# Going from sales to finance

> I built business in LA and Las Vegas before studying at UC Riverside and joining BlackRock. The sales experience still shapes how I work.

By [Hammad Manjra](https://hammadmanjra.com/about/)

Published: 2026-11-04T00:14:00Z
Updated: 2026-11-04T00:49:00Z
Story period: 2022–2024

Before finance, I worked in sales and business development at Global Security Concepts in LA and Las Vegas. I was finding opportunities, pitching, negotiating, and working toward a close. I liked being involved in the whole process.

Then I went to UC Riverside to study business. I interned at BlackRock in 2023 and joined full-time in New York in 2024.

Today I work in private markets product development and strategic initiatives. I help evaluate and develop investment products, working with investment, legal, compliance, and marketing teams on the work involved in getting them to launch.

Sales gave me a useful place to start: who would want this, and why? Before I could make a convincing pitch, I had to understand the person on the other side. That question still matters when I’m working on a product, even though my current role is inside the business rather than client-facing.

The finance work has made me more deliberate about the reasoning behind an idea. I want to understand the numbers, the assumptions, and what needs to happen for it to work. A promising conversation is a starting point. There’s a lot to do after that.

I get to use both sides with Anchor. I’ll work through an event budget, then speak to a venue or a potential partner. I need to know what we can deliver and explain why someone would want to be involved.

I’ve always liked the part where an idea becomes something you can actually put in front of people. My background has given me a few different ways to get there.

[Original page](https://hammadmanjra.com/writing/from-selling-security-to-working-in-finance/)