Save Her Lose Us (Evangeline and Soren) novel Chapter 267

"What?" Theo thought he must have misheard.

Glenn repeated himself. "Making technology accessible to everyone—isn't that the whole point of our research?"

"Well, yes, but…" Theo struggled to find the right words. "Glenn, you know how important first impressions are. Once UME becomes known as a low-end brand, that stigma will be almost impossible to shake."

He elaborated, "When people think of Fawkes Enterprises, they think of luxury, exclusivity. If we cater to the low-end market, when people think of UME, they'll think cheap. They'll subconsciously see us as inferior." Seeing Glenn's impassive expression, Theo pressed on. "It's like an actor's brand. If you become famous for playing the cool, aloof hero, that's what directors will always see you as. But if you get famous playing the clown, no matter how many awards you win later, people will always associate you with that label. That's the difference between Fawkes and us right now."

"But reputations can be changed," Evangeline countered. "They can be rebuilt."

"The difficulty is immense, though," Theo sighed. "Once that impression is set, it's incredibly hard to reverse."

Before he could even voice the question, Glenn spoke. "Evangeline is right. UME can't constantly rely on outside help. Otherwise, we'll always be at the mercy of others, just like what happened when we returned to the country."

Glenn's words brought back the memory of their difficult return. Their foreign investors had tried everything to stop them, ultimately forcing Glenn to sign a high-stakes performance agreement. And even then, they had been deliberately cutting their funding. Over a month had already passed. They had six months to outperform their overseas revenue, or Glenn would be forced to step down as CEO.