming acts.Â
But the team noticed three key problems: fans often couldn't attend their favorite comics' sets, comedians were reluctant to put their lovingly-crafted sets online, and what was available on TV didn't reflect the diversity of the underground scene.Â
They set up their first office in a derelict building in southeast London, where cofounder and CEO Daniel Berg once arrived to find a pigeon had left its mark on his keyboard.
"That was a bit of a low moment," he told Business Insider.
Since then, the startup has been backed a string of angel investors, found a new office, and is currently seeking backers for its Series A fundraising round.Â
In its own words, NextUp seeks to right these wrongs by offering fans an easy way to access a broader range of standup comedy, while offering comedians a financial incentive to share their work online and reach a larger audience.Â
The firm charges subscribers either a monthly or annual fee, the proceeds from which are then split down the middle. Half goes to NextUp, while the other half is divided up among acts on its platform, based on the number of views they have received.Â
Berg, who has previously won a BAFTA for his writing work on Cartoon Network series The Amazing World of Gumball, said he thought of NextUp as a "digital comedy club".Â
"The annual fees are obviously a more reliable revenue stream for us, so we want to make it feel like a society that you would be happy to pay once-a-year for," he said.Â
"We try to give our customers as many benefits as we can, so discounts to live comedy gigs, 'fireside chats', that kind of thing... There's also a voting tool on the site so they can tell us what acts they'd like us to try and get on the platform."Â
The team hopes they can tap into the demonstrable demand for standup specials online. (Netflix reportedly paid Dave Chappelle $60 million for three sets.)
"Just think, we've got the Edinburgh Festival just up the road, the biggest arts festival in Europe," Berg said.
"Every year, hundreds of comedians descend on this little town, win dozens of awards, and then their sets are never to be seen again.Â
"In terms of taking a national cultural event and documenting it for everyone to see, we'd love to do for Edinburgh what the BBC has done Glastonbury."Â