KK spent more than a decade proving that "maxing profit" doesn't have to be the default. Reading his am730 column reminded me of something — AstraVenture exists because we believe the same thing, just amplified by AI.
When "maxing profit" became the industry default, KK spent more than a decade proving another path. And the arrival of AI has amplified that choice a hundredfold — we're all standing at the same crossroad.
This morning I just finished reading KK Tsang — founder of The Bees and one of Hong Kong's most respected advertising-industry figures — in his am730 column "Insisting on Sharing Results With Employees". I put my phone down and sat with it for a while.
A few days earlier I'd watched Ming's YouTube interview with him on《想創你個心》Ep7, and his philosophy already resonated deeply. Reading this column today, I realized almost every paragraph he wrote runs along the same root as AstraVenture's founding belief.
KK's group currently has 170+ employees across 38 subsidiaries — on the surface, a clearly successful operation. Yet in his column, he openly called out a fact he himself isn't satisfied with: of those 38 companies, 13 have effectively no employees beyond one or two partners.
For a group whose core value is "sharing results", he wrote it plainly: "A third of the companies have no employees to share results with — clearly not ideal."
But the more courageous part comes in the next paragraph.
He knows clearly that technology + AI now makes the "one-person company" viable. He knows clearly the market is moving in that direction. He even knows clearly that if he were purely chasing profit maximization, he should ride that wave. And yet he wrote:
"But I just can't get excited about that direction."
That kind of sentence is rare in the business world. Because most owners would say: "If that's what the market demands, just go with it,""business is business,""if you don't take the margin, someone else will." But KK has held the line from day one — running a business doesn't have to mean maxing every dollar. Companies willing to share don't just survive; they go further.
And he's spent more than a decade backing that conviction up with results.
Why This Column Hit Me
Because the root of AstraVenture comes from exactly the same kind of refusal — "I don't accept this default."
One of the reasons I started AstraVenture was to prove something — that a person can chase their own dreams, contribute to the world, and still have a life. That you don't have to follow the traditional script:
Find a "good job" → spend your hours on work you don't actually like (and maybe quietly resent) → then use the money you painfully earned to buy back the things you actually enjoy, as compensation.
Nobody quotes you the real price of this path: 60–70% of your conscious hours go into things you don't truly care about. Then you spend what's left — in time and money — to compensate for that drain.
What KK rejected is the "max the profit" default.
What AstraVenture rejects is the "this script is the only way out" default.
At their core, the two defaults are the same thing — industry's and society's version of "what you should do."
And AI Has Amplified This Choice a Hundredfold
This is the part of KK's column I think is most worth sitting with.
Yes — technology + AI now lets one person do the work of an entire team. That's a fact, and an irreversible trend. But KK pointed at a nuance very few people are voicing:
"Can" doesn't equal "should."
What AI puts in front of an owner isn't an answer. It's two paths:
Path A — Use AI to make the company as small and lean as possible, and push profit margin to the max. Headcount goes down. The owner's pocket goes up.
Path B — Use the leverage AI gives you to take on harder, higher-value work, hire more capable people, share the results together, and push the ceiling of what your team can actually do.
KK chose B. It's not that he can't do the math on A — it's that he knows exactly what gets lost when you optimize all the way to that endpoint.
For employees and professionals, AI presents the same crossroad — just rephrased:
Will you use AI to do work that makes you more unique, more judgment-driven, more irreplaceable?
Or will you use AI to do work that makes you easier to be replaced by a single prompt?
This isn't a technology question. It's a values question.
And from day one, AstraVenture's belief has been —
💡
AI doesn't replace people. AI liberates people.
For SME owners and founders, AI lowers the barrier of "I'm just one person, I can't code, I can't realize this idea." You can prototype, validate, and build a first version yourself — without waiting for a dev team.
For professionals and developers, AI raises your ceiling. The system complexity you couldn't handle alone before, you can handle now. Projects that used to need a team of five — you now have what it takes to be the lead architect.
The barrier has dropped, but the ceiling hasn't.
The real meaning of this leverage was never about doing more or earning more — it's about giving you a real shot at building the life you actually want.
Make a life, not just a living.
This is also why I deeply respect KK. He's been in a more traditional industry, and over more than a decade he's proved one thing: companies willing to share don't lose. They win further, and for longer.
Written for Anyone Still Searching for Their Path
If you're an owner today — don't mistake AI for a tool that helps you cut headcount. AI is asking you something more important: what do you actually want to do with this leverage?
If you're a professional today — AI isn't here to take your job. AI is here to tell you: "The things you used to not be able to demo, you can now. The ideas you didn't even dare to think about, are now feasible."
KK's company has proved that the path of refusing the default works.
AstraVenture is here to help more people walk that path — in our own way.
Wherever you stand today — don't get stuck inside someone else's "should."
The real gift of the AI era isn't productivity. It's choice.
And choice always starts from the same place: "I don't accept this default."
Want to Talk About Your Next Step?
If you're standing at a similar crossroad — whether you're an SME owner, or a professional rethinking your career path — we'd love to hear your story.
AstraVenture isn't a company that "sells AI tools." We want to walk with you, use AI as your leverage, and help you build the business and the life you actually want.
[Book a free conversation] — no sales pitch, just an honest discussion about your next step.
I'm Alvin Cheung, an IT pro with 15+ years helping businesses level up their tech. I love finding everyday wisdom and exploring how tech and spirituality can enhance our lives. When I'm not geeking out on IT solutions, I'm sharing stories about personal growth and life lessons.
Email: alvin.cheung@astraventure.ai
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