Every comedian eventually learns how to write a joke. Far fewer learn how to build a career.

That’s the gap Daniel Fernandes hopes to fill with Build Your Own Table, a one-day workshop focused not on joke writing, but on the business of standup. Taking place at Backspace Bandra in Mumbai on 5 July this year, the workshop will cover audience building, touring, monetisation, producing shows and navigating the emotional realities of a career in comedy. In an Instagram post announcing the workshop earlier this month, Fernandes said he wanted to help younger comedians avoid “the confusion, frustration and wasted years” that many comics experience while trying to figure these things out on their own.

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The idea came from a conversation Fernandes found himself having repeatedly, the comedian told DeadAnt. Younger comedians were getting stage time, putting content online and doing everything they thought they were supposed to do, but nothing seemed to be changing. “They’ll tell me they’re doing everything the industry says they should do, but nothing is happening. The needle’s not moving,” he says.

The problem, according to Fernandes, is that while there’s plenty of information on writing jokes and cracking algorithms, very little prepares comics for the realities of sustaining a career. “I felt like there should be room for a workshop that tells you how you can survive this industry, survive the business, build your own audience and build your own market.”

Fernandes is quick to point out that he isn’t offering a blueprint or claiming to have all the answers. Instead, he’s opening up his own playbook. “There’s no golden rule book on how to succeed in comedy,” he says. “It’s just me telling younger comics what the last 15 years of doing this has taught me, and how these things may be helpful to you.”

“Don’t wait for someone else to open a door, invite you in and have a seat at their table. Just build your own damn table.”

Alongside sessions on audience building, touring, producing and monetisation, Fernandes is introducing a “Strategy Lab”, where participants bring their own career challenges and work through practical solutions as a group. “We’ll discuss each participant’s challenge and think of real solutions they can implement,” he explains. It’s also why he’s reluctant to market the workshop as some kind of shortcut. “This isn’t a magic pill that will change your life,” he clarifies. Rather, attendees will leave with “real industry insights that are not available unless someone’s experienced them themselves.”

The workshop’s title is rooted in a philosophy that has quietly shaped Fernandes’ own career. Over the last 15 years, he’s independently produced tours, released specials on his own terms and built a direct relationship with his audience. For Fernandes, those decisions weren’t just about creative freedom—they’ve been about autonomy, about ownership. “I didn’t have to wait for anyone to give me anything. Whatever I have, I have on the strength of my own back,” he says. Rather than waiting for opportunities, Fernandes believes comedians should create their own. “Don’t wait for someone else to open a door, invite you in and have a seat at their table. Just build your own damn table. Build your own system of doing things. Build your own career. Find your own audience. Just own every single thing that you do.”

“I think it’s a great forum for growth and hope. Hope for people whose hope is dwindling.”

That mindset, he says, is especially important today. While there are more avenues to perform than ever before, Fernandes believes the grassroots comedy ecosystem has lost something valuable along the way. When he was starting out in 2011, younger comics regularly spent time with more experienced comedians after shows, picking their brains and learning through conversations that rarely happened on stage. “We got to spend time with comedians who’d been doing it for 10 or 15 years; I don’t see that happening right now,” he says. He believes that lack of mentorship has left today’s grassroots comedy scene, in his view, is “a little chaotic” because “everyone’s feeling their way through the dark.”

That’s ultimately what he hopes Build Your Own Table can provide—not a roadmap to fame, but a space where comedians who feel like they’ve hit a wall can learn from someone who’s already navigated many of the industry’s challenges. “I think it’s a great forum for growth and hope,” Fernandes says. “Hope for people whose hope is dwindling.” The workshop, he stresses, is open to anyone interested in understanding the business of standup regardless of where they are in their career. “You don’t have to have three specials or be a certain number of years in. All levels of experience are welcome.”

Comedy, Fernandes admits, will never stop being unpredictable (and it shouldn’t). Platforms change, trends shift and audiences evolve faster than anyone can keep up with. Learning to navigate that uncertainty, he believes, is every bit as important as learning to write a punchline.

You can book your seat here.