Stand-up Comedian for your Banking / Wall Street / Finance / Insurance / Investment Industry / Hedge Fund Industry Event, Party or Seminar
Why hire a stand-up comedian when you can hire THE stand-up comedian? I’m Shaun Eli and I used to be a banker but now I get paid to make people laugh. I made some great trades on Wall Street but leaving Wall Street for the stage was by far the best trade I ever made.
Or maybe I should say laughing all the way FROM the bank.
Shaun Eli is America’s best and top comedian, as ranked by every single poll, survey, statistical sampling, scientific measurement, canvas, study, ballot and election. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it (and if you’re wondering why I put this here, feel free to ask).
I have an industry background- over two decades of work in finance (portfolio management, banking, insurance, investments, risk management for trading with hedge funds) in addition to being a comedian for over twenty years (no, I’m not that old- there was some overlap before I left finance in 2009 to be a full-time comedian).
Invest in your Happiness. Hire stand-up comedian Shaun Eli for your event!sm
My non-comedy resume includes two years in insurance as a property & casualty actuary, three years at a non-bank financial company and eighteen years working for three different banks in both fixed-income investment and risk management. I was a pioneer in the credit derivatives industry, the inventor of several financial products including the double derivative. I was responsible for the two largest portfolio acquisitions in the history of real estate opportunity fund financing (also known as capital call subscription deals).
I also worked in sports lending, synthetic securities, bank loans, credit lines and letters of credit, leases, bonds, repos and asset-backed securities. So yeah, I probably understand your company or industry way better than the average comedian.
I have hilarious stories about working in banking but don’t worry, it’s not your company that I’ll be making fun of. Oh yeah, I also have a degree in marketing and economics from Wharton, if you’re snobby about that sort of thing. And more recently, a master’s degree in applied positive psychology from Penn.
But really you should be hiring me for my comedy skills. I’ve headlined shows on six continents and I’m a clean comedian who regularly performs in theatres. I’m not some dirty comedy club comic who tries to clean up his act for a corporate event- my jokes are clean and friendly and I won’t pick on the audience (unless severely provoked- here’s a story about that).
“Shaun Eli did an amazing job performing virtually for our department. He had us laughing from the start, engaging with the audience and kept us laughing the whole time. And after he finished he told us stories from his career and answered our questions, without ever stopping being entertaining. I imagine it’s not easy to make a small audience of only a dozen people laugh on a screen but he was wonderful!”
Mike Savage
Managing Director
Charles Schwab
“Shaun was SUPER. Not only did he do a phenomenal job emceeing our corporate function but with his corporate background he completely understood our complicated business and what we needed from an emcee for the launch of our unique event. And after the event he took the initiative to stick around and discuss the logistics with our participants so he could make suggestions to make the event even better the next time we do it.”
Kayvan Farzaneh
Senior Manager
VSC Consulting
“Thank you so much for appearing at our fundraising dinner. Everyone loved you and really appreciated your being there. From the minute you hit the stage you had us all roaring with laughter! The feedback we’re getting from everyone is terrific. You were original and clever as well as quick-witted in dealing with the audience, and you were an absolute pleasure to work with.”
Mitch Baum
Chairman
Burgers for Autism
Garden Academy
(school for children with autism)
“We had Corporate take a look at your agreement, some changes were made, but they wanted me to pass along they LOVED your humor and never laughed so hard working on a contract.”
Carla Brady
Manager of Resident Services
Erickson Living
“Shaun is stupendous! We spent a little over an hour on the phone to come up with some jokes for my company’s e-commerce site. I was amazed at how quickly he thought of funny things for us to put on our website to keep it interesting and draw attention to our novel products. His comedy was not just about the products themselves- he even came up with a joke to boast about the low price we are charging. Shaun’s price for his expertise? Very fair and reasonable. Need original comedy for your business? Hire Shaun.”
Jacqueline von Edelberg
Founder & Chief Feline Officer
Scratch Out Scratchers, Inc.
I will make sure that your event is tons of fun. I’ve been a stand-up comedian for over twenty years, I have a business background and I founded the company that’s the leading independent producer of clean stand-up comedy for theatres. So in addition to showing up to your event and making people laugh I’ll also help you set up the room so it’s optimized for comedy- which may mean figuring out the best lighting and how to set up the chairs and tables for the performance- everything to give you the great show you deserve. Because little things can make a big difference, as you’ve probably seen in your business.
Questions? This website has my contact information all over it but to make it easy for you:
Shaun (at) BrainChampagne (dot) com
Shaun Eli Liberty Comedy Corp.
Call or text (914) it’s-funny (914) 487-3866
Highlights
- Profiled in The New York Times
- Wrote jokes for opening monologues of three late-night talk show hosts for almost 20 years
- Jay Leno cited one of Shaun’s jokes as the type of smart comedy he liked to include in his opening monologue (Fortune magazine interview)
- Performed on Netflix and Amazon
- Wharton-educated, with a master’s degree in positive psychology
- Tours with Armed Forces Entertainment
- Headlined shows on six continents (so far- if you can book me for Antarctica, please do!)
- Writes jokes and consults on humor for corporations and political candidates (but only the good ones)
FAQ on your banking career and comedy for the financial industry
- What did you do in banking?
I started out pricing leases, then trained as a credit analyst. I was an aviation lender. Then I did credit risk management for a bank’s trading products, including hedge funds. Everybody wanted to know my bank’s secret for extending credit to hedge funds. I can tell you, but it’ll cost you. Then I went to a bank that was on the forefront of credit derivatives, and I invented some new structured products including the double-derivative.
I just realized that farther up the page I already talked about this in more detail.
None of this is funny. - What is funny?
Now I get paid to make fun of the people I used to work for. Ha ha, if they’d paid me better I might still be there. - What’s special about stand-up comedy for the financial industry?
Almost nothing, except if you hire me for a corporate show I probably understand your industry and if I do crowd work (what comedians call talking to the audience in a back-and-forth, instead of just performing jokes and telling stories) I might find something funny in the give-and-take. Also you pay really well, right? - What did you major in at Wharton?
Again, not funny, but I majored in marketing and economics. My marketing 1 professor was a really good teacher, and that may have been the reason I chose marketing. Alas, he also turned out to be a really, really horrible person and last I knew he was pretty far into a very long federal prison sentence for unspeakable crimes. Really. Also not funny. - You consult on humor?
Yes, a few people have paid me to talk about comedy or write jokes for their business or political campaign. So far, nothing in the financial industry. You can be the first. - What are virtual shows like?
They’re fun, and I don’t have to leave the house. Most comics hate them because they can be challenging, but I quickly figured out why they were challenging, and how to make them work well. I’ve had some great zoom shows, and they’re fun for me too. - What’s with the Q&A?
Oh, at a lot of my shows I take questions from the audience at the end- it’s fun for them and it’s fun for me too.
Executive Summary
Banker turned professional corporate comedian Shaun Eli has hilarious stories about banking from his days working in finance. He’s hilarious, he’s headlined shows on six continents, and he’s THE comedian for you to hire to entertain at your financial conference/industry event, client or employee outing, or private party. Hire him now.