The Coast2Coast Comedy Tour was the first multi-city endeavor booked and produced by Arete.  The idea was conceived by founder Robert Punchur while he was traveling between NYC and LA in an attempt to create work opportunities and spend time with his Australian bikini model girlfriend. She was totally hot, but turned out to be a cheating whore. Bummer. 

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At that same time, KnowMe, a smartphone ap created by Lucas Loefner, was seeking to engage new users. Comedist, the online comedy network, was also just launching. 

Robert pitched a collaborative marketing opportunity to these companies in the form of a national standup comedy tour. 

The platforms were introduced to fresh content creators in the diverse comedians they sponsored to put on shows at top clubs in 8 U.S. cities including NYC, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and LA. 

After shows, comics would effectively act as brand ambassadors, distributing merchandise and telling fans about the sponsors who provided them with paid performance opportunities.  Just like the bikini model, they became whores.