Pete Smack is a (clean) standup comedian and writer based in Raleigh, N.C.

Standup comedy is his sixth career. The first five were: investment banker for Goldman Sachs; sportswriter for Sports Illustrated; comedy writer for TV/film; Co-Founder of a tech startup; and tech startup publication Founding Editor. You know, that old drill.

His first hour-long comedy special Last Man Standing will be released by Comedy Dynamics on Sept 22, 2026. It will premiere on platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube and Tubi. He recorded the special only 2.5 years after taking the stage for his first open mic, which is ambitious and/or foolish. You be the judge!

He has performed at the World Series of Comedy, the North Carolina Comedy Festival and the Blue Ridge Comedy Festival.

In addition to standup, Pete is a comedy writer with credits including being Associate Producer on Prime Video’s Good Sports with Kevin Hart and Kenan Thompson in 2025-26.

He is also a keynote speaker who has given a TEDx Talk (“Reach your big goal like a standup comedian”) and spoken at startup conferences and colleges. He can speak entertainingly about what standup comedy can teach us about achieving goals or closing sales; how standup is relevant to startups; and what it’s like to have six distinct careers in an era of increasing career change.

Leaning on his experiences in and around startups, Pete financed his move to doing comedy full-time in 2024 by literally selling shares in his comedy career as if he was a startup, raising nearly $60K. No, that’s not a joke. (See for yourself at wefunder.com/petesmack.)

In his standup, he shares relatable stories about his family, aging parents, his varied careers and growing up short, all mixed with a touch of the absurd. If you’re really nice to him, he just might share the recipe to his famous breakfast smoothie. Actually you don’t even have to be that nice to him; Pete tells everybody whether they want him to or not.