When I came up with the concept of Improv.pl in the winter of 2012, it was just me and my idea. I didn't have a website, a plan, nor a team . I knew that I wanted to create a professional quality improvisational comedy team that could perform regularly and attract decent sized crowds. The first thing I had to do was test the waters. I did just that by posting invites on various local expat groups. In order to keep costs low (zero) I searched for and found a non-profit willing to let me use their space, as long as I wasn't earning a profit on the workshops. Three weeks later I was standing in front of 8 people excited to learn about Improv. The workshop, and the following 5 went well, and I knew I was onto something great. I recruited Anna Loba one of the most motivated workshop participants to join me as the first co-founder of Improv.pl.

Now I had a team and just needed to take the next step. We met for coffee and discussed our options.

We knew that we needed to find a venue but didn't really know where to start.

Not having much of a project it was difficult to convince a venue owner to give us a break and allow us to perform in their venue for free. About 3 months later a Ravi Kumar, then a University student, contacted me and asked me to if I'd like to play some Improv games with friends of his. It consisted of the two of us persuading the three people in the audience to join us for some simple short form improv games. After 90-minutes the event ended and I pulled Ravi to the side. I had spent some time taking workshops at Chicago's IO and Milwaukee's Comedy Sportz and had some basic knowledge regarding the Improv business model.

I told Ravi that I'd be willing to cooperate with him if he agreed to a strict game-plan. We agreed that this would only work if we performed regularly. We decided to perform every Sunday at the same time at the same venue every week, only taking breaks on Major holidays (and even then I protested that we should still hold a show or meeting). After 12 months we were quite pleased to find ourselves managing a team of nearly 10 individuals from India, Brazil, Poland, the United States, and Canada.

Not only did we have a team but we had a regular crowd of around 50 people every single week. By this time we had established ourselves as leaders in the English Improv niche in Warsaw, Poland. It all happened because we stuck to our initial plan and just pushed through with it until we met our deadline.

What we learned

Listen to Your Customers

We took our fans opinions very seriously and encouraged them to provide us feedback directly after the show. Feedback consisted of everything from a few words to an hour-long discussion on the merits of audience-based performance.

Start Today for Free

Don't wait for anything to drop into your lap, or a paycheck to arrive. Reduce your idea to it's core essentials and determine what needs to be done now to ensure a large return a year down the road.

Iterate Until it Hurts

We started out being an open jam. Once we developed a team we broke up our 2-hour mega show into 2. The first half was a "Pro Show" the second half was a "Jam". Eventually, after we gained experience we turned the whole show into a Team-only event with audience participation sprinkled here and there to keep the audience engaged. Today we are continuously developing new approaches to keep the audience energized, focused, and laughing.

Teams Need a Leader

Your project will face countless challenges. If you aren't willing to roll up your sleeves and get the job done, no one will. No one wants to be dictated to, so make sure to show your team that you're willing to do the dirty work to make everyone a success.

Where is Improv.pl today?

After gaining +1,600 followers on Facebook, performing +150 2-hour shows in cities across Poland, and leading a series of Intro to Improv Workshops, the team has settled down a bit. They can now be seen twice a month at Jack's Cinema in Warsaw, Poland. When you attend the show, don't leave the moment it's over, wait a bit and if you're lucky you'll be invited to hang out and talk about anything you like, even if it's just about Improv.