Meet Anthony Bambocci

We recently connected with Anthony Bambocci and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?

You know, when people ask me how I keep my creativity alive, I always laugh because it sounds like creativity is this fragile little pet you’ve got to feed three times a day or it dies. For me, it started back in Altoona, Pennsylvania, which is not exactly the creative capital of the world. I learned early on that if I wanted to create stories, I had to notice them. My family dinners? Pure sitcom material. My mom yelling at me across the room without her hearing aid? That’s stand-up gold.
But it wasn’t always easy. I hit periods where I felt stuck, like I was staring at a blank page that refused to cooperate by writing itself or giving me inspiration. And in those moments, I forced myself to treat creativity like a gym membership — you go even when you don’t feel like it. Some days you’re lifting heavy, some days you’re just stretching, but you’re still there, building muscles.
The real trick is curiosity. I walk into life like it’s a writing room — every awkward date, every argument at the DMV, every weird comment section online. That’s material. That’s where creativity lives. So, I guess the short version is: I don’t keep creativity alive. Life does. I just try not to look away when it’s being hilarious or heartbreaking.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

If you ask me what I do, the short answer is: I tell stories. Sometimes they’re jokes, sometimes they’re TV shows, sometimes they’re tech solutions, but the thread is always the same: I create things that make people feel seen.
Most recently, I released my Amazon comedy special Loser in Love. That came from me taking all my relationship failures and literally putting them under a spotlight. It’s funny, sure, but it’s also about being vulnerable enough to say, “Hey, we’ve all been through this mess.” That’s what I love about comedy – you take your most personal disasters and suddenly a room full of strangers is laughing with you instead of at you.
On the TV side, I’m developing two reality shows I can’t talk about yet (and yes, I know, that sounds like I’m in witness protection). What I can say is they both take real human experiences – and give them a platform that’s equal parts entertaining and even thought-provoking at times.
I’m also building in other spaces. With PREATrak, a product from the software company I work with, we’re giving corrections staff the tools to handle in-prison rape investigations more effectively. That might not sound glamorous, but to me, making prisons safer is some of the most meaningful work I’ve done.
And then there’s the podcast I’m developing — focused on divorced dads. Divorce can feel isolating, but it’s also a time for reinvention, and we’re creating a space where men can laugh, reflect, and figure it out together. To top it off, I co-founded BiziApp, a company that creates a safe marketplace for college students to buy and sell product on.
What’s exciting for me is that none of these projects look alike on paper — a comedy special, a prison software tool, a college app – but they all come from the same place: seeing the humor, the humanity, and the possibility in the messiness of life, and then building something from it.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

When I look back, the three qualities that shaped my journey are persistence, humor, and curiosity.
Persistence came first. Nothing I’ve ever done worked the first time. Not the first jokes I told on stage, not the first business pitch I made, not the first drafts of my shows. But persistence taught me that failure is just feedback. When I was building PREATrak, for example, we had to convince people in corrections – not exactly the easiest audience – that they needed software to make their jobs easier. I heard a lot of ‘no’s before I got to a ‘yes.’ But each ‘no’ taught me how to sharpen the idea until it finally clicked. My advice: expect rejection, welcome it, and let it shape you instead of stopping you.
Humor has been my secret weapon. My Amazon comedy special Loser in Love wasn’t just about getting laughs — it was about turning painful personal experiences into connection. Humor makes people lean in. Whether I’m on stage, pitching a TV concept, or trying to get a serious product like PREATrak into the world, being able to laugh and make others laugh keeps the room open. Advice here? Don’t chase being funny, chase being honest. People laugh hardest when they recognize themselves in your story.
And finally, curiosity. Every project I’ve created came from asking, ‘Why does no one talk about this?’ That’s how I ended up developing a podcast for divorced dads, and why I’m working on two reality shows. I’m chasing the conversations people usually avoid. Curiosity keeps your work alive. My advice: treat curiosity like a compass. Ask the dumb questions. Wander into the uncomfortable stuff. That’s where the real gold is.
So if you’re early in your journey: persist, laugh, and stay curious. You don’t need to have it all figured out; you just need to stay in motion, stay human, and pay attention.

What would you advise – going all in on your strengths or investing on areas where you aren’t as strong to be more well-rounded?

I’m a big believer in going all in on your strengths. I read this book called, Now, Discover Your Strengths years ago, and it changed the way I thought about work and life. The idea is simple: you can improve your weaknesses, sure, but they’re never going to be as powerful as your strengths. Your strengths are your leverage. That’s where you’re most alive.
For me, that’s played out in every area of my career. Comedy, for example, was always my strength — the ability to take pain or awkwardness and make it funny. My Amazon special Loser in Love didn’t happen because I tried to suddenly become a polished motivational speaker; it happened because I leaned into humor as the way I process the world. If I tried to do a straight TED Talk, I’d put the audience to sleep faster than a NyQuil chaser.
Even in business. When I helped build PREATrak, I didn’t try to become a coder — that’s not my lane. My strength was storytelling, so I focused on explaining why this software mattered in a way corrections staff could connect with. That’s what got people to listen. If I had tried to actually write the code, we’d still be staring at a blank screen waiting for me to figure out where the semicolon goes.
And with the podcast I’m creating for divorced dads — my strength is being able to be vulnerable and laugh at the mess of life. That’s what I’m doubling down on, because that’s what resonates. Nobody’s coming to me for tax advice or plumbing tips. They want the truth and the laugh that comes with it.
Now, I’m not saying ignore your weaknesses. You want to grow, of course. But if you put the bulk of your energy into fixing your flaws, you’ll end up average at things you’re naturally bad at. If I spent my whole life working on my weaknesses, I’d still be failing Algebra II and crying into a textbook.
So my advice is this: find the thing people already lean in for when you do it — the thing that feels like second nature to you but looks like magic to others. Then double down. That’s your lane, and the world needs you in it.

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Grin Gallery (Marlaina Pacifico)

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