How Nimesh Patel Built Wealth Through Comedy: SNL to Stand-Up Success Story

Summary

Networth and Chill with Your Rich BFF

Episode: How Nimesh Patel Built Wealth Through Comedy: SNL to Stand-Up Success Story
Host: Vivian Tu
Guest: Nimesh Patel
Release Date: June 4, 2025

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Introduction: Setting the Stage

Vivian Tu, known as Your Rich BFF, welcomes listeners to another engaging episode of Networth and Chill. She introduces Nimesh Patel, a dynamic stand-up comedian with an impressive resume that includes touring over 80 cities, writing for Saturday Night Live (SNL), and preparing for a Netflix special. Vivian sets the tone by humorously comparing her own comedic struggles to Nimesh's successes.

Notable Quote:
Vivian Tu: “I may fancy myself a comedian because I think I'm so funny, but I don't know if I would necessarily make the cut in the standup circuit.” (01:43)

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From Finance to the Comedy Club: Nimesh’s Early Career

Nimesh Patel shares his academic journey, initially pursuing pre-med at NYU before transferring to Stern School of Business to study finance. Despite excelling academically with a 4.0 GPA, he realized his passion did not lie in finance. Struggling with courses like organic chemistry, Nimesh transitioned to private equity but soon found himself disillusioned with the corporate grind.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “I transferred to Stern because everyone was doing finance. Why not try it out? I had no idea what I was doing.” (04:46)

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The Leap of Faith: Embracing Comedy

While working in finance, Nimesh began performing stand-up comedy, juggling his day job and his passion. His dedication paid off when Lilly Singh offered him a writing job in November 2020, providing the financial stability he needed to invest in his comedic career. Encouraged by fellow comedians like Sahib Singh, Nimesh leveraged TikTok to gain significant traction, receiving up to 800,000 views overnight by posting his stand-up clips.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “I was making three, four grand a show... That was the beginning of what felt like, oh, shit, like the big break.” (39:20)

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Building a Network in Comedy

Transitioning from a finance network to the comedy scene, Nimesh emphasizes the meritocratic nature of comedy clubs and open mics, where talent determines success rather than connections. This environment allowed him to connect with other successful comedians, many of whom have achieved notable success in the industry.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “Comedy, for better or for worse, is kind of a meritocracy. We’re all trying to tell the funniest thing.” (09:05)

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Financial Challenges and Mistakes

Nimesh candidly discusses his financial missteps, notably his reluctance to invest early. Despite earning a steady income from his SNL stint, he indulged in extravagant spending, including $20,000 trips and large social expenditures, which hindered his ability to save effectively. Additionally, he recounted an ambitious but financially draining attempt to produce a high-quality comedy special for Netflix, which cost him over $200,000 without the expected return.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “The most expensive financial mistake I made was spending $200,000 on a Netflix special that could have been done for five grand.” (42:07)

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The Breakthrough: Touring Success

Capitalizing on his TikTok success, Nimesh successfully transitioned to touring, performing in cities across the United States. This move allowed him to generate a reliable income stream from live performances, enhancing his financial stability and expanding his fan base.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “I was making three, four grand a show... that was the beginning of what felt like the big break.” (39:48)

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Personal Background and Upbringing

Nimesh delves into his Indian-American upbringing in Parsippany, New Jersey. Growing up, his family was middle-class, oscillating between financial security and instability. His parents emphasized education and stability, with his father running a liquor store and exhibiting an entrepreneurial spirit. This background instilled in Nimesh a complex relationship with money, balancing a desire for financial security with the pursuit of his passion.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “My dad’s mentality was, like, we might die, so just enjoy your life today.” (24:38)

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Advice for Aspiring Comedians

Reflecting on his journey, Nimesh advises aspiring comedians to maintain financial stability while pursuing their passion. He recommends not quitting a steady job until comedy becomes a reliable income source, emphasizing the importance of meeting basic needs to foster creativity.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “Don't quit your day job. Figure out how you can do comedy and also have a job.” (47:10)

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Current Ventures and Future Plans

Currently, Nimesh is preparing for a Netflix special and continuing his extensive touring schedule, which includes cities like Miami, London, and Cleveland. He also discusses his selective approach to influencer marketing, choosing to partner only with brands he genuinely uses and trusts.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “I’m very selective with influencer marketing. I would never do something I didn't use.” (36:17)

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Concluding Insights: Balancing Passion and Financial Prudence

Throughout the conversation, Nimesh emphasizes the delicate balance between chasing one's dreams and maintaining financial prudence. His journey underscores the significance of leveraging opportunities, such as social media and networking, while remaining mindful of financial decisions that can impact long-term stability.

Notable Quote:
Nimesh Patel: “You are able to be the best version of yourself when your basic needs are met.” (48:54)

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Final Thoughts and Takeaways

Vivian wraps up the episode by highlighting Nimesh’s resilience and strategic approach to building wealth through comedy. Listeners are encouraged to follow Nimesh’s tours and stay connected through his website, findingnimesh.com, for updates and ticket information.

Notable Quote:
Vivian Tu: “Like, you are able to be the best version of yourself when your basic needs are met.” (48:53)

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Where to Find Nimesh Patel

• Website: findingnimesh.com
• Social Media: Instagram at @findingnimesh
• Upcoming Tours: Across major cities including Madison, London, and Miami

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Nimesh Patel’s story is a testament to the power of perseverance, strategic financial planning, and the unwavering pursuit of one’s passion. His insights provide valuable lessons for anyone looking to navigate the complexities of building wealth while following their dreams.

Transcript

[Viviane Tu]

When did you feel like you started making money consistently from comedy?

[Nimesh Patel]

November 2020. Lilly Singh gave me a writing job. When I desperately needed a writing job, that was enough money for me to hire an editor. TikTok was this new thing at the time, a comedian. Sahib Singh was like, you should put your stand up on there. I was like, oh, sure, I put it on there overnight. Like, 100,000 views, 800,000 views, 200,000 views. I was like, what the f? I kind of was like, okay, let's see what happens. If I say I have a show in this city, will I be able to sell tickets? Sure enough. Like, if I put I'm coming to Houston people in the comments. Are you coming to Houston when you come to San Antonio, we're coming to Dallas when you come, whatever. I was like, oh, shit.

[Viviane Tu]

Like, people care.

[Nimesh Patel]

People care.

[Viviane Tu]

Before we get started, I wanted to ask a small favor of all of my besties. We're planning for the future of Net Worth and Chill, and we want to hear from you to figure out how we can make our show better. Visit vox media.comsurvey to give us your feedback. Thanks. What's up, rich friends? Welcome back to another episode of Net Worth and Chill with me, your host, Viviane Tu, AKA Urich, bff and your favorite Wall street girlie. Now, I may fancy myself a comedian because I think I'm so funny, but I don't know if I would necessarily make the cut in the standup circuit. One joke doesn't hit and I'm staring into a pitch black audience of people with no laughter. I am in tears, I guarantee you, crying on stage. Fortunately, today's guest puts my comedic chops to absolute shame. He's a standup comic who has toured more than 80 cities, a former writer on Saturday Night Live, one of the funniest people on social media, and he's going on tour to prep for his upcoming Netflix special. Everyone, please welcome Nimesh Patel.

[Nimesh Patel]

Thank you very much for having me.

[Viviane Tu]

I'm so excited for you to be here today. But before we get into the nitty gritty finance talk of comedy land, I I want to know, what is the funniest heckle you have ever gotten while performing?

[Lilly Singh]

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[Nimesh Patel]

There's been a lot of funny heckles. I'll give you two.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

One like that destroyed me. And another one that I won the conversation.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay. Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

The first one, the one that destroyed me was Helium Comedy Club in Portland. And I'm always surprised by who comes to see me because, like, 70 year old people come to see me. It's like, really? The 70 year old woman was. Every Tick Tock has got everybody addicted to it.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

And the 70 year old woman, I forget what I said to her. I was like, how old are you? She's like. She said she was 70. I was like, whoa, you're just being rude. She's like, I'll still kick your ass. Then the whole crowd just lost their mind. I was like, God damn it, Nancy. And then we went back and forth like, 11 minutes. And I put it up on my. I'm not ashamed of losing a battle. I put it up on my Instagram, on tick tock, YouTube. And at the end of the show, like, we hugged and all that kind of. She was super funny.

[Viviane Tu]

Debbie cooked your ass.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, she whooped my ass real strong. And then my favorite retort, I didn't capture it on. On. On the Internet, I think, but I was at Knitting Factory back when Hannibal Burris, like, used to run it. Yeah, it was like five or six years ago. No, probably longer than that. I just finished reading Of Mice and Men, and the whole show, this was like, heckling everybody. And no one said anything or they told him to shut up, but no one said anything for real. And I got on stage and I was like, hey, man, what's your name? He said, lenny. I was like, have you ever read Of Mice and Men? This doesn't end well for you if you don't know of mice. And then Lenny gets shot. Yeah. And the whole crowd died. And he never talked again. I was like, damn, I got him. Books are important, you know? Like, that. That was. I remember that heckle very vividly because it was just. It just tapped myself on the back, like, good job, man.

[Viviane Tu]

That feels like the nerdiest possible way to win, like, a roast battle between your audience. I love that.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. No, it felt pretty good. Like, whoever, for whatever reason, like, everyone got it. It was in. It was in Williamsburg in, like, peak reading.

[Viviane Tu]

It was like, dork season.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. It was Perfect.

[Viviane Tu]

I love.

[Nimesh Patel]

It was great. I felt. I felt pretty cool. I love that.

[Viviane Tu]

That's awesome. Speaking of nerdy, dorky things, before you actually got started as a comedian, we got to talk about a little fun fact that you and I share. We are both finance bro. Sellouts.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yes.

[Viviane Tu]

And I say that with love, obviously. As someone who literally calls herself a Wall street girly, you came to New York to study finance at NYU and then eventually ended up working in private equity.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yes. So I went. I went to school. I was a NYU pre med my freshman year. I got, like, a 4.0in pre med freshman year. So I was like, oh, I'm at Stern too. Like, let me transfer to Stern. Everyone's doing finance. Why not try it out? I had no idea what I was doing.

[Viviane Tu]

Is that just because your parents wanted you to do that?

[Nimesh Patel]

Well, I wanted to be a doctor. I wanted to be a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon. And then I got a C plus in organic chemistry. Like, I was like those kids. And. But up until. Up until junior year, both sophomore year, I transferred to Stern, the undergrad business program, because it's the best program there was. And I was like, I got a four. I'm sure I'll transfer in pretty easily. And then. And then I subsequently found out, like, I don't know what any of this is. This doesn't interest me at all. I was just in it because I was there.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And so when I graduated in. Oh. Like, all my friends are recruited to.

[Viviane Tu]

Oh, wait, yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Tough year. That's why I do comedy. Tough year to, like, become a anything.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And if you weren't a super strong student, which I wasn't, I was, like, a 3435 student when all my peers, like, 373839, they all went to, like, Goldman and Green Hill and Bart Glaze and all the other big banks. And I was like, the am I doing? And so I didn't recruit. I got. I interned after graduating.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

At, like, the Economic Development Corporation in New York City. And there I was just, like, assisting people and interning. But then I had an interview with, like, their development team. These are, like, all ex McKinsey people.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I remember, like, how many napkins does Burger King sell in a year? That was like.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah, that's, like, part of the Internet.

[Nimesh Patel]

Like a consulting question.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I'm, like, sweating bullets. I'm like, I could use some napkins now. Like, I had no idea. And then I didn't become, like, an associate there or anything like that. Luckily, one of my friends, manages a hedge fund, hired me to as an intern, allow me to like really pad my resume basically.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Got an internship at a guy. Then I finally got my first research job at a hedge fund. And that's coincided with when I started comedy, basically.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And by that time I already made the decision that I wanted to do comedy. So like I could have been on this analyst path to be like a hedge fund analyst, like make booku money. But I was like, no, I'm gonna chase this dream.

[Viviane Tu]

Wait, can we, can we talk about the dream chasing piece?

[Nimesh Patel]

So stupid. So stupid.

[Viviane Tu]

Wait, but yeah, you're saying it's stupid, but like talk to me like you had this in your hand, right? Like you had a guaranteed path to making a lot of money.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

Were you not scared to be like, yeah, actually I don't want money, I want to be a comic.

[Nimesh Patel]

I, I, the problem was, and the great thing was was that all of my peers, this, mind you, this is like, okay, a year and a half in all my peers were seeing like tremendous success, at least in terms of comedy. Not monetarily.

[Viviane Tu]

Not monetarily, certainly, like, but like comedy.

[Nimesh Patel]

Wise, like, oh, they were doing like Fallon or they were doing a TV show here. They were doing like these big shows. I'm like, I'm shoulder to shoulder with these guys. I, I am just as funny. I think I could do it just, and I'm putting my nose to the grindstone here. I can work, I can do. And like so now the day job was just that, it was just like, I gotta pay rent.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

I moved out my parents house. I can eat halal food like every day off a truck. Like I don't care. I'm just, I want to do standup. And I will never forget when I was at like a holiday party with this hedge fund and it was like small funds, like 20 people.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I remember at like 6 o' clock I had to catch the train. It was in Irvington, New York. So it was like an hour outside of New York. And I had to catch the train to go to make it to my show that I had started. And I remember leaving that holiday party like just after eating the meal real quick.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And, and I will never forget the look the, the PM hat the head guy had on his face of disgust.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

You're leaving this? Yeah, sorry, I got to go tell these dick jokes. And that was it. And I, I don't, I credit my peers for being like super successful and making me feel like, oh, I should do Something with this, you know, that's.

[Viviane Tu]

So interesting because you were at Stern, so you obviously had a lot of peers who went into finance. How did you build a network in comedy?

[Nimesh Patel]

Well, all my friends who were in Stern were also very successful in finance. So when their little lives became the finance jobs, I wasn't seeing them all the time. You know, they were, they were work. I remember one, one of my hedge fund, my. He was a banker at the time. We linked up one night to like get drinks. He fell asleep in the cab. He was like a first year animal. Yeah. He was like talking in his sleeve. I was like, bro, you, you're not going to make it.

[Viviane Tu]

You need to go home.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, you need to go home. I don't do anything, you know, in comedy. It was just like comedy, for better or for worse, is kind of a meritocracy. And I don't know how you gravitate towards the people you gravitate towards, but it is like a level playing field in the sense that everyone comes to the open mic. Sure, some of them might be wearing rags. I was wearing a suit because I was interning sometimes. But like, we're all, we're also trying to tell the funniest thing. And you gravitate towards, you gravitate towards. And I was just fortunate enough that a lot of my peers ended up becoming. And they're like some of the most successful people in comedy for sure.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

How long did you work in finance before you left and how much were you making when you left?

[Nimesh Patel]

I was in. So as my first finance job, 2010 at the hedge fund. Shout out to Ron and those guys.

[Viviane Tu]

Shout out, Ron.

[Nimesh Patel]

I have a funny story about working there. I was probably making like 55, 65k. 55k plus, like 5k bonus because I was a research assistant. Oh, I wasn't, I wasn't.

[Viviane Tu]

You weren't a big hot shot yet?

[Nimesh Patel]

No, no. I was there for like nine months, eight months before they were like, you don't want to do this. You leave every day at 5 and you're like hungover when you come in. Like, get the out of here.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Because everyone there was like, MIT war and like super smart Stern, like, ready to go. I was like, this is nonsense. Why am I doing this? And I was building models. Like the head pm.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah, yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Put me on, like building models.

[Viviane Tu]

It's certainly not an easy job.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. So I was on the way to becoming an analyst. If I could prove myself. That was like nine months. I was making like 55, 65K. And then the next job I took was at this boutique investment bank where I told them I was doing stand up.

[Viviane Tu]

And I was like, why did you tell them that?

[Nimesh Patel]

Because I didn't want what happened at the hedge fund to happen again.

[Viviane Tu]

Got you. Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

I told them, look, I'm here for the 9 to 5. I will work my dick off from when I will come in to when I leave and I'll take some work home with me if like the analysts need it. But otherwise, like, don't bother me. I'm not, I don't want to be an analyst. I had no desire. I'm so. I'm 25 at that point and I'm supporting like 22 year olds who were like fresh out of college, like still doing blow.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I'm like, yeah, give me your receipts. I'll put them on this piece of paper to give it to the, the accounting office or whatever. And there I was probably making like 65, 70.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

Enough again to pay for my apartment.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And give me Chipotle and halal truck food. Like literally that's all I ate.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I didn't care. I was having time of my life and enough to like get me drunk and stuff like that.

[Viviane Tu]

The important stuff.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. Yeah. And then that I got laid off there a year and a half in the. The firm took a turn for the worse. It's since rebounded tremendously. But I remember being annoyed because they thought that the head guy bought this giant painting that was like a hundred thousand dollar painting and he put it up in the office the same year that you're letting me go.

[Viviane Tu]

I'm like, bro, you should have just not bought the painting.

[Nimesh Patel]

That's my salary. That's more than my salary right there. Dude, what are you doing? It all worked out fine because at the 20 year anniversary party, they invited me to perform.

[Viviane Tu]

No way.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I got full circle. Yeah. I got to do a 10 minute, 15 minute set just like roasting everybody. And I got.

[Viviane Tu]

Did you charge them for that?

[Nimesh Patel]

Oh, yeah, of course. Yeah. Great. I got, I paid, I got paid a hefty rate plus a little bonus. Just a mirror. What's it called? My structure at the point. I was there originally and that was there for like a year and change. And then I, I got laid off there. And then I got an executive assistant job at a family office. So that's like the kind of private equity kind of structure that it was. We were running money for two billionaires.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Who wanted to invest in Sub Saharan Africa and I was like, listen, I do comedy. I'm very good at, you know, this assistant stuff, and if you need me to do anything else, I'm happy to do it. A year in, it was, like, very clear. I was, like, underemployed in the sense I wasn't doing anything. Assisting a 1 CEO wasn't that intense.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

I was like, let me do some investing analysis and stuff. Yeah, okay. So I just called up my boy, kkr. No, he's at tpg. And I was like, hey, let me get your, you know, investment criteria questions. And he was like, all right. So he just sent me like a 20 page thing.

[Viviane Tu]

Good friend.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. And I was like, oh, this is what you guys do? This is how you analyze the company. It's like, yeah. I was like, sick.

[Viviane Tu]

You're like, how hard could it be?

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. And then, then I. I presented it to my CEO. I was like, listen, I think this is the framework we should adopt, minus some changes.

[Viviane Tu]

And dead.

[Nimesh Patel]

And she's like, oh, this is great. I'm like, yeah, I got it from a friend. He's like, awesome. That's how this business works. Anyway. And so I was analyzing companies just based on this. These 20 criteria or whatever it was. Got promoted to associate. I was like, flying Africa, kicking tires.

[Viviane Tu]

Now you're not just the executive assistant. You're actually an investment professional.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, I'm investment professional, mind you. I was like, faking it till I made it kind of thing, you know, I had no idea what the I was talking about. Like, if you asked me to build a dcf, I could back then, but now. Yeah, but then I was like, I felt so cool.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Like being in business class, like on KLM to Nairobi, and everyone around me is like 50 years old. I'm like, in sweats, just like, hey, what's going on? Yeah, I'm gonna go look at companies too. And that ended. That ended the same January that I got a writing job with Chris Rock. Chris Rock saw me doing stand up at the same show five years later at the same show that I was. Had just started when I was at that hedge fund. So, like, in that, in that time, from the hedge fund to my family office job, we had built the show to be a show big enough where people like Chris Rock would come to see talent and he was there to watch someone else. I went up. It was my show. I knocked out of the park. Obviously, just given the result that he hired me to write for the Oscars.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

So, yeah, I think I was in. I was, I Would say finance. Like seven, six, seven years. One foot in, one foot out.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And then that was it. And that last job. Sorry, that last job, I was probably, I think I cleared. Like, that was my first six figure job. I think made like $100,000 before when I left.

[Viviane Tu]

And you know, you come from an Indian American family.

[Nimesh Patel]

I do.

[Viviane Tu]

Like, you've mentioned that growing up, your parents really wanted education, stability. That doesn't quite jive with being a comic. Like when you decided to ultimately leave and pursue comedy, like, what was the, the calculus there?

[Nimesh Patel]

Well, I didn't have a job, so they're like, what are you doing? And I was at home for like a year and change after graduating. And I was depressed. I was listless. I was like, you know, you grow up thinking told, you're smart, you're successful, you're going to be successful, do well in sats, you go to the good school. Like, all your peers are doing great. You're like, I ain't what the is going on with me. And so I needed some kind of creative outlet. I just felt like I needed it. I didn't think I'm gonna do stand up comedy. It was just like, it's just something that called me. And then once I caught the bug, there was no.

[Viviane Tu]

There's no stopping it.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. It was just like, I'm doing this.

[Viviane Tu]

What was your first paycheck from comedy? What did that look like?

[Nimesh Patel]

20 bucks.

[Viviane Tu]

$20?

[Nimesh Patel]

I still have that $20 for what? It was doing a show. Just like a, a spot at. What's it called? How long was the word book store? 15 minutes. Oh, that's not horrible.

[Viviane Tu]

$20 for 15 minutes.

[Nimesh Patel]

80 bucks an hour if you do that. But it was, you weren't making 80 bucks an hour. You were doing $20 spots. But I still have that 20 bucks.

[Viviane Tu]

Did you like, tape it to your wall?

[Nimesh Patel]

It's, it's, it's folded underneath a Ganesha in my childhood bedroom. Oh, yeah, I still have that 20 bucks.

[Viviane Tu]

Lucky 20.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, yeah, it was. I'd never forget it. It was at Bobby Tisdale show at the Word bookstore in Greenpoint, and my friend Shonali helped me get that spot. And that was like 20 bucks. But like, because up until that point, you're paying to do open mics.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

You know, you're paying five bucks, ten bucks to just get on stage and maybe buy a drink at some of these places that like kind of rob you. But they have to, they have to run a business. You're like, all right, I'LL just put on my. This amex that my parents pay. And they're like. They're like, you are running up 3, 400 bucks a month just on open mics and bus tickets. I'm like, yeah, I'm sorry. They're like, we don't have this kind of money. What are you doing?

[Viviane Tu]

I'm like, what was that conversation with them?

[Nimesh Patel]

Like, they were just like, very, like, what is this? Because comedy, even now is a new thing, especially Indian parents. And even to any parent, like, the process of it is a new thing. Like, they don't understand what it means, like, to be a doctor, engineer, finance guy. Like, it's a very clear path.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

And that's like, kind of the three paths you're allowed to be.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, yeah. For comedy, like, even I don't know the path, I still don't know the path. Like, it's a very randomized route to get to where you're at. And so for me, all I saw was I got to do open mics, hopefully get discovered on stage, do bigger shows. Bigger shows lead to something else. I didn't know what I was doing. I just. I was just flying blind here. I just had some kind of calling, I guess, and I was like, I'm gonna do this. And my parents, like, once I got a job and they weren't paying for me to, like, live in their house, there wasn't. They could say, yeah, I'm just gonna do this. And then every phone call was like, so when are you gonna get your mba? I'm like, I'm not gonna get my mba. It's never gonna happen. But I think my parents. I remember very clearly that my. My mom, especially my dad, is entrepreneur. Right. And not a huge one or anything like that. By no means a resounding success and monetarily, but, like, he's made his own way. So, like, my dad kind of got it right away. It's like, this is this. Like, it's an entrepreneurial endeavor. You just got to work at it and just keep working, working, working hard, and hopefully something will happen. My mom was always like, what? What is happening? What are you doing? Get your degree. But when I got fired from the hedge fund job, I remember talking to her, and she was just like, it's going to be okay. Just collect unemployment, get another job. You'll be fine. I'm like, who is this lady who abducted my mom? What the is this? Why are you talking to me like this? Aren't you supposed to be yelling at me and telling Me, this whole dream is stupid. Like, no. She was just like, no, just like, get another job. It's gonna be fine. Yeah, you'll land on your feet kind of thing. I was like, ah, okay, cool.

[Viviane Tu]

That's nice.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, it was very. It was very comforting.

[Viviane Tu]

Did you grow up with a lot of money or like.

[Nimesh Patel]

No, I. I grew up thinking I was rich.

[Viviane Tu]

Where did you grow up?

[Nimesh Patel]

Parsippany, New Jersey.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

I grew up thinking I was rich and acting like I was rich. But we were not rich in hindsight. Like, so Until I was 8, we lived in one bedroom. Then we got rented, like a two or three bedroom. And then my parents bought a house that was like, for New Jersey, a McMansion, but not like, not a. Like, not some Real Housewives shit. Just like cul de sac, kind of like development, dealing other people at the same house. But for us, it felt like, oh, this is the. We made it. And then my parents, they bought like a mid tier lexus, like a GS, GS300, something like that.

[Viviane Tu]

That is an Asian parents, like, East Asian, South Asian. That Lexus SUV is like, the family has made it.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, yeah, we've made it. Yeah, yeah, we had that. It was. We had the sedan. It was basically an Avalon, but it was this Alexis.

[Viviane Tu]

Alexis.

[Nimesh Patel]

So like, oh, yeah, I'm fucking rich. But then I went to Columbia University summer camp, and that's when I met actual rich people. My. My suite mates were the son of, like, a dry cleaning business, the son of a founding partner of an international office of McKinsey, and then the grandson of the president of Nicaragua. And I remember like, y' all want some of this Johnny Walker I stole from my dad's liquor store? Like, oh, I. I remember calling my dad, like, bro, you are. We're poor. Work harder. And he's like, I'm getting robbed. I gotta go. Like, it was like that. It was. I remember it was such a shock for me.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

But I guess. I guess you could say we grew up like, middle class. Like, in hindsight. But I felt rich. Rich. But I love that, though. It was all like. It was all. It was all an illusion, you know? Like, I. I was like, I'm going to the mall every week. I'm getting Lacoste Polos. Like, my mom's like, what is this? Yeah, stop running up our tab.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

But until. Until. Until it all came crashing down. Like when my dad made some bad business moves and, like, lost the store, basically, we felt like, top of the world. You know, everything's great, but in hindsight, we were not like we should. My dad should have been, like, super prudent, investing constantly. That was never a conversation with us.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

Talk to me about that.

[Nimesh Patel]

I think it was because my dad, like, he started working the liquor store since he was 17.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

He came straight from India, no college education, so that was never in his head.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And he's also the youngest of six in a very. I was not poor, but not, like, I would say poor by American standards. Family.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

If they're talking about India, I'm not sure what they were like in India, but he was a runto litter. When he was in India, he couldn't go to college because they used the money to pay for his older brother's wedding.

[Viviane Tu]

Gotcha.

[Nimesh Patel]

It was that kind of family.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And so when he came here, he had this mentality of, like. And I remember this very clearly, like, you never know what tomorrow is going to bring. Like, you don't know. So just enjoy your life today.

[Viviane Tu]

Whoa. I'm kind of surprised by that, because if his college education money went to your. His older brother's wedding, I would assume that would make him, like, very frugal, but it's actually the opposite.

[Nimesh Patel]

No, he. I mean, I'm sure, like, being shot at had some kind of, like, trauma in his brain. And I don't know what his, like, those early years were like for him, like, not owning the business, but just working at a business because he would always save so they could buy a business. But, like, once he had kids, and she's like, my kids are not gonna ever want for anything.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Like, everyone's getting. My favorite memory is when we were younger, I had mad cousins. They all came to my place when we were, like, 10 years old, and we all went to Old Navy.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And we just balled out. Everyone got older, and we felt like we were kings, you know, we were walking out with every denim pant, every. All the cargoes. We were fly as granted Old Navy, but I remember and my mom paid for all of it. I was like, oh, yeah, that's right. We got all this shit.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

But in hindsight, it was just my dad's kind of, like, the opposite immigrant mentality. Like, every immigrant's like, we got save, save, save. My dad was like, we might die.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

So just enjoy your life.

[Viviane Tu]

A defense mechanism.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, you just enjoy your life right now. And I think that had a lot to do with how we grew up. Like, of course the kids want the red Converses to match his red polo. He's going to get red Converses to match. It was like that kind of thing. In hindsight, I wish I learned more about investing and putting money away and all that kind of stuff because all my friends, all my cousins whose parents taught them that are like doing. I've been doing it at a very early age, whereas I have not been.

[Viviane Tu]

So talking about that, you said you wish you had kind of been making smarter money moves. So you go to go work for Chris Rock.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

And you start making some real money.

[Nimesh Patel]

Well, no, I mean, no, no, no, no. Not at all.

[Viviane Tu]

Like, oh, okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

I mean and Chris is a very generous guy. But it wasn't Chris who was paying us.

[Viviane Tu]

Got you.

[Nimesh Patel]

It was the Oscars that was paying us. And that was my first writing job and an Oscars writing a variety guild. That. That's a classified as a variety guild writing job. It's a variety show. Oscars are technically a variety show. That first that check is like a one time check.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Gotcha.

[Nimesh Patel]

I think it was like 10, $12,000 or something.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

Which for a month is a great amount of money.

[Viviane Tu]

Right.

[Nimesh Patel]

It's only the month.

[Viviane Tu]

And then you got to find something.

[Nimesh Patel]

Else and then you gotta do something else. You're effectively a freelance employee. And after that job ended, I was like, all right, I got a little bit of savings, but it's not gonna last that long. I can collect unemployment, but that's only like 15 to $2,000 a month or something like that.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah, it's a couple hundred bucks a week.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. Which is okay. Um, but after you eat it's like nothing.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Um, what am I going to do? And I was like, I was re. I was considering joining the finance world again. But there was no way I could go back to being an investment professional and still doing standard.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Because at that level you either become an EA again.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Which I interviewed for but just didn't land anything. Or you become investment professional.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Or like a junior level associate or something. But then you can't do stand up.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Right.

[Nimesh Patel]

And there's no way I was going to tell people to do that. So what you do? I look for copywriting jobs. I got an odd job here, an odd job there writing wise. Hassan Minaj gave me hired me to write on the Congressional Correspondence Dinner. That was his like pre White House correspondence dinner writing showcase. That was like I think like two grand. And at that point like I'm living like my dad. I'm just like I. I'm. There's in back my head. I'm like this Is crazy. I don't know what money's gonna happen, but I'm. This is the dream. This is what I thought was gonna happen. I'm gonna do stand up. I'll make a few bucks to do stand up. And I had a very understanding girlfriend, now my wife, who was just like, he was also working. So the pressure of like constantly paying for rent wasn't as present, but it was still there.

[Viviane Tu]

Was she your sugar mom at the time?

[Lilly Singh]

Support for this show comes from pure leaf iced tea. You know that point in the afternoon when you just hit a wall. You don't have time for self care rituals or getting some fresh air. So maybe you grab a beverage to bring you back, but somehow it doesn't do the trick or it leaves you feeling even worse. What you need is a quality break, a tea break. And you can do that with pure leaf iced tea. Real brewed tea made in a variety of bold and refreshing flavors with just the right amount of naturally occur caffeine. With a pure leaf iced tea in hand, you'll be left feeling refreshed and revitalized with a new motivation to take on what's next. The next time you need to hit the reset button, grab a pure leaf iced tea. Time for a tea break. Time for a pure leaf.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, yeah, for sure. She was, she was, you know, like groceries, all the stuff that we were doing.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

She'S literally an angel investor.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, yeah, no, for sure. Super seed. Early. Whatever it is. Was I saying, yeah. So like those few months, I was like, this is the dream. I'm gonna do this. Yeah, it'll be okay. And for like a few months, it wasn't. But then that was like, what, June? That was 2016. Yeah, 2016. Summer 2016 goes by. I'm like, all right, now I really have to figure something out because I don't have a job and money's running out.

[Viviane Tu]

And then you hit a break.

[Nimesh Patel]

Awkwafina Nora from Queens. Nora Lum. Her. That same show that I had started, the. The I'll call broken Comedy is the name of the show that started with my friend Michael Che and Mike Denny. That show this woman used to come to named Tina, and she ended up being a producer on Awkwafina's Go90 talk show. Go90 was like a. A Verizon effort to be in the digital media space. She was one of the first people to have her own talk show on that platform. They hired me to be one of the writers for that show, and that was like, that was the sign I needed from God to be like, all right, just do comedy. It's going to work out.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And that was it. And that was only. That was like 3,000 bucks for that, for that one month writing gig. But I was like, that's enough. That pays my portion of the rent. And eat a little bit.

[Viviane Tu]

A little bit.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, yeah. And we're not saving any money. We're not doing anything like that. But fuck it, like, it's going to work out. And that was it. Like a kind of leap of faith there for sure.

[Viviane Tu]

When did you feel like you started making money consistently from comedy?

[Nimesh Patel]

I had a SNL job was the first and only job that I had that was. Paid me consistently doing comedy.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And that was eight months from September 2017 to May 2018.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Everything before and everything after has just been like, what the is going on?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

You know, like, I've had some writing gigs, but they're always like short term kind of thing. Whereas SNL felt like it was going to be there for a while.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Unfortunately, I was only there for a year or a season, but that was like, okay, now I'm good. I'm doing. I'm doing great. Like, residuals are strong.

[Viviane Tu]

When you started working there, like, you finally have money coming in consistently, how are you budgeting it? Were you spending, splurging, like, saving?

[Nimesh Patel]

I was. I wish I could recall. I wish I could say I was saving a lot, but I don't think I was like, we. I saved a bunch, but at the end of the season, at the end of the sea, I also, I spent a lot because we were. Hey. I thought I was gonna not stop.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Again, like, I was like, I made it. I'm at snl. Like, this is the. What a time. The first Indian ever.

[Viviane Tu]

Here you are. That was amazing.

[Nimesh Patel]

It just felt like I'm on top of the world and they have these great after parties and like, I invent my friends, my cousins, whatever. I'm paying for all the dinners.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

That adds up fast.

[Viviane Tu]

Do you feel like because of your Indian American background, you felt a need to, like, ball out the way your dad did?

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, no, for sure. I'm like. And I'm not trying to brag, but it was all very foolish.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

You know, you're like, I regret this.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yes. Hugely. Because those 500 dinners add up.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

You do them three times a month. There's like, there's a half a check gone. Yeah. But money. I was saving. I was saving money, but I wasn't Putting it away in the market. I think I, I think I had a couple grand in the market at the time. I was putting a lot away in cash because I didn't know what to put my money in. I was like, rather than that up, let me. I think yields were like zero at the time, but it was like 2% or something. But at the. In April of 2018, my wife, her. Her sister and our brother in law. Let's go on safari. And I'm like, all right, that sounds expensive. All right. It was like $20,000. And I was like, that's a lot of money to just put away. And I also was saving for a ring.

[Viviane Tu]

And so you're like, do you want to get engaged? Yes or no?

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. Like, this is the ridiculous thing, but all right. Safari is like once in a lifetime trip. I mean, it's not. I'm gonna go again for sure, but it was awesome. But. And this time we'll ball out.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

So it's gonna be a few years, but until we go back. But even 20 grand felt like a lot of money.

[Viviane Tu]

That is an insane amount of money.

[Nimesh Patel]

But it was like an insane trip. I was just thinking about it just now, like, yeah, it was freaking Jurassic Park.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Like, we saw all the animals line up at a lake and John Williams is playing like, this is insane. This would have. And like, so quiet. But all that to say, like, all that money is gone. Yeah, he spent all of it. It was spent. And, And I don't regret. I, I joke, I say I regret some of it. But those, those, like, my family got to meet Kenan Thompson. You know, my friends and I were like, that's Kevin Hart. And that's, that's, that's Gal Gadot. And granted, she's Gal Gadot, so she's a little iffy now, but at the time was very cool. She was Charles. Like, everybody, you know, every. All my friends got to live that life for a little bit.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And that was a lot of fun. And I felt, I felt very good.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

I felt like, hell, yeah, we're fucking balling out. Living the dream right here.

[Viviane Tu]

After snl, did you feel like there were a bunch of brands and opportunities just coming banging down your door?

[Nimesh Patel]

No, it was.

[Viviane Tu]

Whoa. Really?

[Nimesh Patel]

It was the, the doors were closed. Because when you're at the show, at least for when I was there, if your first year in, like, don't be taking Jameson offers.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Don't be taking offers to do whatever with whoever. Like, there's good people gonna come at You. But you're focused on the show.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And I. I, again, like, I'm not privy to this, but I imagine something like, the show controls who's gonna do what.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And who's gonna be allowed to do something.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Because you are the show still.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And so, like, I think I got one or two offers. I know Jameson or I think doers or something wanted me to do something or asked me to do something, and the show was like, no, we don't think that's a good idea. I was like, okay, cool. But it wasn't a lot of money. It was like maybe three or four thousand dollars at the time.

[Viviane Tu]

But not enough to give up your check.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. No, no, not at all.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And then after the show, it was like, all right, well, he's not the show anymore. Why is he important? You know what I mean? It's. It's irrelevant who this guy is. And this was. I don't know when influencer marketing took off, but I know I was not an influencer. My Instagram was like, maybe like 5,000. I don't know what it was at the time, but nothing important. Nothing. Like, eyeballs are on me constantly kind of thing. So even if they wanted to, even if my profile was 10x what it was at the time, like, I don't think they would have drawn any eyeballs for sure.

[Viviane Tu]

Talk to me about the influencer piece of it. You have a large social following. You post a ton of your clips. I watch them on repeat, or, like, just. I loop them and I go through them all. Like, they're so funny. But why did you start putting stuff on social media? Was it a ploy to, like, build up an influencer profile or, like, you just wanted to get your name out there?

[Nimesh Patel]

It was the latter for sure. Like, I. I don't like the whole, I would love to participate in influencer marketing, but I don't. I. I'm very selective with. I. I would never do something I didn't use.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

You know what I mean? I think some people just shill for anything. But, like, I. If I don't trust the product, I don't use the product. I don't feel comfortable selling it. And I don't use a lot of stuff that is small enough to have me. They want, like, big names. You know what I mean? Like, they're not gonna have me do Porsche. Like, that's my favorite brand. Like, I love the car company. I don't have a Porsche or anything like that, but they're gonna have. I Think Dua Lipa is doing a part. Right, Right. It's not Nemesh Patel, but the. To answer your question, the. My November 2020, I got Lilly Singh gave me a writing job. And shout out to Lilly Singh, who really helped me.

[Viviane Tu]

I love the Desi community is taking care of you.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, yeah. No, it was very helpful. She gave me a writing job when I desperately needed a writing job. And she didn't. She doesn't know that. She didn't know this, that at the time she was like saving me from a lot of. But she gave me a writing job and guild writing jobs. Entry level, they probably pay like what investment banking analysts make.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

At the starting level.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

But it's not constant. You know, it's like three month, four month increments. So prorated. It's what they make, but on a weekly basis. It's on a weekly basis what they make, but yearly, like, obviously bankers make a lot more. But that was enough money for me to hire an editor who could put. And Tick Tock was this new thing at the time.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And my wife had told me to get on Tick Tock back in like June of 2020. And I was like, okay. And I never really did it. I put like one or two clips up. Then my friend of mine, this comedian Sahib Singh, was like, you should put it get on Tick Tock. He was like blowing up because he was doing like sketches on there. Yeah, you should put your stand up on there. I was like, oh, sure. And I did. And I hired an editor to like cut up all this material that I had. And he put it, I put it on there. And it was like overnight, like 100, 000 views. 800, 000 views. 200, 000 views. I was like, what the. And then that was for like three months until like I had a, a show lined up where I kind of was like, oh, see what happens if I say I have a show in this city? Will I be able to sell tickets? Sure enough, like, if I put I'm coming to Houston, people in the comments are, you're coming to Houston? When you come to San Antonio, when you come to Dallas, when are you coming? Whatever. I was like, oh, like people care. People care. And on top of that, the most important insight was if I write the city on. In the text on the video, then it probably reads that, that shows. It shows the people in that area. Like there's like some geolocation thing going on. I was like, I gotta line up shows in all these different cities. And luckily that thesis proved out where it was. Like, this is. If I put Dallas, I'm gonna sell Dallas tickets. If I put New York, I'm selling New York tickets. And that was really it. My. I was free because I didn't have to constantly worry about money.

[Viviane Tu]

Because you were making touring money.

[Nimesh Patel]

Because I was. No, because I was making the. The writing money that I could take a shot at clipping stuff out on this platform that was relatively new and, and invest in myself, so to speak. Like, the editor costs money. Right. A good editor cost a lot of money that I think cost me to clip all itself out, like $3,000 at the time, which huge ROI, obviously. But that helped me start touring and I was like, this is insane. And then I was making, you know, three, four grand a show kind of thing.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

The minimums that a lot of these venues require or that will give to a new comic. Yeah, they'll give you a guarantee as opposed to a door deal. Because they're like, we don't know you. We don't know if you can be able to sell. Like, this is our break even. Here's 2,000 bucks here. 3,000 bucks and you'll net like 500 bucks. You got to pay for your own flight.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Hotel and all that kind of shit food. All that. But that was the beginning of what felt like, oh, shit, like the big break. I'm going to be a stand up comedian touring. Like, I'm gonna be a touring stand up comedian who makes money touring. And that was it. That was really like. It's. It's just been multiples of that. But that was what started it.

[Viviane Tu]

Wow.

[Nimesh Patel]

Shout out Lily saying thank you very much and sahib and my wife for all that.

[Viviane Tu]

So let's. Editor, let's talk a little bit about like your income sources.

[Nimesh Patel]

Sure.

[Viviane Tu]

You were making money from writing.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

You were making money. A small amount, I assume, just from the platforms. Probably paying you for making content. You were making money when you were actually going on tour and like doing comedy at a club. Were you making money any other ways?

[Nimesh Patel]

No, I think you got it. I think that's all of them stand up, you know, outside of New York and in New York, I mean, in New York is one source, YouTube. And YouTube was my prime, was a big source of my passive income. Yeah, well, relatively passive. I still have to put stuff up and edit all that kind of stuff. And then writing. Writing fell by the wayside.

[Viviane Tu]

Are you still writing now?

[Nimesh Patel]

No. No.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

I want to be. So if you're hiring, call him yeah, but yeah, that was it. Those are, I think those are three sources.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

And then only fans.

[Viviane Tu]

But yeah, of course. Show me your feet. Yeah, yeah, show me your feet for the thumbnail so we can make this go viral. Couple questions for you, like, what do you feel like throughout your entire comedy journey? Because now you're in a position that is very enviable. Like you, you have been on an 80 city tour. You're going on tour again. You have this social following. You're preparing for this Netflix comedy standup special. Like what was the biggest mistake financially you think you made through your.

[Nimesh Patel]

In comedy.

[Viviane Tu]

In comedy.

[Nimesh Patel]

Well, I think overall biggest financial mistake is probably just like not investing early and early.

[Viviane Tu]

And often you regret that.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, no, for sure. And like not even thinking about it, you know, like it didn't even cross my brain like all my friends.

[Viviane Tu]

Which is crazy because you worked in investing.

[Nimesh Patel]

That's what I'm saying. But I think it was because it was just like I was on such hair thin margins at the time. You know, rent and food and drinking consumed all of my money.

[Viviane Tu]

Alcohol, the drinking was a big part.

[Nimesh Patel]

Alcohol was a big part. But in within comedy, the most expensive financial mistake I made was. And I don't have a ROI calculation on this. I spent the first special I made myself thank you China that I put up on YouTube and I called it thank you China because Tick tock changed my life. And it was like a nod to them, like, hey, thank you guys for creating this addiction. I spent like 200 something thousand dollars of my own money. Yeah. So like any. So like there's a huge range of stand up specials. Right. Like you can, you can make one for like five grand. You can make the, the jokes for quarantine, which is what I put up on YouTube when. Quarantine. Quarantine. We were in quarantine. Cost me like maybe like 500, 600 bucks. One camera. Shout out to Iffy. One camera, good audio. That was it. But that was 600 bucks. And it looks like a 600 special.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

You can now technology has advanced so much, even a few years, you could probably shoot a very good special. That looks great. Sounds fantastic. For YouTube for like a couple grand.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Which the ROI is hopefully you'll be able to sell tickets on that and if you get like two or three minimums, you've made your money back.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yep.

[Nimesh Patel]

But to be, to be on Netflix, it. To have to meet their stamp quality standards, to shoot something that meets their quality standards just costs money just based on the cameras that you need. And the sound that you need in the lighting, all that bare minimum is like 50,000 bucks, you know, And I was like, I'm going for the moonshot. I'm like, I made all this money this year. I've saved all this money this year. I think, like, this comedy that I'm doing right now is really strong, and I think if we shoot it and make it look amazing, Netflix will buy it. And they did not. And I could have done the whole thing for like five grand, you know what I mean?

[Viviane Tu]

And you spent 200, I spent 200.

[Nimesh Patel]

Something more than that, probably. And I. I say that's my biggest mistake because the, the cost that it could have been, the return probably would have been the same because it would end up just doing is like clipping that out and putting up on Instagram and socials and stuff. I'm sure that drove a lot of tickets and drove a lot of new fans. That's where you like it could be done. But very, very tedious to figure out, like, how many views translated, how many tickets going forward. So I'm. I'm hoping that the ROI was there on the 200 some thousand dollars just from shows and stuff. But, man, that. That hurt. That hurt a lot.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Because I. I also, I also had a friend give me money, like, loan me money to. To make it happen. Yeah. And he was like, you sure? I'm like, yeah, let's like, whatever. I'll pay you interest. I don't care. Like, and very generous guy. Obviously relieved part of the loan because once he got, like, paid back.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

In full. I was like, thank you very much. But that was what a man. I think about that all the time. Like, if I only didn't spend $200,000 on this thing that, like, it's very. Still very flawed thing I look at. I'm like, that cost $200,000. What the was I doing? Because the next one I made was like 80, and it was better. And it was better. Looked better. Like, I felt better about it. And it was just. And because it wasn't so expensive.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

I was like, okay, this is, this is good, high quality piece of work for not as much as the previous one that I don't even like as much.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Was. You know.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

To think about that. That would have been.

[Viviane Tu]

You look mad now.

[Nimesh Patel]

I am. I am. Because the opportunity cost is like, I could, I could put that in spy or video, like, whatever.

[Viviane Tu]

I could have invested it.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah. But instead I invested in myself.

[Viviane Tu]

Right. And I hope that it invested it in alcohol.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, there was a lot of drinking that night, too, after the show.

[Unnamed Speaker]

But. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

Okay. That's great advice. Like, make sure the investments you're making have an roi. That's actually going to justify the cost.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yeah, I thought that it was. I was so sure.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Netflix was going to buy this thing.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

It's like, there's no way. It looks better. The comedy's better. I'm hot right now. Like, there's no way they're not going to buy it. My dog. Sorry.

[Viviane Tu]

I was like, what advice would you give to young comedians who want to break into this industry and knowing what.

[Nimesh Patel]

You know now, don't quit your day job.

[Viviane Tu]

Really? Because you quit your day job.

[Nimesh Patel]

I didn't quit my day job. I was laid off. Okay.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah. Oh, okay.

[Nimesh Patel]

I was laid off. I was laid off from my day job. And at the. And it was also I was given another job by the goat. You know, Chris Rock gave me a job. So that's a little different. But anybody I who asked me, I think I just had this conversation a few days ago, was there's no freedom, like, financial freedom to pursue something that you don't know is going to have a return financially.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Like, I shadow Lilly Singh a lot because that any writing job that I had freed me up creatively. Freedom. Any. Any job, any day job that I had. And all the hedge funds. And granted, some of them ended the way I wouldn't. I'd like. But hedge fund, investment bank, family, office. Like, I was the most creative then because I did not have to think about where I was gonna. How I was gonna eat and where my money was gonna come. Like, I was gonna pay rent, I was gonna hang out with my friends. Like, I did not have to worry about that at all.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

My brain was just like, what are the jokes?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

What's funny? And I always say that to people who are like, man, I'm going to quit my job and do comedy. I'm like, yeah, why the fuck would you do that?

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Nimesh Patel]

Figure. Make it work that you can do comedy and also have a job.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

Like, I love that advice.

[Nimesh Patel]

Sound like my mom. No, but that's what it is.

[Viviane Tu]

Like, you are able to be the best version of yourself when your basic needs are met.

[Nimesh Patel]

Yes.

[Viviane Tu]

And that's simple.

[Nimesh Patel]

That's. Yeah. Thank you for articulating it that way.

[Viviane Tu]

No, I love that.

[Nimesh Patel]

Don't be an idiot.

[Unnamed Speaker]

Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

No, I think that's really great advice. Thank you so much for taking the time.

[Nimesh Patel]

Oh, smooth. Thank you very much for having me. Yeah.

[Viviane Tu]

To chat with me. Talk to me a little bit about where people can expect you next, where we can find you on tour, how you can get tickets.

[Nimesh Patel]

For sure. Thank you very much for asking. The tour is just a work in progress tour right now in that I'm going to be on stage with like a bunch of unformed shit. But it will be funny. I'm. I've started in New York and it is funny. I'm finding nemesis.com I'm going to Madison. I'm going to London. Miami's next. Miami's first. Miami's first five and then Madison. Where else am I going? London, Cleveland, Danube, everywhere. I'm going everywhere.

[Viviane Tu]

Yeah, but finding match.com finding nemesh.com we'll put it in the show. Notes, please. Thank you so much for being here.

[Nimesh Patel]

Thank you very much for having me.

[Viviane Tu]

Hey, I have a little favor to ask all the besties. The Net Worth and Chill team is planning for the future of the show and we want our listeners to be a part of the conversation. That's why we're hoping you'll help us out by filling out a brief survey. Your feedback will help us figure out what's working, what's not, and how we can make Net Worth and chill even better. Just visit voxmedia.comsurvey to give us your feedback. That's voxmedia.comsurvey survey. Thanks for tuning into this week's episode of Net Worth and Chill, part of the Vox Media Podcast network. If you liked the episode, make sure to leave a rating and review and subscribe so you never miss an episode. Got a burning financial question that you want covered in a future episode? Write to us via podcastourrichbff.com follow net worth and Chill Pod on Instagram to stay up to date on all podcast related news and you can follow me at yourrichbff for even more financial know. How to. See you next week. Bye.

[Lilly Singh]

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