TL;DR: A friend asked me for a job for his son but added, "Anything but sales." He wants his son to learn about "M&A and IPOs" to prepare for entrepreneurship. The irony? M&A and IPOs are just high-end sales. If you shield your children from "selling," you are shielding them from understanding how value is created. The best founders are all top-tier sales reps.
James here, CEO of Mercury Technology Solutions.
Hong Kong - January 23, 2026
A few days ago, an old friend texted me.
His son just graduated from a UK university and returned to Hong Kong. He wanted me, "Uncle James" (please, just James), to have a chat with him.
I knew what was coming.
"James, your company is growing fast. Do you need people?"
"Always," I said.
"Great. My son is looking. See if there's a fit."
"Sure. Which department should he start in?"
Silence. Then, the punchline:
"Anything is fine. Just not Sales."
I paused. I knew the answer, but I asked anyway. "Why?"
"He won't learn much doing sales. I want him to be equipped to start his own business one day."
This is the classic "Hong Kong Parent Mindset."
In their mental model, Sales = "Low Class." It means chasing quotas, getting yelled at, and having no dignity.
The ideal blueprint? Ivy League $\rightarrow$ Decent Profession $\rightarrow$ Air-conditioned Office $\rightarrow$ "Professional."
"So what do you want him to do?" I asked.
"He studied Finance. Maybe something related to M&A or IPOs? I know you're spinning off a unit. He could learn a lot there."
It sounds reasonable. M&A. IPO. The words are longer. They sound expensive.
But here is the paradox.
"What do you think M&A and IPOs actually are?" I asked.
He hesitated. He was probably thinking of words like Valuation, Term Sheets, Roadshows.
"It's Sales," I said.
- You think you are selling shares? No. You are selling a story.
- You think you are presenting data? No. You are fighting for trust.
- You think you are helping a company list? No. You are convincing strangers to part with their cash to buy a "possibility" that the future will be better.
Excuse me, but that is Sales.
Some people sell products at a mall entrance. Some people sell billion-dollar dreams in a boardroom.
The Ticket Size is different. The Essence is identical.
If someone told me, "I don't want my son to learn M&A from you because you're not good enough," I would feel ashamed.
But when someone says, "Don't let him do Sales; there's no future in it," I just smile politely and feel sorry for the kid.
Because I specialize in building from Zero to One.
And 9 out of 10 times, Zero to One starts with Selling.
When you start a business, you have no background, no resources, and nobody knows you. What do you have?
You have the willingness to pick up the phone. To face rejection. To explain your value 100 times until one person says, "Okay, I'll try."
- You think you are pitching a business plan? You are selling a request for a chance.
- You think you are raising capital? You are selling your integrity.
You cannot learn this in a classroom.
You learn it by getting rejected.
- Resilience: Because someone says "No" to you every day.
- Empathy: Because if you don't understand the other person, you are just reading a script.
- Communication: Because you have to turn a complex idea into "Hey, this is exactly what I need."
The most ironic thing? The top people in Finance, Venture Capital, and Politics are all Top Sales.
If you can't sell, you are an Analyst. You calculate the numbers for the people who make the decisions.
If you can sell, you influence the decision. You sit at the head of the table.
So, when a father says, "I don't want my son to do Sales," he thinks he is protecting him from a hard life.
In reality, he is robbing him of the fastest way to understand the world, understand people, and understand Value.
If his son joins my company, whether his title is "M&A Associate" or "Sales Executive," I want him to learn one thing:
When you stand in front of someone, do you have the ability to make them think, "I am lucky to have met you"?
If you can do that, you are a great Salesperson.
The title on your business card? That's just to make your dad happy.
Mercury Technology Solutions: Accelerate Digitality.
