CSz Worldwide

What CSz Worldwide does

CSz Worldwide, founded in 1984 and headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is the parent organization and licensor of the ComedySportz brand, a competitive improvisational comedy format. The company operates a franchise-coordination model, supporting 25+ locally-owned franchise operations across the United States and the United Kingdom (Manchester). Its network comprises 600+ trained improvisational players executing a standardized format built around two competing teams and a library of 100+ short-form improv games. The organization maintains US and EU registered trademarks for the ComedySportz brand, with Matt Elwell serving as Executive Director.

The company's product portfolio spans four primary lines. The core ComedySportz competitive improv show is delivered through local franchises in their respective markets. CSz Business extends the format into the corporate market, offering training, entertainment, and creative services — the company reports having served 65+ Fortune 500 logos and a cumulative 10,000+ companies. CSz Education and the ComedySportz High School League target the K-12 and youth segment, providing structured improv programming and competition formats for students. A virtual delivery capability has been added to extend CSz Business beyond in-person engagements. The corporate training segment positions the company's improv-trained performers as facilitators for team-building, communication, and creative problem-solving workshops.

Revenue mechanics at the parent level are anchored by franchise licensing fees, royalties, and direct corporate service revenue through CSz Business. The franchise system allows CSz Worldwide to expand brand presence without capital-intensive venue ownership, while franchisees assume local operational, marketing, and venue costs. The parent operates with 1-10 employees, indicating a lean central organization that relies on the distributed franchise network for last-mile customer delivery and revenue capture at the local level.

Name

CSz Worldwide

Legal name

CSz Worldwide

Website

https://cszworldwide.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CSz Worldwide is the parent licensor of ComedySportz, a competitive improvisational comedy franchise founded in 1984, coordinating 25+ franchise operations across the US and UK that deliver live shows, corporate training, and education programming.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Training & Live Entertainment Services

NAICS

Amusement, Gambling, and Recreation Industries (713)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Improv Comedy Performances (MPAGACAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Improvisational Theatre (MPAGABAJ), Program Format Licensing (Scripted & Unscripted) (MPABANAA)

Keywords

• Improv comedy training
• Corporate team building
• Live improv entertainment
• Applied improvisation workshops
• Comedy sports licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Franchise/License Fees: CSz Companies are independently owned businesses licensed by CSz Worldwide, paying franchise fees for the right to operate ComedySportz theaters and use the brand
2. Business Training Services: Corporate training programs using Applied Improvisation delivered in-person or virtual, including team building and skills workshops
3. Business Entertainment: Live ComedySportz matches and customized entertainment for corporate events, meetings, conventions, and private events
4. Creative Talent Services: Providing writers, composers, choreographers, producers and directors for marketing campaigns, trade shows, and experiential marketing
5. Education Classes: Adult and youth improv classes, summer camps, and workshops offered through local CSz Companies

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CSz Worldwide licenses the ComedySportz improv comedy format and coordinates a network of 25+ locally-owned CSz Companies that deliver live ComedySportz matches, applied improvisation-based corporate training and entertainment, creative talent services, and improv education classes and youth programs across the US and UK.

Product overview

CSz Worldwide is a global network of improv comedy and training companies offering a portfolio of interconnected entertainment, training, and educational services. The core offering is ComedySportz®, a competitive improv show format running since 1984, which serves both public audiences and corporate clients. CSz Business provides three integrated service lines: Business Training (applied improvisation for corporate development), Business Entertainment (customized ComedySportz for events), and Business Creative (creative talent for marketing campaigns). CSz Education serves both adults and youth through classes, workshops, and the High School League® program. All offerings leverage the company's proprietary improv methodology and are delivered through a network of 25+ independently-owned CSz Companies operating in cities across the US and Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ComedySportz High School League: The largest and most successful improv training program for high school students in the country, empowering students to create their own theatre and nourish communication skills through improvisational theatre workshops and performances.
• CSz Business Creative

Products and services

• ComedySportz® Live improv comedy competition format where two teams perform scenes, songs and games and the audience decides the winner. Performed in theaters for general audiences and customizable for corporate events.
• CSz Business Training Corporate training programs using Applied Improvisation to develop customer service, leadership, communication, soft skills, agility and employee engagement, delivered in person or virtually.
• CSz Business Entertainment Customized ComedySportz matches and live improv entertainment for corporate events, meetings, conventions, seminars and private parties.
• CSz Business Creative Creative talent services supplying writers, composers, choreographers, producers and directors for marketing campaigns, trade shows and experiential marketing.
• CSz Education Adult Classes Improvisational thinking and performance classes for adults covering public speaking, auditioning, character-building and comedy techniques, offered through local CSz Companies.
• CSz Education Youth Programs Improv and theater programs for youth ages 8-18 including summer camps, leagues, workshops and private party sessions.
• ComedySportz High School League® Largest high school improv training and competitive league program in the country, teaching theatrical production and communication skills through competitive improv performances.
• CSz School Workshops In-school workshops for students covering improvisation basics including listening, character endowment, scene work and ComedySportz games.
• Virtual Improv Trainings Online versions of improv training programs allowing remote and distributed teams to participate in team building and skill development.

Quantifiable outcome

• 65+ of Fortune 500 companies have hired CSz for training
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers28 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ComedySportz Manchester (UK)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerManchester, UK location operates as a licensed CSz Company providing ComedySportz matches, training, and classes in the UK market. Part of the global network of 25+ franchise locations.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB): UCB runs improv comedy theaters and a structured training program in multiple US cities. It competes with CSz for improv audiences, training students, and corporate improv workshop business with a similar long-form improv methodology.
• The Groundlings: The Groundlings is an LA-based improv and sketch comedy theater with a renowned training center and corporate workshops. It is a direct peer in consumer improv shows and adult improv education, though less focused on multi-city franchise expansion than CSz.
• iO Theater (Improv Olympic): iO Theater operates improv comedy shows, a long-running training center, and corporate workshops in Chicago and other cities. It directly competes with CSz for improv-trained talent, corporate training engagements, and consumer ticket buyers in overlapping geographies.
• Loose Moose Theatre Company: Loose Moose in Calgary operates TheatreSports (Keith Johnstone's competitive improv format) — a direct format analog to ComedySportz — along with training and corporate workshops. It is highly comparable as a competitive improv franchise operating shows and corporate services.
• The Second City: The Second City is the largest and most established improv comedy and corporate training organization in the US, with theater operations, corporate training (Second City Works), and education programs. It is the most directly comparable peer to CSz Worldwide, operating the same combination of consumer improv shows, B2B training, and educational classes.
• Boom Chicago: Boom Chicago operates improv comedy shows, corporate training, and educational programs out of Amsterdam. It is a direct peer in the international improv entertainment and corporate training space, serving enterprise clients with improv-based workshops similar to CSz Business.

Others

• Applied Improvisation Network: The Applied Improvisation Network is an international professional association advancing the use of improv in business, education, and therapy. It is adjacent ecosystem infrastructure that legitimizes the category CSz competes in and connects CSz to potential enterprise customers and instructor talent.

Broad incumbents

• Dale Carnegie Training: Dale Carnegie Training is the dominant global incumbent in corporate soft skills, leadership, and communication training with a global franchise network. It competes with CSz Business for the same enterprise training budgets but through a more traditional, classroom-based curriculum rather than improv methodology.
• Toastmasters International: Toastmasters is a long-established global organization providing communication and leadership training through a club-based model. It is a broad incumbent addressing overlapping customer needs (public speaking, confidence, communication) but through structured curricula rather than live improv performance.
• Laugh Factory: Laugh Factory operates a multi-city chain of comedy clubs and has expanded into corporate entertainment bookings. It is a broad incumbent in the live comedy space, overlapping with CSz's corporate entertainment and consumer show business but centered on stand-up rather than competitive improv.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CSz Worldwide