Franco Escamilla: El precio REAL de LLEGAR A LA CIMA | Dimes y Billetes #377

Today I have with me one of the greatest Spanish-speaking comedians. With world tours, millions of followers, and an empire built around humor. Franco Escamilla, ladies and gentlemen. In this episode, we talk about everything behind the scenes. How he started his career, how much he made in his first shows, and the times he was scammed before he consolidated.

He also tells us how his businesses work off the mic. From his first investments to the corporate that Frank Hollywood moves today. But the most valuable thing is in the keys that made him take off from the rest and become the reference of Mexican comedy on a global level. A direct, fun conversation and business connections that you can't imagine hearing from a comedian.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new episode of Dimes y Vietes. And I'm going to start with a story. 13 years ago, I was on a bachelor party with the person who was going to marry my cousin. No way, I danced. I was throwing the peanut and I told her, No mames, yo baile. No. Estaba echando el cacahuatito y la platique y de repente dicen, va a venir un comediante.

Y yo, ah, toma. No congan. A mí me encantan los comediantes. Y estaba pues ahí echando, no estaba poniendo tanta atención, porque estaba sentado hasta mero atrás. Estabas en tu cotorreo con tus amigos. En mi pedo. in your asshole with your friends. In my ass. Yes. Hey, man, in that listening, I start laughing.

Once, and twice, three times. I said, hey, who's the comedian? I don't know. It's a very, very funny story that you're telling me. I'm here and it's Mike Salazar.

No.

I say, hey, who's the comedian? He's a crack. Thank you. His name is Franco Escamillo. I said, wow. Since then, I remembered your name.

Thank you.

And I've been following your career, Franco, truly congratulations.

13 years.

Where was it? Yes, I don't remember the name of the place. It's in a house that's like a hacienda on the national highway, on the H-E-B. You get in there, it's a very big house, in a garden. It was your house. On the H-E-B, that's where you rent...

Where you rent horses and stuff?

Yes, that way.

There. Damn.

Yes, yes, by the horses.

It's that area, that's by the stables. Yes, yes, yes. There are many country houses called Quintas, and it was very common to go to work there. But just going to the house, I remember. In some, I remember.

Franco, how much did you charge at that time?

That was like 13 years ago.

It was 13 years ago. I can bet that I charged them 10,000 pesos. 10,000 pesos. No kidding. Because it was between 10 and 12, because I gave two to the helper. So I was left with 10 or I was left with 8.

And from there I took out gasoline, soda, I mean, what the viatics spent on us. The viatics. So I knew I was going home at least at 7 and a half. And it was like the cool thing. And you were starting your career there.

Well, I started doing comedy about 18 years ago. Yes. You got my first 5 or 6 years, I think it was 18 years ago. You were my first 5 or 6 years, I think. I lived from private events. Something curious happened. First, the Unicornia Azul, the Casa Oscar Burgos,

the Mariquitengue, we all loved the private events because we were well paid. But you battled a lot. Why? Because, you said it at the beginning, you were in well. But you went and struggled a lot. Why? Because, you said it at the beginning, you were in your cotorreo and people are like that at a party.

I mean, it's weird that someone says, ah, they brought a comedian, how cool. It's weird. Usually you see faces of, ah, I mean, of, bitch, what did they bring? Or, well, you wanted to cotorre out with your friends. Sometimes you had a long day at work, a long week.

And not everyone likes comedy or a singer. And not everyone is in the mood. So, you fight a lot. And no one wanted events in the areas of the national character, or in Chipinque, because it was a wealthy audience. And it's complicated because a lot of comedy is empathy.

How do I identify with what you're saying? Imagine having an event in Olinala or Chipinque and telling them, last time I got in the truck. Yes, the ladies were like, what is a truck? I have friends who have trucks, but they've never gotten in one. So it's complicated to give a show for nothing.

That's how we say it, a broken show. But I liked it because it was the way I could... From one event to my month. What they pay you at the bar is a lower salary, obviously. And one event a month. And with that you paid, I don't know, the electricity, the water, the rent.

And you say, the rest is profit. So I loved going and living from those events for many years. Franco, and you grew up that way, just like other comedians. Where, in your opinion, was this point of inflection, if you consider it a point, an event, an opportunity, where you definitely separated yourself from the rest?

I mean, you're one of the greatest comedians in Spanish-speaking countries, without a mistake, without fear of making a mistake.

Where have you seen that you had this point of inflection?

Look, I think there will be those who have a different opinion, who analyze it from different angles, but I'm telling you, as I lived it, based on what I've lived, I've thought about it and I think there are three or four moments. One, on one occasion, they hired me for an event in San Jerónimo

and they were just 15 to 20 year old boys, which is the audience that nobody wants. Nobody. They're sons of bitches. If you don't hook them up in a minute, they're done.

And obviously, they're young guys and they're going to take you like a meme. They're going to be hitting you or they're going to be recording you to make you angry. So nobody wanted those events

or nobody wanted from my generation. So they had hired a certain partner who couldn't. And I remember he said to me, I can't, I have another commitment. So the person in charge, we were four partners, and I got to the end.

So it's not my turn.

Who throws it? And I got to the end. So, I don't get it. Who throws it? And the other three are like,

damn, where is it? Total, San Jeronimo. They're just kids. And then the other one, but what time? Because I have, and I said, I'm going to get it.

Sure? Yes.

And the other three, I remember, they said, asshole, you'm going to go. Sure? Yes. And the other three, I remember, said, asshole, you're going to suffer. I said, I'm really going to spend the money. How much do they pay? They pay eight and the bar stays with three. Five, I don't give a damn.

So it was a bar.

Yes.

I said, no, I already did it last week.

I'm going.

What time? In an hour. Ah, I'll go right away. And I did well. I mean, I didn't break it. But I did well to the point that one of the kids invited me to his birthday.

Okay.

Which was like a month. And I don't know how to tell you how many events, because I don't remember, but in one of those events there was a boy whose mom had a bar in Vasconcelos and wanted to put on comedy.

So he saw me at one of these events, and said, hey, I'm here to put on comedy, and I said, yes, I'll go. And it was called Guitars, the bar. The Guitars, yes, I remember. I did a season of a year and a half, two years, every Tuesday. For pure young people.

Because sometimes there's no alcohol, no cover, soft drinks, and the elderly can drink. And it was on Tuesday at 8.30 at night. But I was able to connect with the chaviza, as you say, vulgarly. And they started to take me first, I remember,

to planning events at TEC and UDEM prep. And then at TEC University and UDEM University. And then they did their posts in December. And it caught my attention that these guys, finishing the event, how much do I owe you, bro? So, ah, well, they gave me five in advance,

five thousand pesos are missing. And the guys turned around with their friends, this, come on, cooperate to pay the waiter. And they'd put 1,000, 2,000 pesos. I said, how different are the cooperachas than in my neighborhood?

It's 20, 50 pesos for another card. Those guys would drop 500,000 balls. So I lived from those events. And there was another for a former governor who were six people. eventitos y hubo otro para un ex gobernador que eran seis personas y cuando llego y veo que está el ex gobernador, que está el directivo de un equipo de fútbol, dije ¿qué estoy

haciendo aquí? Y me acuerdo haberles dicho, una disculpa, no sé qué contarles, si ustedes son gente And I remember saying, I'm sorry, I don't know what to tell you. You are people who I imagine were never poor. And 80% of my material are anecdotes of when I was more screwed than now. I don't know what you people do, people of money, I imagine you sit in the afternoons counting bills and say,

I'm rich, I don't know. And you start laughing and I start to beat them up. Following that line. And I go over the governor, well, ex-governor. And I remember that at first he was there and there were four guards behind his table. And at first they were very serious.

And when they saw that he started laughing, they started laughing at the guards. And I started making fun of him, that he was wearing a beard. Who wants to do something to you? I didn't even remember you. That's how I started. And one of them, I never knew who he was,

but the others talked to him with a lot of respect. I said, let's see, the team's manager is here, the ex-governor is here, and they talk to him like Don. Who is this guy? But don't ask, because you say, maybe I don't even want to know. He took me to an event in Olinala, to a farewell party for his daughter.

Okay. Olinala, which is a colony here in Monterrey. Very, very big. Up there on the M, for people who don't know, Monterrey, up there on the M. Pato, I remember, let's see, I have dogs at home, and a lot of people have dogs, cats. This guy had real peacocks in the yard.

He had an artificial lake and there were real peacocks, I remember, because you hear, Because you hear the sound they make. And I'm like, what the fuck is that? And I see a peacock, and I start to say, who has peacocks? Like, does your fucking guajolote have a name? And from that event, I went crazy.

Three months, every Saturday, I had an event with those people. I was going to Chipinque and I was there for three months every Saturday. I had an event with those people. I was going to Chipinque and Yelinala. I was there for three months every Saturday. I grew up among that audience. So, what you define in these two stories is

you dared to do things that maybe others didn't want to do. And the other moment was when I started uploading my videos to YouTube. Because my intention was for people from Monterrey to see me, and go to the bar and ask about me. Because the owner told me, how do I pay you more if this person is the one who puts people in, that person is the one who puts people in, and you don't.

So I said, well, if I put people in, then I would tell them in the videos or in the emails I sent, I sent forwards, if you're going to see Malvado, don't be bad, whoever you come to see, tell Franco Escamilla. And those videos started to stick in other cities. And when it came to the stamped ones,

I had a channel that had, I've lost about, I don't know, 40 monologues, from 5 to 15 minutes. So when people know me, they're standing, there was more of my material, and the Coppel video, the one with the friends, went viral. Paul Fuller did songs that reach you, I think it was the other one that went viral,

and from there I started to grow on social media. It was a strategy that not everyone followed, right? I mean, the fact of uploading content to social media. I imagine there were even some comedians who saw it and said, man, if you upload your content to social media, you're burning the routines.

What are you going to do? They screwed me, brother. I mean, friends who told me in good spirits, hey, you're screwing up, You're burning your content. I remember they told me, jokes work once. And if you've seen it on YouTube, what are you going to tell them when they hire you? I remember I told them, well, I write more material.

That's how I came up with it, I can't come up with it wrong. No, you're screwing it up. Others told me more in bad luck, like, you're all an asshole. I don't know, right? But, the truth is, I didn't consider myself... I said, how many people can watch it?

I mean, my videos had 50,000 views, 60,000 views, I mean, Nuevo León and the Metropolitan Area are 3 million people. And the other mistake, I remember, they told me not to do events for kids, I mean, for boys, because the money is in the gentlemen.

They said, the gentleman is the one who goes to the bar, asks for a bottle and hires you for the party. And I said, man, the kids pay me by doing cooperacha. So there is money. And unintentionally, I can tell you, those kids, 10 years later, were the gentlemen.

Yes.

So, unintentionally, I sowed in an audience that was faithful to me. And when they were young gentlemen, young adults, from 26 to 36 years old, they went to see me at the theaters and they went to see me anywhere, because they were already the gentlemen. And let's say they have've grown with your career.

From these modest beginnings to your first interactions and starting to make good money, which I imagine you started with shows. You mainly came with shows. Tell us an anecdote where you said, Oh my God, I already got good money, and what did you do? Look, there's a moment, I remember, in Monterrey, the comedian,

December is our favorite month. It's when there are more posadas, farewells, and a non-famous comedian can have up to 20 events in 15 days. Because it's from December 1st to the 16th. Because after that, no one does parties.

And 20 events, imagine that in each event you earn 5,000 pesos. It means that a person who is used to earning 10, 15,000 pesos a month, in December he gets up to 100. It's...

In 15 days of December. Nah, bro, you raise 100. It's... In 15 days of December.

No, brother. It's crazy. So, I had a December of 40 events. Wow. And it's not the most abundant. I know of colleagues who had 80 events in 15 days. And I say, how do you finish them all?

But the money you raise. So, taking away what the assistant paid him, commissions, bribes. Imagine that that December I had 200,000 pesos left. And it coincides with my wife telling me, hey, look, we rented a house in Casabella.

And she tells me, there's a, who didn't know my parents, was selling his house. And it was $1.5 million. I said, no, we can't afford it. No, no, no, but the initial payment would be 20%. I said, yes, it would be $300,000.

And besides, notarial expenses and all that. I said, that's a lot of money. There's no way. And I started, he told me this in July or August. And I remember, I said, look, I'm going to start

collecting, but I won't promise you anything. And I remember that every two or three weeks Gaby would ask him, have you sold the house? No, not yet.

But if there's an offer, and I don't know if for good, I say for them, bad, but they couldn't sell it from July, August, to December. And when I got that money in December, I already had saved an important amount,

I told him, it's enough for hook-up and the notary expenses. And that's it. That's it. Yes, I mean, forget about Christmas gifts. I remember my wife said, no, no, we're going to have our own house.

So when I went to pay, to make the initial payment in the notary, to make the agreement, and we put the money together. I told him at home. I remember seeing it like that.

Oh, man, it hurt me, brother. I fucked up for this money and it's going to go.

Oh, everything.

But I said, but it's going to be my house and it's the hook. And thanks to that amount, we had monthly payments of like 15,000 pesos. I was like, 12,000 is possible. I paid 8,000 in rent. So I said, well, it's a bigger effort. I think that was my first moment, thanks to my wife also insisting on that,

that I have acquaintances who earned more in December and bought a great car.

And they didn't buy a house. that they earned more in December and bought a great car. Yes.

And they didn't buy a house. They had a great car, they lived in a vineyard. And I said, I don't want to do that. I prefer to have a modest car and live in a middle class vineyard, but my house, and no longer rent. That was my first major expense.

I went crazy afterwards. Let's see, let's see. Yeah, he bought me Louis Vuitton sneakers. It's the stupidest thing I've ever done in my life. Fucking $20,000 sneakers that I brought shit in a month.

Nah.

It was just what I was going to ask you. How has your philosophy around money changed throughout your entire career, especially now? When I went viral, I always spent like crazy. How much did you spend? First I bought, I tell you, those sneakers,

which were awesome. Then I bought figures, like this one, which is a gift. This Joker was a gift. But I remember buying a Batman that cost me $3,000. I remember, a little toy,

limited edition, $3,500. And I remember my wife said, how expensive are those toys? And I said, yeah, but it's a limited edition. And she said, what does that one do? I said, nothing.

I mean, it does nothing.? I said, nothing. He doesn't do anything. But if you ever resell it, this doll is going to be worth more. In a few years, in a few years it's going to be worth, I don't know, 6,000 pesos, 10,000 pesos, and I already earned something.

I tried to sell it as an investment, but it's not true. It's not true. I bought, I tell you, the tennis shoes, these suckers. I don't know why I bought suitcases. Suitcases? Every tour I bought a suitcase. I don't know.

A cool suitcase or a suitcase? First I started with suitcases here, but of cool colors. And, oh, look, this one has this type. I remember one that was Harley Davidson, that the tires were not round. They were like, if they were flat.

And supposedly those are for a lifetime. And there's the suitcase. But then I met a brand that I liked a lot, which is called Tumi.

Oh, great.

Yes, great.

Very expensive. But that was a waste of money. I still have that suitcase. And they're good. I mean, I don't recommend them because they're very expensive. But that was a very cheap expense. I still have that suitcase and they are good. I don't recommend them because they are very expensive. And it's a fucking suitcase.

But if you want to give it a taste, they are worth it. Yes, I say that if you travel a lot, dude. To me, the material, to be honest, is very, very good. And they are those that have 40 zippers. Yes, and of good quality. Exactly.

They are well made, we have to be honest. Because there are others, I don't know, they also gave me an orange Louis Vuitton suitcase. I don't remember if it was when we did the national show. It was a big event and the businessman told me, I want to give you this suitcase.

And I was like, oh, this is cool. And then he screwed up the closing, a jerk from the staff. Oh, man. Yes, yes. Then he tells you, Luis Vuitton has a guarantee, bring it and we'll give it back to you.

And then you know what? They don't make the piece of that suitcase anymore. So I'm going to give you the value of that suitcase in any other product. And my wife bought some glasses and a bag.

So I said, eh, you know.

How do you manage your money today?

I don't manage it. You don't manage it? No.

Nothing?

Nothing. I don't trust myself for that.

Who manages it?

My wife.

So all the money that falls to Franco Escamilla, you give it to your wife?

Yes.

And she manages it? She knows what she does. So all the expenses, obviously, the family, the house. Everything. Let's see, I just tell her, for example, I'm very, I don't know, I go to work,

and suddenly I see that it is sold, a place, or sold or rented. And I point the phone. I say, hey, I saw a place in a square like that. She asks, we don't lose anything. No, well, it's in so much and we can hook up and she pays with the rent.

And we are going to do it. And she is also very smart about the real estate. She's looking for options. And so we've made it... My money is invested. I mean, the money saved is useless.

But Gaby is the one who manages this money that is invested. Because I tell her, hey, it would be cool to buy this place. She tells me, right now we can't do that right now. Oh, yeah. The flow is there. We are paying this, this, this and this. And the school of children is coming.

And, ah, okay, okay.

And that's it.

Yes, I would suddenly tell him, hey, I need so much. Because, because yes. You know? I don't like to explain, it's my money, but I do tell them I need so much money. And they transfer me from the company's account. I talk to the accountants, hey, Franco needs so much money.

And they know, for what? And Gaby tells them, look, here I have an audio that I sent you a long time ago. It's an audio of mine that says, fuck you. What does Franco want? That they don't give a shit. Yes. I mean, what does Franco want? That they don't give a shit and he sends them the audio. And they once explained to me,

let's see, no, Franco, we need to know what you are going to buy to see if it is deductible or from which company or account the transfer has to be made. And I tell them, I don't like to explain, but it's okay. Because sometimes, I mean, I feel bad, man. I tell them, Chile is for comics. I mean, it's not deductible.

When it's not deductible, I tell them, it's not deductible. No, but how do you know? It's not deductible. If it were, I don't know, I don't change my car often. No, I mean, look, I gave them the phone. I have the iPhone 12 now.

I'm going to get used to the iPhone 16. And before the iPhone 12, I had the iPhone 8. Like two and a half years. Because I don't like to change things. I got used to a phone and you say, no, but the new one has, I don't know how much camera resolution. And I say, no, it's just that it brings you more memory.

And I'm going to use it to see social media and to send messages. I don't use it anymore. Your guilty expenses, I understand, here where we are, are like collections or things that you like. And I'm going to tell you something, in this set, 90% are gifts. Gifts. They are gifts from fans or colleagues.

Yes, I do buy things, right? You know that lately I invested in devices to build a gym, a gym in my house. Yes, here they told us. Ah, you saw it downstairs, well, in the studio. Yeah, awesome. Oh, you saw it in the studio. I had to explain it to the accountants,

because I think it's not that easy to deduce, but it depends on how you deal with it. Because I understand, in the US it's easier. That's something that you can buy a brand shirt, and it's deducible. And deducible in some way.

Because you say, I'm an artist, and I have to look good on the show. But they don't know that I go on my show with 200 pesos t-shirts. But there it's worth it. So they tell me, you're going to buy your clothes there because it's deductible there. You don't buy clothes in Mexico.

And then suddenly I'm on tour, oh, that t-shirt is awesome. And I buy it. And Franco, don't buy it. It's my money, motherfuckers. So, yeah, I don't pay that much attention. Hey, Franco, tell us about Franco's stage

as an entertainment entrepreneur. I mean, you just said, the company, which now covers many things, the channels, the tours. How do you divide the income of the company, Franco Escamilla? Look, I learned from the ground up. When I started my YouTube channel, I called it Producciones Rambo.

I mean, I was the one who came out on the screen. I set up the camera, I set up the light, God helped me understand. I edited the audio, I edited the video, I uploaded it, I did my analytics. Then I said, I need a guy to put the camera on.

And then someone who knows more than me about audio to improve this. And suddenly I saw that I already had like 10, 12 employees. And I said, oh, man, and the accountants started telling me, hey, you have to give them a raise in insurance, because if not, they're going to fuck you. Because before I told a friend, hey, what's up, man, I'll give you a thousand pesos

because you come on Monday to accommodate cameras. Yes, and they paid him cash. And they told me, hey, no, because that money, then you can't show it as a spending. Oh, my God, because when I got my first audit, I was really scared. Yes, I mean, you made so much money.

Yes, I mean, how do you know? And, no, because it's what goes into your bank accounts. Ah, but I also spent, because I have so many employees. Which employees? Under what regime? What company has them?

Oh, man.

Have you ever felt that the news about the economy is made so that no one understands them? It's no coincidence that economists and the media fill you with technicalities, as if they wanted you to think that this is not for you. And of course, if you don't understand it,

why should you care? But the truth is that it does affect you. What happens on Wall Street, in China, in Russia, or in the National Palace, ends up directly impacting your wallet. That's why we created the Billetazo News, a daily newsletter where we take those complicated news

and explain them to you with pearls and apples. Clear, direct, and even with humor, so you understand what's going on and make better decisions with your money. And all this without using words like anathosis or fungibility, because who in China speaks like that? The best of all is completely free.

You just have to scan the QR code you see on the screen or go to elbilletazo.com. I'll leave the link in the description. Finally, finances stopped being a secret of a few and now they're gossip for us men. So I had to hire, first, to consult with lawyers, nosotros los hombres. The legal aspect goes against Franco. It has to be a company with a different name.

In fact, I think I'm an employee of my company. So I get a salary. And I put Gaby as the owner of the company. I said, well, she's the one who keeps the money.

And that salary is given directly to you. If you don't ask Gaby for it.

Brother, when they tell me... What are they called? It's not a schedule, it has another, like assimilated.

Yes, assimilated.

I don't remember. But I asked the accountant, this is already mine. I mean, I don't pay taxes for that. And I can spend it as I want. Yes, but I recommend you as I want. Yes.

So I have an account that, I don't know, I get a little money a month, 40 or 50 bucks, and that's my money. And you know what I spend on cigarettes, drugs, you know. Dwarfs. But that's mine.

Yeah.

But you were talking about the country in general, how the company works, where do you come from, as a consolidated comedian, what are the different sources of income so that people also understand how the career of a comedian is seen financially?

Look, I made many mistakes. From not registering my employees in the right way, that there are penalties for that. There are very stingy people who maybe earned, I don't know, let's say, 4,000 a week.

And they would be 16 a month. And when they sue for an unjustified dismissal, you say, brother, we fired you for this.

Yes, yes, yes.

Unjustified, no way. I could have hit you and it was justified. Brother, we fired you for this. Yes, yes.

Unjustified, no way. I could have hit you and it was justified. But there are people who advise you and suddenly they are suing you for 100,000 pesos. Oh, man.

Why?

For late wages. But we already paid you. Where is the proof? So, that kind of mistakes... I felt like the most stupid person in the world, but my colleagues from Mexico and other countries

started to tell me, I'm going to get fucked anyway. In fact, one of them, Gabriel Iglesias, Fluffy, greetings, man. He warned me three things, all three were fulfilled.

No, I can't. What? Three things he warned me, all three were fulfilled. Let's see.

No, I can't.

How?

No, no, no.

I can tell you one of the three. I'll tell you one of the three, which was the second. Yes. First he told me, this is going to happen to you. I said, no, you're an asshole. That's not going to happen.

I can't. I swear I can't. I don't have his permission. Because he told me here. The second one I can because it was something very loud. But he told me, you're going to lose friends.

How? And I remember the phrase so much. The top is lonely. And I remembered a phrase that a bard came up said many years ago in Kvautla. He said, The f****** mess unites us and the triumph separates us.

I was very impressed. As a child I didn't understand it, but I was impressed. And after you grow up, you understand. The f****** thing makes you crazy. That guy is not doing well, me too, we are friends.

Empathy, we are together.

It starts to go well for one, that guy is already good, he already believes a lot and maybe he is the same person, but he is no longer one of yours, I don't know. So Fluffy told me, you're going to have a hard time with friends because it happened to me, he told me, you're going to hang out with your friends. Because he hung out with me. And he hung out with everyone. And I told him, bro, with all due respect,

maybe I have better friends than you. He told me, ok. When you hang out, he didn't tell me if you're going to hang out, when you hang out, you owe me a dinner.

Oh, man.

He told me some steaks, he told me.

And they pass... No, it's not just one, it's a lot of times. And every time it happened, he would say,

I owe you another steak.

Yes, I owe him a box of meat, this bastard. And if they warn you, and it happens, obviously, because one...

one starts very confident. Because you start out very confident.

Because you start believing that you are different. Other businessmen, you know better than anyone, no one gives advice for free. It's weird. And the people who know, they don't say anything. Hey, how do I invest my money?

And they tell you, well, there are many ways, you can diversify portfolios, or you can look for a fund, but they don't really tell you anything. They're just giving you ambiguous answers with four-syllable words

so that your brain turns off, or at least that happens to me. And they don't tell you how they do it. And I understand. Why? Because it costs a lot of stumbling blocks. And why? Because when they tell you something in a good mood, you say, it's not going to happen to me.

You know? For some reason, you think, no, that's not going to happen. And it happened to me that an accountant didn't do his job well because I didn't demand him as I should have, maybe. And we had a fight, they made me an audit in 2017. And I was like, oh, man, thank God we hired the services of other accountants. Let's see, everything is in order, calm.

If you were doing something wrong, you would be in trouble, but these are mistakes. It's going to cost you a lot of money in fines. Because if you owe a dollar to Hacienda and you take a while, you owe them three. You owe them three. Yes, so Hacienda, pay your taxes. Hey, Franco, have you ever been scammed? Have you ever trusted someone you know?

Tell us a story. Look, when I started going viral... What year? I went viral in 2013, 2013, 2014. That's when I started to go viral. What year? I went viral in 2013, 2013, 2014. That's when I started to go viral. That's when you started to go viral.

Yes. And I had events that, if you think about it, I think the year I went viral was in 2015.

Wow.

But in 2014, mid-year, job offers started to come in. So a couple of managers or high-caliber artist representatives came. And I was afraid to sign with them. And I signed better with another guy who didn't even do that. And I told him, well, let's learn together, man. I mean, I prefer to be screwed by a shark.

You and I, little fish, let's see how far we can go.

And it worked for me, right? That worked out well for me. But I didn't know you know where we got to. And one of them, from Chihuahua, Hey, how much do you charge per date? And you were viral here. Yes, I could charge 8 or 10 bucks here and they gave it to me. You're making it up, man.

And then this lady asked me, how much do you charge for a show? And I was like, 20. And she said, I want five dates. And I was like, oh, that's 100 bucks. And I thought, I'm in.

No, you were the one who charged more.

This person told me, there's a businessman who's buying my dates. So if you charge me 20, I'm going to sell them for 30. I take 10 and I said, I think it's good. I'm going to earn 100 and she's going to earn 50. She was the businessman. And in total it was four functions,

because she told me later, hey, they're going to do more functions. And I said, oh, damn, how many more? She said, they're going to do four in Chihuahua Capital, four in Ciudad Juárez, 12 in Cuauhtémoc, 12 in Delicias,

and...

I'm running out of breath. And you were already hooked on that price.

I mean, you had already said...

I said, if they're going to do 12 functions, I'm going to go for 240. So he says, how do you see it? We close it at 160. I mean, I'm done. So the other functions instead of 20, sell them to me at 10. I said, well, yes, it's a week.

Yes, it's only a week. And he said, yeah, it's fine. And I said, well, I don't want to tell you the whole story, because I'm always very gossipy. And he said, how many people came in? And then he asked the guys, how much did you like the ticket, in the photo? And they said, oh, a lot.

And I started to say, no, I'm going to make numbers. Bro, the person took you, damn it, about two million pesos.

No way, man.

Of all the shows? Yes. Yes, low your hand. They were a lot of shows. Fucking hell, man. I did...

I don't know, man.

I did like 20 shows.

And you paid 160? No, because I paid my opener.

How?

It can't be, Franco.

But you were just starting. Yes, yes. And I remember being like...

No, man.

I said, no, don't think about that. I said, I'm going to get bitter. And obviously the following year, hey, we want to, no, fuck your mother. And it hurt, because I could have charged the triple and she still won more. So I said, yes, they did me, brother. It happened to me in Fresnillo, Zacatecas, that I said, I'm going to go as an entrepreneur.

You were going to rent it, I'm already an intermediary. I rent the theater, I'm going to hire a person, I said, as a wedding planner, that the whole organization is thrown in, and you pay a percentage, I said, no, you can do that. The problem is that you have to rent the theater

and you have to pay for advertising. And I remember that a week was left in a theater of a thousand people, and I said, I'll fill it. Because I had already gone to Fresnillo and I had put 400 people in a bar.

And the next time I went there, I was already quite viral, and I went, I was already pretty viral. And I said, I think I can get a thousand people. And the theater was like a thousand or nine hundred, something like that, I don't want to lie to you. And they tell me, hey, you have 100 tickets sold.

Oh, my God.

I don't know if it's true, right? The people from Fresnillo can tell me. But it happened that that that year, months before, an entrepreneur announced Jorge Falcón.

Okay.

And it wasn't true. And on the day of the event, people came and...

Where is Jorge?

No, I mean, the guy rented the theater, sold the tickets, sold them all, and he got away with it. So, they told me, people, until they see you here, they're not going to buy their tickets.

And I said, I don't think so. I said, maybe they're telling me so I don't feel bad. Like, no, it's not that you don't sell tickets, people are waiting for the end, people are scared. That's what they told me, maybe it's not true, I don't know. Or people just said,

no, I want to go see it. But I had to pay for the theater. And I had already made advertising expenses. And we had already paid for transportation, hotels, everything. And I remember so much, Christian, Christian Mesa, a colleague of mine, at that time he was the one with the audio and the opener.

He would make two jokes, introduce the other comedian, warm up the crowd and then you. He was the animator. So he earned three thousand pesos. You put three, four thousand pesos for all that.

And suddenly, you know what, guys? We were in Durango. We are going to stay here for an extra day. Fresnillo is not going to be done. Why? I didn't sell tickets. Oh, that's bad.

And there's this Christian, he needs to be exhausted. But why cancel it? Because it's cheaper to cancel than to go. Yes, because I can lose only half of the hotels. And the rent, the van. It's cheaper to cancel.

And I remember saying, Oh man, they're shit. Those three balls, I already... I already spent them, man.

I already spent them, yes.

I mean, I already counted on them. And I remember being like this, the two of us, in the hotel pool and telling him, Bro, I just lost 100,000 pesos. I don't know how I'm going to go home and tell my wife,

you know what? I lost 100,000 pesos. I didn't lose them because I lost them. That cost me this cancellation. And I was feeling, I remember, I even wanted to throw up from the stress. Because there are people who say, Oh, that's great, when it goes well for them, yes, you win well.

But when there is a mistake, you lose a lot. They say, more money, more problems. It's true. Maybe before, my life was arranged with an event of 8,000 pesos and my expenses didn't exceed 8,000 pesos. But when you win, you also lose a lot. Have you been scammed, topics unrelated to your job?

Like, you invested in business or something that someone you know or someone you've met has proposed to you? I invested in a printing press. A printing press?

A printing press.

In one year, it didn't generate a single peso. And the person in charge taught me, look, this is what came in and this is what we spent. How do I do it? Well, you're right, and when nothing happens,

we're going to move forward. And there was another person involved. One day they fight among themselves. And this person tells me, hey, just so you know, this guy is buying invoices.

How? Look, this guy is buying invoices. How? Look, this is the original invoice, $20,000 came in, this was the one that I showed you. $5,000 were spent and this was the one I showed you.

And I'm like, nah, you're kidding me. So you were taking the money. Well, he didn wasn't a millionaire. But the company, maybe, in that year, generated 100,000 pesos,

of which I received nothing. What do you say? Wasn't it a lot? It was between 8 and 9 a month. I said, no, it's enough to make you rich. But I would have loved if they told me,

we made 8 balls this month. And I swear I would have said, no problem. You're the one who's on the lookout. As long as we don't lose, we're cool. I swear I would have been like, nothing's wrong.

But they did hide information from me. So you know what? You're out. Do you get a lot of business?

Yes.

Thank God, not anymore. I became very sloppy. Once, on a flight, I was sitting and the seat next to me, no one took it. I was like, oh, damn it. I put my backpack on. And suddenly a man came and sits down. Hey, Franco, I work for a company...

I don't know, pay attention. And I'm like, sorry, brother, what are you talking about? I think it's a good opportunity for you. For what? To make money. Oh, no, I said.

No, no, no. I said, look, I'm going to send you an email. francoescamillainfo.com My representative has it there. Franco Escamilla, info.com. There's my representative. He's in charge of that. No, no, no, but look, I'll explain. I don't understand.

I mean, that's what you talk to the people in charge. I tell him, the long pants. I'm just the clown. I get on the jokes and they take care of everything. And the guy was stubborn. I tell him, give me a chance to go to the bathroom. Wow. And I pass and there is the overcharge.

And I tell him, miss, that man is not sitting there. Check the ticket. And he says, are you bothering him? A lot. And they go and tell him, sir, you can go to your place. No, I want to see, show me your ticket.

Well, you go there, right? In Central America, dog. I'm not messing around here. And they sent him over there. Yes, when they approach... Because I used to be very polite, brother. Very polite with people. Yes, tell me. And then, I'm not interested.

No, but look, I already lost 15, 20 minutes that I could have used either working or resting. So, now, they're going to say that I'm a jerk, but in short, I stop them. Brother, I just make jokes. Here is the email, talk to the person in charge.

You had an experience with a bar, right? How did it go? We had a bar, but then the pandemic hit us. And there was... I don't know how the bars that kept working did it.

Yes, it's great.

I imagine. But we said, well, we are not going to risk the employees, ourselves, our families. We closed and closed. And by the time the pandemic was over, we had already finished the rental contract. In fact, we transferred it.

So I said, no, no. And they offered me to make a bar again. I said, no, it's a lot of stress. I mean, they say in my town, whoever has a store, let him have it. And if you're not there 100%,

things won't work the way you want. So I said, why? I mean, I don't have time. And I learned recently that I had to invest in myself. I mean, I tried to invest in other projects because I said, you have to diversify, you have to...

not all the eggs in one basket. But the truth is that I understand comedy and I understand YouTube. So I said, I have to invest in that. And I invest in making different programs. Not all of them work, but one that works, and keeps my office alive,

and projects that can give to the future, that's what I'm doing. And very specifically, what do those investments mean? Are they studies? Is it people? Is it content?

It's everything.

I mean, first of all, the team. We have to update cameras and microphones every two years. Because if not, the quality goes down a lot and the audience is very demanding. There are guys that,

if it doesn't sound exactly like they like it, they jump on the video. This new generation has so much to offer that you can say, this one, this one. At first it was easier. We were very few shows.

The Reñoña table was shit, brother. The audio was... Terrible. Yes, it was recorded with a Sony Ericsson. And the camera was a Sony Handycam, one of those 3,000 pesos,

right now, I mean, I'm not saying back then. But people would say, hey, 720, I'll do it. Now, if you're not at least 1080 quality, it's a shitty video. So we have to update that. I had to hire more expensive people,

but who know how to handle it. I'm always fucking them, but the do their job well, except when they don't. Because they used to be friends. I used to tell them, do you know how to do audio?

No.

Well, fuck tutorials on YouTube. That's how you get together. And that's how we learned. Luis Coria, I remember he's one of the oldest, started watching YouTube. How does OBS work? I remember.

And you had him watching tutorials and that's how he learned. And Rubestel, whose specialty is another, but he adapted to YouTube. And he's always updating himself. We had to do that. And you, Franco, as a person, how do you invest to level up? I mean, obviously you are present in this content creation.

You tell us how you refresh your routines, your jokes. How do you fill yourself with content? How do you invest in yourself very punctually? Look, I told you a long time ago on the show, for the anecdote, I force myself to do things. I mean, I don't like to leave my house.

I don't like it. I'm happy in front of my computer, in my studio, reading, playing, writing. I'm happy doing those things. But I have to go out. So I force myself to do things.

I go to go-karts, I go to a party. For example, I remember I met freestyle. I said, I like this. And then I saw that doing, training freestyle helped me with mental agility. Mental agility, yes.

I said, here's something. Look, I'll give you a very good example. When we started the table, my teammates were really mad at me. Because, for example, Mole, is a person who has been doing radio all his life,

and he gets mad one after another. And in the comments they said, the only one who follows the game of Mole is Franco. And I said, I was on the radio. So I said, it would be cool if everyone did radio talk, so they had more tools to improvise or to drive.

And we talked to some radio stations, and no one gave me a chance to put everyone on a show. And I remember I asked Rubén Estel, And no one gave me a chance to get everyone on a show.

And I remember I asked Ruben Estel, how expensive would it be to make a radio station on the internet? He said, give me a chance to make a project in a few days.

like 10,000 pesos a month.

With the cabin and everything, I don't know,

in a year, 15 balls a month. More or less. And I said, let's do it. And we launched Radio Squad, the independent radio station, which was a radio station on the internet. And I told all my squad, they were going to make me a show. Hey, but I don't know how to do radio.

No problem, here you'll learn." And I remember they started with horror shows, news, gossip. I remember El Cojo Feliz told me, can I do it with someone else? Because I'm alone in Mexico City, bro, whatever you want. And Rubi taught us how to connect him from Mexico City

to the signal we have here in Monterrey. And he came up with a project called La Hora Feliz. When Radio Squad ended, he kept doing La Hora Feliz. And it's a project that gave them a public that is now pure of ducks, and they keep doing La Hora Feliz, and he sponsors us. And it went very well for Cojo, he became a duo with Uncle Robert,

I remember. And we had one called Miedosos pero Sabrosos. Radio Squad finished and they continued doing the project separately. We had people from other states that we invited to be part of the project. And I did notice improvement in my teammates in their speech. Yes, they are getting into it, right? It's training.

So I realized that I said, well, what am I doing to train myself? I always relied on reading. I liked reading since I was a kid. And that gave me... Well, to know more words, to know other cultures, other countries. That suddenly some remain.

And when you make a joke, this comment is useful. An information warehouse is made that you never know when it will be useful. So I invested in freestyle. I said, I like this, it's useful for my training, and I started doing it. And then when the boss died, I was afraid and I went to the cardiologist because I said, I don't want to die anyway.

And he prescribed me, no, you'd be good at weightlifting. Okay, so I talked to Christian, he recommended a coach, he recommended Ado and Israel. Hey, what do I need to start? Well, look, buy a set of dumbbells, a walker, a pair of gloves and that's it.

Sure? Yes. Gloves for what?

It's like kickboxing.

It's a very good cardio.

And fight. So, buy some FOMIs to put on the floor. Because we're going to see you knocked down.

That was extra, right?

so let me lower the weight by 10% to the mugrero I eat.

I started to see changes in my body. We went to Bolivia to give a show, and two people from the staff crashed like that, and I didn't.

but how would it be if you didn't train? I think you said something very interesting about high performance. I was just talking to your team about the amount of programs and content they do on the different channels, plus the tours. That's high performance. If you want to perform at that level, you have to invest in yourself, otherwise it's impossible. Franco, you were talking about the new generations, And obviously with the explosion of social media and TikTok and all that,

there are a lot of people that go viral very fast. And very talented people. Very talented, but the difficult thing is obviously to stay. What advice would you give to the guys who are starting in comedy? At the moment we are, how the networks and algorithms are? Number one, whenever someone has asked me on social media or in an email,

direct message, I'm going to start in comedy, what advice do you have for me? I always say the same thing. Chaco Mejorado once told me, this is a race of endurance, not speed. There are people who hit the week,

there are people who never hit. I mean, I don't know how much time you have to give him, the time that is necessary. So if you enter the comedy thinking, I'm going to take a course, then I go up to a bar,

and in a year I'm the new Polo Polo. No, it's unlikely to happen. Polo Polo wasn't done in a year. It was a job that lasted many years. If you take me as a reference, it was a job that lasted many years. Whatever you want.

It's weird to see someone who in a year stuck to it and lasted many years. It's weird to see someone who in a year hit her and she stayed for many years. It's weird. I'm sure there must be stories. Because there has to be one of those. That's how statistics work.

Someone has to screw up. There has to be someone who did everything wrong and it went well. And someone who did everything right and it went wrong. I think it's patience. Knowing that there are no formulas. And for no formulas. And for no job, maybe 30 years ago, there were formulas.

It was, study a degree, get in touch, and you're done. And it's true, all the people I met when I was 10, 15 years old, they were people who studied a degree and who were dedicated to getting along well. They were cool about having a career. And they would say, if you have a master's degree, a postgraduate,

shut up, the world is yours. Now it's not. Yes, so you have to do what the others don't do. Definitely. Once I read, I don't remember where, that the secret to success, if there is a secret,

was to do something totally new, or to do something that already exists, but to do it better than the others. And being better than the others, apart from being subjective, is complicated. So it's easier to do something new.

And at that time, when I went viral, the trend was the blog. I remember my reference was Whatever Tomorrow.

Whatever.

He was there, Yuya was there, Kaelig was there, all the No Me Revientes. The first generation of YouTubers in Mexico. And they were in front of the camera talking about a topic. I tried it, I didn't do it well. I said, I can talk on stage.

I started recording myself doing my show on stage. Nobody did it, that's why I did it well. I'm not saying I was the first, maybe there were more, but I was the first to go viral doing it. Today you see something that nobody is doing. If you, Franco, started today,

in what platform, in what format, what would you be doing? I think right now the new platform is Kik. Kik?

Kik.

Oh, damn.

Yes, yes.

I hadn't heard of it.

We're old.

We're old. Look, it happened to me 5 or 6 years ago, that we started making content for Twitch. And I couldn't connect. Twitch is different from YouTube. In what? I don't know how to explain.

I never understood it. But I know that kids want it now more in short. For example, when Vine came out, do you remember? About 10 years ago? 8 years? Yes, 10 years ago.

It was humor in 15 seconds.

Yes.

Or less. 6 seconds. I couldn't. I said, hey, no, I need more time. But the guys connected with that. Twitch came, and there were people who told me,

I don't see them on YouTube, it's because I'm more of Twitch.

And it's because I'm more on Twitch.

And it's the same thing. But I understand, young people want their platform. And when a ruco is on that platform, and I don't want it anymore. So, before it was Facebook and YouTube. And the kids said, no.

So now it's Twitch, TikTok, well now Kik. And you have to look for what youth is consuming. Because you have to invest in the future. Obviously, I would suggest if someone is starting, do all the platforms.

All of them.

All of them.

You have time, man. And if you don't understand one, download it and start watching videos. And start looking for tutorials, because if you don't adapt to the new, they'll leave you. And I think that's also important, that you have to be making content, content, content, content. The attention is super divided, everyone is making content, and you're not refreshing it.

They say, in my holy town, what is not seen is not being made into content, if you are not refreshing it. They say in my holy town that is not seen is not venerated. I mean, there are people, it is not like before. An artist 30 or 40 years ago, a single song, gives him a career. Right now it is not. It is not enough with one.

I was left with the doubt because you were saying that they like to invest in roots. That your wife likes to invest in real estate. Is there anything else besides real estate? Or would you say that your assets are very focused on real estate? No, recently I was told about the SETEs. Okay, Governmental Debt. And I thought it was a new... I thought, is there new... I said, are these inclusive?

I said, no, I'm not interested. I don't know any more letters. They told me, no, it's like a type of investment in the bank, it's investing in the currency of each country, so to speak. So my money that I earn in the United States is invested in like, sets from there.

First I invested in a property, it went well, but there it's different from here, it's a little more complicated there. As you have to get more informed, I said, let's go to something calmer, because I can't think of anything else. They told me, the bank. I said, invest in that.

It's the most shy way to invest. Conservative. Exactly. Because they told me, there are other more risky investments that can give you a much better performance. And I said, that sounds great.

But if you lose, you lose. Fuck your mother. I don't want to. It was very hard for me to earn that money. I don't know how people are encouraged to make those risky investments. They say, whoever doesn't risk doesn't win. And they have won, right?

But I also think you have to hire the service of a company that is dedicated to that. And they charge you a commission. I mean, of what you win, I get 30. And I say, and if I lose, do you pay the 30? No, then no.

Yes, I mean, no.

Yes.

No, no. I mean, I'm just taking a risk. You don't. I don't like that. So, I invested a part in that, in Zetas. And right now they just told me, Zetas are not paying like before. Yes, lower the rate. Lower the rate, but you can invest. Right now it's Canada. And I, the shoes?

No, no, the country. And I, oh man, so I just have a meeting next week to see what we're going to do. Because I was telling them, this is going to sound really stupid, but I tell them, I don't want to take out my Mexican money. From Mexico. Aja. Y me dicen, no seas wey, es lo que hacen.

Y yo, pues es lo que empina una economía. Y este, y yo prefiero invertir mi dinero de Estados Unidos. Ese si, si quieren, lo invertimos en Canadá. Pero no me gusta sacar lana del país. Me gusta traer dinero para acá. No sabes como me mama cobrar en Estados Unidos

y gastar money aquí, wey. I like to bring money here. You don't know how much I love to earn in the United States and spend it here. Yes, I love it. I feel like I've got a lot of money. Do you see your career, Franco, migrating to other things, I mean, outside of comedy or not? Oh, look, for a while I had the fantasy

of being a manager.

Wow.

I mean, the manager is the one who has the best time. That guy gets the spot, he does his shit to organize, but the show starts and he's done. Because it happened that businessmen, everything is fine, we are ready to go, very good, good, good luck. We'll be seeing you here. And they were going to go.

They were going to go.

Yes, and there you have me doing two functions. And I said, son of a bitch, I'm waking up and this guy is already in the hotel with whores and shit. Yes, I mean, I think the cool thing is to be a representative, to be a manager, to be a businessman. And I had that fantasy for a while and I said, I don't know if I'm going to do it someday. My intention was, I hired many comedians,

because I said, one of them is going to be famous, and he's going to feed me for many years. And no. And then I said, I'm going to invest in myself. And this is something, look, Jordi Rosado told me, I send him a greeting.

Because I told him, hey, man, why don't you produce for others? You are a producer. You're a badass. And you know TV, and now you know YouTube. He told me, look, I'm producing for myself, because it still works.

I say, that's why, but what's going to happen in the future when you no longer work? Then I produce others. So I said, I'm going to invest in this side, but I'm going to keep investing in me. And when I'm no longer a business, I'm going to invest in others. And right now I don't worry about that. I'm going to learn as much as I can, so that when I'm a representative or manager, manager has all the tools to say, let's see, no, son, here they fuck you. Let's do this.

I want to be that kind of representative. Franco, I'm going to ask you to close the episode, to give us Franco Escamilla's financial advice. What would you say to people? Okay. Damn.

It's a contradiction, okay? Because it depends on who tells you. I once heard a phrase that made me laugh. It's good. An uncle told me, my uncle Mike, may he rest in peace. He didn't tell me, he told someone else

at the table where I was. And he said, look, buddy, you never fart bigger than your ass. And I was like... And the years go by and I understand it.

I mean, there are investments, there are proposals, relationships, friendship relationships that one say,

maybe I'm going to risk a lot to earn very little,

but I'm going to do it in a good way.

Don't do it. Don't do it. This is going to sound selfish, but it's thinking about you.

If you want to invest, you have to be the beneficiary.

Don't do it, you don't make investments with your heart. You don't.

Do you lend money?

I did. To known relatives and they ask you to lend money? I did.

Not anymore.

Why not?

They never paid me. They never paid you? They never paid me. In fact, I lost friendships, I, I left my family for money. Because it's incredible that you lend a thousand pesos and this, I'll say it with a lot of love,

someone comes and says, I'm stuck, I'm in a lot of trouble. And you're a chicken heart, and I have this complex, I read a lot of comics, I want to be Batman, I want to be able to handle it. And I'm a chicken heart, man. And I have this complex. I read a lot of comics. I want to be Batman. I want to be Superman. I'll help you.

How much do you need? Honestly, with 10,000 pesos I'll get out of trouble. Count on it. But I'm going to take about three months to pay you. It's okay, brother. Get out of the problem. And then, I see your wife opening a bag.

No, man. Or I see you on vacation in Mazatlan, Tampico. I'm like, I paid for your vacation, son of a bitch. And maybe, there are times when 10,000 pesos don't make me poor, thank God. But what happens is that maybe my wife says,

hey, let's have dinner with the kids somewhere. Give me a chance next week. Because this week I spent. And I say, why am I depriving my family this week so that you take your vacation and tell me a very sad story? And then when you say, hey, bro, how's that going?

And they get mad.

No, man.

And they get offended. And the phrase that sucks the most, brother, what are 10,000 pesos for you? The same as for you, man, they're 10,000 pesos. But you're doing well. And they're still 10,000 pesos.

It's a lot of money. Nobody gives it to me. I don't have to give it to you. So I don't lend it anymore, honestly. I mean, no, and sometimes, not even a lie, talk to Gabi. I don't have money, brother. I have a salary.

And I already have it. I'm paid. Yes, I'm paid like you. Do you want money? Talk to my wife. No, but I don't get along with her. She's in charge.

She's the one with the money. And she's the one that goes like this.

No!

I don't even know you.

That's it. You don't do business with your heart. I already did it and don't pull. The heart is for loving. Not to do business. That's cool. Franco, thank you so much.

Thank you for coming to the show.

Thank you for letting us be here.

This is your home, brother. Whenever you want, we're here.

Thank you so much. Congratulations on your career.

Thank you. You're so cool, Reggio.

You're, man, honestly. I'm naturalized, but yeah. Yeah, but a pride. I'm from Cuautla. They gave me the double nationality. Yes. That's great.

Thank you for inviting me, brother.

No, on the contrary, thank you, ladies and gentlemen. This was another episode of Dime Si Billetes.

Until next time.

The name is great, Dime Si Billetes.

It's great. It's great. That's it.