About Punchline Foundry

A Recent Discovery

In fall of 2024, I attended the Armed Services Arts Partnership comedy bootcamp. I'd never done stand-up before, but I was curious—and I walked out discovering something I genuinely loved.

There's something powerful about writing, crafting, and performing material. Clean comedy that makes people think and laugh requires real craft. It's problem-solving dressed up as storytelling.

Almost immediately, my developer brain kicked in. I saw gaps in what tools comedians had available. I saw a community full of people treating comedy seriously but lacking integrated resources to organize, analyze, and improve their craft.

So I decided to build something. Jokesmith and Gigsmith were created to serve a community I'm still learning from, as a way of giving back to the people and organization that gave me a creative outlet.

A Different Kind of Background

I'm not a career comedian. I'm not trying to go pro or perform every night. I'm a Navy veteran with 20 years of federal service who discovered comedy as therapy and creative expression.

But that background actually matters here. I understand discipline, organization, and how to approach a craft systematically. I understand what it's like to be serious about something while also keeping it light. I understand that the best work happens when you respect both the craft and yourself.

My comedy style is clean, smart storytelling—observational humor rooted in my experiences growing up in the South and experiencing different parts of the country as a southerner. I'm still early in my comedy journey, testing material at open mics, learning what actually lands versus what just makes your friends laugh.

And I'm committed to that community. After the initial launch, I plan on offering free access to Jokesmith and Gigsmith for students of the Armed Services Arts Partnership bootcamp. That's where I learned to love this. That's where I should give back.

Why These Apps Exist

Comedians are serious craftspeople. But the tools available to them often treat comedy like a hobby—scattered across different apps, or nonexistent altogether.

Punchline Foundry apps are built on the same philosophy as our safety tools: low cost, privacy first, and focused on what actually matters. Jokesmith gives you analytics and insights into your material. Gigsmith helps you organize your schedule and manage the business side of performing. Both are designed to help you think like a pro, whether you're performing every night or once a month.

You don't need enterprise software. You don't need your data harvested. You need simple tools that respect your time and help you get better at your craft.

Building for Comedians

This is a long-term project. The immediate goal is to get these tools into the hands of comedians and see if they actually make a difference in how people organize, analyze, and improve their craft.

We're not trying to be a startup unicorn. We're trying to build something useful, affordable, and rooted in the comedy community.

If Punchline Foundry grows into a sustainable business, that's great. We'll keep building. If it works better as a donation to ASAP—giving them tools to distribute for free or as a revenue source for their mission—then that's what we'll do.

Either way, the goal is the same: help comedians get better at their craft, respect their privacy, and keep comedy accessible to people who take it seriously but can't afford expensive software.