Simmy Kustanowitz spent the bulk of his career working in television production. From the moment he took a job as an intern for “The Daily Show,” he fell in love with the industry. After college, he climbed the ranks. His first job as an NBC page gave way to a gig as a production assistant for MTV, where he worked on a variety of shows. That’s where he was given his first opportunity to produce TV shows.
With all that experience under his belt, Simmy eventually landed a role as an executive at the newly formed TruTV Network. That’s where things really came together. Not long after he joined TruTV, Simmy became the network executive (or, the network suit) in charge of the rising comedy juggernaut “Impractical Jokers.”
He oversaw that production for several years before leaving the network and jumping to the other side of the equation, working directly for the Jokers’ production company. It didn’t take long for Simmy to become the popular show’s showrunner, the person who had overall creative authority and management responsibility for the show.
In spite of all that success, Simmy felt the need to find a lifeboat. As much fun as TV production was, there were signs that it might not be his long-term career path. He started searching for a career path that would make sense. As he shares in this inspiring episode, the result soon became Clock Tower Innovation, Simmy’s creative consultancy for companies that don’t have time for bloated processes or mediocre execution.
In this episode, Simmy shares details of his path that culminated in his running one of the most successful comedy shows ever to air on TV, how he made the difficult decision to leave TV behind, and what inspired him to draw on all his production experience to launch one of the most unique creative consultancies in the world.
To learn more about Simmy, you can find him on Substack (https://substack.com/@simmykustanowitz), YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5cTuZAeTy_xkQ18iPrGgSg) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/clocktowerinnovation/)
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Second Act Stories theme music: “Between 1 and 3 am” by Echoes.
