From New York to Los Angeles: A Career in Investment Banking
I arrived in the United States in 2018, starting from scratch. Through a family connection, I was introduced to an internship opportunity at Morgan Stanley's New York headquarters, where my aunt worked as a senior executive in global investment banking. Without her support, I likely wouldn't have had access to this opportunity.
Those six months of internship were truly transformative. Morgan Stanley's pace was incredibly fast, with all projects running in parallel. I worked on a cross-border financing deal in the healthcare technology sector. Days were non-stop, and nights were spent in my small Brooklyn apartment studying English materials.
During one meeting, I boldly raised a question about how the target company's SaaS revenue model might affect revenue recognition standards. To my surprise, the project team actually listened. That was the first time I felt: "I'm not just here to listen—I have professional expertise that stands on its own."
Through my aunt's referral, I joined Houlihan Lokey's Los Angeles headquarters as an Investment Advisor. Initially, I focused primarily on healthcare and technology deals, mostly mid-market M&A transactions with deal sizes ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars.
One project that left a deep impression was helping an AI medical imaging analysis startup attract strategic investors. The buyer was a large medical device company looking to quickly enhance its AI capabilities through acquisition.
We were responsible for helping the target company organize its valuation logic, restructure their revenue model, and research competitors' technology paths for industry comparisons.
I spent nearly a week interviewing their R&D team and even researched FDA medical device registration pathways myself, creating a timeline for the entire product market entry cycle. In our materials, I explained why the project's profitability was undervalued. After the buyer reviewed our model, they increased their offer by approximately 15%. The CEO was deeply moved, saying no one had ever understood both technology and M&A the way we did.
Another case involved the acquisition of a remote health monitoring platform on the U.S. West Coast. The founder was young and idealistic but particularly sensitive about valuation and control rights.
We spent considerable time designing the transaction structure, including retaining a certain percentage of founder team equity, setting up earnout provisions, and establishing phased exit mechanisms.
I've also worked on several deals involving Asian capital, particularly complex U.S.-China transactions with significant structural and cultural differences. I'm often brought in to serve as a bridge coordinator.
One case involved helping a Chinese fund acquire a U.S. healthcare software company. The project involved various challenges: time zone differences, language barriers, and inconsistent regulatory interpretations. Beyond financial planning, I was responsible for simultaneous translation and strategic explanations during many conference calls. It was exhausting, but the sense of achievement was truly rewarding.
Strategic transaction evaluation and execution
Complex valuation and revenue modeling
Comprehensive market and financial analysis
U.S.-China deal structuring and coordination
Specialized industry expertise
Strategic communication and negotiation