DLE OPENS DOORS OF OPPORTUNITY FOR NEW BUSINESS

By Charlie Nadler, Co-Founder, Laugh Dealers, North Adams, MA

Note: Within weeks of helping the DLE break new ground with the super successful Virtual Comedy Hour, newcomer business Laugh Dealers has landed two new customers. Co-owner Charlie Nadler reveals how networking and follow-through carved their path to success.

Last November, I met (DLE Founder/President) Linda Dulye as part of EForAll Berkshire’s small business accelerator when she served as a guest specialist on presentation skills.

Linda shared best practices and storytelling techniques that drive spectacular presentations, especially in a virtual world. She emphasized leadership development and employee engagement, and how one should take a holistic approach to their event that doesn’t just include content, but also logistics, equipment, props and wardrobe.

Using her Visual, Vocal and Verbal Model (trademarked by Linda as the “3V Factor”), she instructed us to create and prioritize key messages, give careful thought to how we curate our Zoom setting to reinforce our brand and finish big and stay memorable. At the same time, she also inspired us to experiment with different approaches to discover what is most impactful.

After class, I connected with Linda on LinkedIn and thanked her for her generosity of time and insights. While most leaders would simply say you’re welcome, she wanted to meet with my co-founder and me to learn more about our comedy marketplace business called LaughDealers.com. We set up a Zoom call, and within a few days we had a conversation with an unexpected outcome–exploring a potential collaboration with the DLE.

My co-founder, Kiar Holland, and I had been focusing on digital impersonation content, creating hilarious and harmless deepfake parody videos to entertain remote individuals and audiences. Linda posed the idea of co-producing a virtual comedy show for the DLE, and we immediately sparked to the idea of folding in our “digital hosts” as a part of this concept.

Together with the DLE Programming Committee, we converted a random idea into a roaring success. Attended by a nationwide audience of DLE community members and their friends—as well as many newcomers—the DLE Virtual Comedy Hour made history on January 15. We produced what we believe is the first-ever virtual comedy show with deepfake hosts.

More importantly than it being historic, it was hilarious and made people feel good at a time when we all really need a good laugh. We had collaborated extensively on logistics and the overall aesthetic and pulled off an extremely well-executed and engaging event. We also were able to employ four professional comedians, which during this pandemic is something that doesn’t happen nearly enough.

Since the show, we have booked two more virtual comedy events with folks who attended and loved the DLE Virtual Comedy Hour. We’ve organically discovered that this model is something that audiences and organizations crave–an opportunity to come together and help laugh away a tough time.

Our experience with the DLE has helped us to articulate our business not just as an entertaining product, but as a highly marketable entertainment experience. The DLE has helped us to finish big and stay memorable. And thanks to this partnership, our future feels so bright and exciting. The networking, mentorship and collaboration we’ve experienced has changed the course of our business and lives in an unexpected and amazing way.

Thank you, DLE.