Possibly both. At least one streamer got the offer to unlock A.I.M. Gold by the end of day 1. He had almost $40k — so maybe it was the trigger.
At the same time the offer was described as "one-time". I assume if you decline it — you will have to wait for one of your mercs to recommend you. Just an assumption though, not really sure how it works.
By the way money seems to be easy to get in the very beginning and not so easy a little further on. The guy declined the offer to save money and still went bankrupt soon after reaching the mainland.