BREAKING NEWS(LETTER)

Welcome to the world of Laughing & Development.

Author

Kevin Hubschmann
June 04, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

I’m Kevin Hubschmann, founder of Laugh Dot - Laugh. for short.

If you’re getting this, you’ve either attended a Laugh.Events experience - through your company or Afterwork in NYC - or you meant to and are still waiting for the mood to strike.

I’ve started this newsletter to share how stand-up and improv have helped me grow professionally - and how laughter, play, and levity can do the same for you.

If laughter is the best medicine, consider this your weekly prescription.

LAUGHING & DEVELOPMENT

Comedy Skillsets = Professional Superpowers

I'm a stand-up comedian and improviser who got my start as the 10th employee at a NYC tech startup - going from selling SaaS to selling LaaS: Laughter as a Service.

I spent over six years in the trenches of the corporate world. During that time, I found myself holding back my authentic self, developing what I later called a “9-to-5 personality”: buttoned-up, overly serious, trying to be someone else just to be taken seriously. One day, my manager said something that stuck with me: “Stop being so salesman, and start being more Hubschmann.”

That was the wake-up call.

A ball of stress, before I was introduced to improv comedy.

That’s when I found improv.

I got a group together - my two brothers, my best friend, and me - aka the Brothers in Flaws. We hired a coach, training and laughing for three hours a week for a year.

The lessons I learned in these sessions started to translate at work.

I listened more. Collaborated better. Stayed cool under pressure. Most importantly, I built deeper relationships with my teammates because I brought a yes-and mindset to work.

Keeping a low profile at a company offsite after taking improv classes

Then came stand-up.

I schlepped my irrational confidence around NYC bombing at open mics, performing on any show that would have me, and eventually started producing shows in my office after work, featuring the best comedians in NYC.

Performing stand-up comedy after work.

I thought I’d just get better at public speaking, but I ended up learning way more than I was expecting. When I asked these comics about their process, they’d drop these prophetic nuggets of wisdom - little gems I could apply both on stage, at work, and in life.

I realized that bringing the mindset of a stand-up set into my job made me sharper, more connected, and more effective. So I leaned into it, and it worked.

Did comedy unlock my professional potential?

I believe it did.

And that’s why I started Laugh.Events.

Holding up foot traffic in front of our billboard in Times Square

Since then, I’ve produced 500+ team-building comedy events - ranging from in-person improv workshops to virtual stand up shows.

Can I help you be funny at work? No.

But I can help you bring a little humor, levity, and playfulness to work - and that’s when things gets fun.

❝

Stop being so salesman, and start being more Hubschmann.

- My manager
WORKPLACE MEME OF THE WEEK

Disclaimer: These are memes submitted by real attendees describing their year. If you relate to them, you’ve earned yourself a Laugh Break (see next section).

The one common theme we’ve seen across departments - whether you’re in sales or accounting - is this classic meme of a dog with a hot cup of coffee and an even hotter room around him.

We are all this dog. We are all fine.

TAKE A LAUGH BREAK

Disclaimer: No offense is ever meant - just a laugh I couldn’t keep to myself.

We’ve all been there - you say something, and instantly wish you could grab the words midair before they reach anyone’s ears.

Well, go ahead and put your hands in your pockets - because now, there’s a solution: the Turtle Shirt.

See ya next week,