Not that iQ is more accustomed to dealing with people who are less funny-funny than funny-peculiar or anything...

... but we thought it might be lark to talk to the only person we’ve heard of that knows how to work a crowd in the IT industry as well as on stage at the Edinburgh Festival... oh and he’s part owner of a chain of seafood restaurants too. Gary Ashworth got the full 5-minute iQ heckle.

iQ. So how does the chairman of one of the largest IT staffing solutions companies in the UK end up as part owner in a chain of seafood eateries, a comedy agent, and a stand-up? They sound almost mutually exclusive...

GA. Good IT people are quite like fish – they are hard to catch, but when you’ve got them, you often want to throw them back.

iQ. How and why do you keep doing all three? How do you balance things?

GA. I hire people who are better than me to run the businesses and let them take all the credit.

iQ. Beyond “anything that makes you laugh”, define funny.

GA. Something that makes you completely forget about all the bad stuff going on in the world if only for a moment or two.

iQ. Comedy or technology and why?

GA. Comedy – because it’s original, unpredictable, often surprising, and because it’s so difficult to code.

iQ. What’s better, getting a laugh or winning a deal?

GA. It depends whether or not you have your clothes on.

iQ. What’s the best act you’ve seen on the Edinburgh fringe (or indeed anywhere else) in the last couple of years?

GA. Tim Minchin, an Australian comedian, singer and pianist. Very funny, rather rude.

iQ. Who’s your undisputed comedy hero and why?

GA. Bob Newhart was great. He could make people cry with laughter by showing a different side of everyday life that we have all experienced and understand.

iQ. And your great hero in business/IT?

GA. Larry Ellison for his success and irreverence to traditional business education. His advice to ‘drop out and start up’ should be more widely heeded.

iQ. What or who really isn’t funny in your view?

GA. I’ve never understood how Joe Pasquali and Harry Hill have ever been employed. I wouldn’t even give them a job as a traffic warden – and that’s saying something!

iQ. What one thing makes you lose your sense of humour most?

GA. George Bush and Tony Blair deceiving the world.

iQ. Got any good techie one liners?

GA. By 2010 all aeroplanes will be flown by a man and dog. The man’s job will be to feed the dog. The dog’s job will be to bite the man if he touches any of the controls.

iQ. What’s your number one tip when it comes to employing technical/IT people?

GA. Take a verbal reference before they begin work.