- Oct 9, 2021
- 4 min read

Kieran Walsh

Updated: Nov 12, 2022

The goal of Hardly Hustle is to provide inspiration, drive and motivation in a 10 minute read or less. What you see is what you get. This is hot off the press without an editing team.

Kieran Walsh is up.

Who are you and what do you do?

I’m Kieran Walsh, the Chief Marketing Officer at MercurySays. Our program analyzes your customers’ text and email messages and instantly shows you how to reply, leading to more sales. Prior to joining Francis Walsh, the founder of MercurySays and my father, I ran my own businesses for over 20 years. My story begins when I was a teenager. I sold my car and gathered up every dollar I owned and invested it all into developing a clothing company. With zero experience, it was a leap of faith and a roller coaster ride. But, that hands-on approach taught me so much. Over the next two decades I co-founded one of the fastest-growing online entertainment sites here in Australia and around the world. I sold my second streetwear company into hundreds of clothing stores and internationally via an online store. I worked with celebrities and collaborated with powerful international businesses doing things like creating my own sneaker line. I also became the face of successful clothing companies in the US for major marketing campaigns. I’ve been featured on multiple magazine covers, and even been the main guest at a red-carpet event in downtown Brisbane, Australia, when my company launched its clothing line in a national streetwear chain. Looking back, it was all very exciting. But nothing compares to the excitement I feel when I see how my current project, MercurySays, can change the sales industry.

What did it take / how did you get started?

MercurySays begins with Francis Walsh. His sales expertise enabled him to provide communication consultation services to 300 of the most important government and private sector organizations in Australia. They included the Australian Federal Parliament, national government agencies, federal and state police services, telecommunication businesses, banks and more. During that time, Francis became increasingly aware that many organizations and their staff often failed to properly understand their own customers. It prompted him to develop a method of precisely analyzing the structure and intent of incoming messages, which he applied to his own sales approach while teaching it to over 50,000 professionals. Then, Francis used that knowledge to build a sophisticated, computerized language analyzer. It measures nearly 100 distinctive characteristics of every message submitted to it and then combines them in unique ways. Then, together, we developed the commercial version of the language analyzer, which focuses specifically on sales conversations. We call it, MercurySays, after the Roman god of communication. MercurySays instantly provides salespeople with the most important insights into their customers’ thinking and feeling. Then, it offers standard psychological advice that will help to direct a customer toward a positive decision. We worked back and forth over an entire year until the program delivered perfect advice, every time.

What does the future look like for you and your hustle?

Now, we are focusing on the US market. By targeting early adopters with our email and social media marketing, we are starting to see the level of interest and take-up that suggests a strong, positive future for MercurySays.

What drives / motivates you?

When your goals are modest, you don’t apply the same energy. This is due to a distinct lack of inspiration. As a result, you’re more likely to settle. So, I set my goals high. I am driven to make MercurySays one of the most successful start-up companies to begin in Australia. That pushes me to put extra effort in every day.

What advice would you give someone interested in doing what you do?

Work on your mind state just as much as the new skills you’re trying to learn. Your internal belief system about business is the most important predictor of success or failure. In order to train yourself toward success, undergo the emotional self-analysis necessary to build a sound business mind that's resilient to stress, change, and uncertainty.

What has been the hardest part of the hustle?

Over the years, I’ve experienced many setbacks. Before you realize they are the best lessons you can possibly have, you often pass through that dark, scary void filled with unknowns. I’ve been to that place so many times that I now own real estate there, so it’s much more familiar when I visit. But initially, it was hell on earth.

What are a few resources that you'd recommend?

Any Guided Meditations you can find online. I think they are essential for every entrepreneur. While it may seem counterintuitive, investing a short amount of time each day into this will make a big difference in terms of your productivity and mental health on the job. There are thousands of meditations on Youtube, find one you like and practise it once a day until it becomes routine. You'll increase your attention span, bounce back quicker from negativity, and keep calm in the middle of a crisis.

The STATS

Side or full-time hustle?

Full Time.

List the founders

Francis Walsh

How many hours a week do you work on this hustle?

To be honest, I don't count. 7 days a week. So, 50 hours give or take.

# of Employees?

2 full time. 2 part time.

When did you start?

I joined MercurySays in July 2020.

How much did it cost to launch?

Not provided.

What were your funding methods and ballpark amount raised?

For those that don’t know. Bootstrapping means launching a business without the help of venture capital firms or angel investment. This is exactly what we did at MercurySays.

Annual Revenue?

Not provided.

Projected Revenue?

Not provided.

Any call to action?

Visit MercurySays.com and use its incredible support with every sales conversation. I also want to thank David Tillack. There are so many amazing people on Hardly Hustle, it's so inspiring reading everyone's stories. I appreciate this opportunity and I look forward to watching this website grow exponentially.