ABOUT BRENDON

Life isn't about finding your place — it's choosing who you want to be.

I'm Brendon Lai — a father, a husband, and a business advisor. This page isn't a résumé; it's the three-act story of how I walked out of reality and toward the version of life I chose.

View the level-up roadmap

THE JOURNEY

Level-up roadmap

Each stage is a breakthrough and a rebirth. Click to expand different chapters of my life, and explore the "gear" and "insights" I gained at each milestone.

10 1990

Street smarts of Sham Shui Po

Grew up in public housing without abundant resources, but learned how to survive in a complex environment. The rules of the street became my earliest business education.

Gained insight / gear:

Sharpened observation and built unyielding resilience.

1983 Archive

15 1995

Jungle rules of an all-boys school

Entered a fiercely competitive all-boys school, fighting through academics and relationships. Learned how to find my place and my voice among the strong.

Gained insight / gear:

Understood the harsh truth that strength is the only currency.

1995 Archive

20 2000

First job: running the whole line alone

Sales & Marketing Manager at Suntan Technology in Hong Kong — client visits, marketing activities and events, end to end on my own; then more years in a local Hong Kong SME.

Gained insight / gear:

Learned early that sales, marketing and execution are really one job.

26 2006

Japanese components: quality & discipline

Joined Japanese electronic-component makers Sumida and then United Chemi-Con — starting as a sales executive tracking OEM order share and design-in promotion, then as sales supervisor coordinating new product development, key accounts and quarterly business reviews, with "Best Supplier" and "Best Delivery" awards from key customers.

Gained insight / gear:

Japanese companies taught me that reliability is worth more than cleverness.

Japanese components: quality & discipline

2011 Archive

32 2012

European catalogue distribution: RS Components

Joined European industrial catalogue distributor RS Components, rising from account manager to South China Sales Director. Hong Kong Top Sales for four straight quarters in FY15, peaking at 514.8% of quarterly budget, in the FY15 Best Office; main speaker at the 2017 RS Industry Park roadshow in China. Meanwhile completed a part-time BA in Marketing at the University of Lancashire — 2013 Best Student Award, and the graduates' vote of thanks.

Gained insight / gear:

The essence of catalogue distribution: urgent customers can always find it, and can count on it arriving.

European catalogue distribution: RS Components

2015 Archive

38 2018

Chinese components platform: ichunt

Sales Director (International & China) at ichunt (猎芯网), a Shenzhen B2B platform for electronic components: restructured sales, doubled the sales team, and set up a Hong Kong office and a supply-chain subsidiary.

Gained insight / gear:

Saw the speed of China's supply chain from the inside — and the piece it still needs when going global.

2018 Archive

40 2020

A German tool brand: one person, a nationwide team, made digital

Sales Director (Country Manager) at Hoffmann Group's Malaysian company — restructured departments and relocated the office. I took it on myself to lead the nationwide sales team with digital tools: videos, reports and web tools carrying our sales thinking, product knowledge and data. Over 36 months, country turnover grew by more than 44% while the team shrank by 43%.

Gained insight / gear:

43% fewer people, 44% more turnover: one person with good tools can amplify a whole team — the seed of "one person × AI = a whole team".

2020 Archive

45 2025

A Southeast Asian company, 0→1

Built a Southeast Asian industrial-supply company from zero, alone, with AI: product data pipeline, self-built ERP, B2B product store.

Gained insight / gear:

Proved that one person × AI can hold up the skeleton of a company.

2025 Archive

46 2026

A one-person company & EduStory

Rebuilding both work and parenting as AI systems: running a one-person company, and making EduStory character cartoons for my kid.

Gained insight / gear:

AI saves me the crew; the judgement and the care are still mine.

2026 Archive

Looking for kindred spirits

If you care about going global, moving up, or AI automation — and if you share the values of staying true and doing good — let's connect.

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Life isn't about finding your place — it's choosing who you want to be.

Level-up roadmap

Growing up in Hong Kong

Street smarts of Sham Shui Po

Jungle rules of an all-boys school

The Hong Kong sales front line

First job: running the whole line alone

Japanese components: quality & discipline

European catalogue distribution: RS Components

Cross-border & Southeast Asia

Chinese components platform: ichunt

A German tool brand: one person, a nationwide team, made digital

One person × AI

A Southeast Asian company, 0→1

A one-person company & EduStory

Looking for kindred spirits