Finance and stand-up comedy have much in common, says CEO Benjamin Quinlan
Finance meets funny in stand-up by Benjamin Quinlan, who spends his day job focusing on fintech
Benjamin Quinlan is not your typical CEO of a strategy consulting firm. Having founded Quinlan & Associates two years ago with a focus on fintech, the 34-year-old son of a celebrated musician and former Hong Kong model complements his daytime occupation with a night vocation: stand-up comedy.
“There was a period in my work in Korea where I was overworked and took time off for a sabbatical,” he says. “During those seven months I drew up a bucket list … and one of the things at the top of my list was stand-up comedy.”
Quinlan was formerly with UBS, Oliver Wyman and Deutsche Bank. It may be inconceivable to marry two such different roles (banker and comedian), but Quinlan has different thoughts.
“You’d be surprised how many commonalities there are between what I do in my day job and in my night job,” he says. “Comedy is about getting people on your side. It’s about winning your audience [over] and getting people to like you. All comedians can tell the same joke but if you are not likeable and you don’t deliver in the right way, people will not laugh. That’s part of the challenge with comedy because there is no universal sense of humour.
“Just as there is no universal character that is going to please everyone, you really have to pay attention to your audience in a business meeting and engage in how to change the conversation to get them back on side.”
Quinlan believes his work colleagues are not offended by his stage character. “A lot of companies are big on diversity and inclusion. That can include your sexual orientation, race, gender … it doesn’t matter. I’m a comedian. That’s one of the things I like to do. So when I engage with people in business, I hope they embrace it. I generally find that my clients embrace it to the extent that most have come to my comedy shows.”