Only 27 days left until the shareholders' eting.
Once again, we gathered in one place for a strategic eting. As usual, the campaign strategist was the first to stand and summarize the current situation.
"First, let update you on the status of institutional investors. Shark Capital currently holds 40% support, while we have secured 31%."
We were still at a disadvantage.
Well, it wasn’t surprising.
Most major shareholders had taken Shark’s side.
The reason was simple.
Shark had boldly pledged the separation of Toscana Garden’s real estate as one of their commitnts.
The fact that we had managed to secure even 31% support was thanks to Epicura's rebuttal report and the unlimited bread-and-sandwich service.
"The biggest variable now is individual investors."
Individual investors accounted for a whopping 17% of Epicura's shareholders.
The gap between Shark and Epicura was just 9%.
Victory or defeat could hinge on the choice of these retail investors.
"It’s hard to predict which side individual investors will take. Online reactions show a deadlock, but…"
It was dangerous to rely solely on online sentint.
Those who raised their voices on various online communities might find voting cumberso and abstain.
Conversely, voters who barely expressed opinions online might actually exercise their voting rights.
As a result, no one could be sure about the individual investors’ moves.
The only fact we could ascertain was this:
"Neither side has an overwhelming advantage. Although it’s hard to gauge the exact support gap, it’s clear that public opinion is divided. It’s ti for us to deliver a decisive blow that will definitely tip the scales in our favor."
We needed a ga-changing move to settle the score.
One that even Shark’s supporters would recognize as Epicura’s advantage.
But…
"……"
The eting room fell into silence.
This was already the third day of such discussions.
Ideas had run dry after countless debates.
"Winning over individual investors is not easy. We need an idea that is both groundbreaking and innovative…"
At that mont, all eyes turned to simultaneously.
Groundbreaking and innovative.
As if I were the only one qualified to present such a solution.
"Do you have any ideas? They don’t have to be fully fleshed out."
Whitr looked at with eager anticipation.
Of course, I had one.
But bringing it up lightly was another matter.
"I do have a proposal, but it’s a rather unconventional strategy. The risks are significant. However, if it succeeds… we could secure an overwhelming victory. It’s a classic high-risk, high-return strategy."
"That’s fine. We’re just here to hear you out."
I had given my warning in advance, but Whitr barely seed to register it.
I turned to et Pierce’s gaze.
"Shall I proceed?"
Pierce's recent behavior had been peculiar.
The man who had been notably friendly toward for a while now displayed blatant wariness.
He even strongly opposed Whitr assigning presentations.
‘Well, I get it. It must feel burdenso.’
I understood Pierce’s concerns.
Pushing a rookie into the spotlight on a national issue was understandably stressful.
Especially since I wasn’t the most obedient or mild-mannered individual.
I had already anticipated he’d apply so brakes.
But what was strange was that his resistance was fiercer than expected.
‘Almost as if he knows what I’m planning…?’
Honestly, no matter what Pierce said, I could push through with my idea.
Thanks to my track record, Whitr had unshakable trust in .
But…
‘There’s no need to create unnecessary animosity.’
Pierce was a candidate for Goldman’s next executive and an expert in hostile M&A and gray areas.
It was more advantageous to have him as an ally than an adversary.
That’s why I had willingly ceded the unlimited bread rebuttal report to him.
And why I was now politely asking for his permission.
Pierce continued to stare at silently.
He seed deeply troubled.
But eventually, he spoke.
"Go ahead."
I concealed a smile as I glanced around.
From the campaign strategist to Whitr, Pierce, Jeff, Chris, and even Dobby—everyone’s attention was focused on .
Confirming their interest, I finally spoke.
"Use the ti bomb."
For a mont, the air froze.
They hadn’t expected to say sothing like this.
Well, of course.
The "ti bomb" referred to the secret that CEO Whitr had desperately tried to hide—the real reason behind the forced sale of Harbor Lobster.
That is, the fact that they decided to cut ties with an unprofitable brand because its main custor base, African Aricans, was deed not lucrative.
"What are you saying…"
Whitr couldn’t even finish his sentence.
I smiled and calmly continued.
"A ti bomb isn’t sothing you bury or pass on. If you do, it might explode later, still causing damage."
While unlikely, such an outco would be troubleso for as well.
What if soone later dug up this incident to corner , framing as a racist?
It might seem far-fetched, but…
Looking no further than Shark Capital, it wasn’t impossible.
A renowned hedge fund manager losing to a rookie in front of the entire nation?
They’d have every reason to keep digging into Harbor Lobster’s story.
Retaliation like this wasn’t uncommon in the hedge fund world.
In this industry, if you’re attacked, you repay the favor.
Otherwise, you’d be seen as weak.
At any rate, there was no reason to leave such a risk hanging.
Given that we needed a significant move right now, it was like killing two birds with one stone.
"The safest way to handle a bomb is to detonate it and eliminate it entirely. Leave no room for future trouble."
I looked Whitr straight in the eye and said firmly.
"And if we’re going to detonate it, it’s better to do it ourselves at a ti favorable to us. That ti is now. Detonate the ti bomb. And…"
I paused for a mont before continuing.
"Leverage the explosion."
***
D-25 to the Shareholders' eting
I was once again buried in endless tasks.
This ti, it was to carry out the bomb-disposal operation.
The persuasion process had been draining, but ultimately, my proposal was approved.
Well, it was inevitable.
This was practically a guaranteed winning strategy.
But there wasn’t much ti.
Early in the morning, we started the day with a video eting with the marketing team.
It was rare for investnt banks like ours to get involved in a company’s marketing, but this ti was an exception.
This marketing effort was directly tied to securing Epicura’s managent rights.
"Our focus should be on noise marketing."
My goal was noise marketing—deliberately stirring controversy to draw attention.
"We’ll approach it similarly to the Toscana Garden incident."
"Ah!"
I noticed heads nodding around the room.
They imdiately grasped the concept.
The recent unlimited bread controversy at Toscana Garden had not only rocked Wall Street but also gripped the entire United States.
Taking advantage of the uproar, we had launched the new unlimited bread sandwich nu, turning everyone caught up in the controversy into custors.
"From the Toscana Garden case, we saw how the public directly expressed outrage, creating countless s that spread across social dia. This was a perfect opportunity for free viral marketing."
Why not make use of such an opportunity again?
"We can harness that montum to amplify our brand na."
"While that sounds great, what kind of controversy are you suggesting we leverage?"
"The truth about Harbor Lobster’s sale. That Epicura decided that the African Arican custor base wasn’t profitable and let go of Harbor Lobster."
The eting room instantly froze over.
It was the sa reaction as yesterday.
“This level of controversy should set things ablaze, don’t you think?”
“……”
“……”
“The biggest challenge for new brands is a lack of awareness, isn’t it? Stirring up this controversy will certainly make an impression.”
Most brands don’t fail because of incompetence or poor products.
The biggest problem is that people don’t even know the brand exists.
As I emphasized this, the frozen expressions around began to thaw, and people hesitantly started to speak.
“But still, a controversy like this…?”
“They say there’s no such thing as bad publicity, but this might be…”
Everyone was looking at as if I were crazy.
It was the sa reaction as in yesterday’s eting.
That’s how people are.
They instinctively avoid anything that seems risky.
But—
You can’t make money by walking the safe path.
Everyone else is already walking it.
The important thing isn’t to avoid risks but to control them within manageable levels.
That’s what high-risk, high-return is about.
I already had asures in place to manage the risks; now, all that remained was to reap the returns.
“I’m not suggesting we shout it from the rooftops. This operation has a clear sequence of steps…”
With that, the first video eting concluded, and I imdiately dove into the second.
This ti, Whitr and Pierce, who were on business trips, joined the call.
We planned to reveal the truth that Epicura sold Harbor Lobster because it deed African Arican custors unprofitable.
But the key question was—how do we reveal it?
“The approach boils down to two options: we say it ourselves, or we let soone else say it for us. But saying it ourselves isn’t very wise.”
If we were to confess directly, we’d first need to admit fault and apologize.
But if the apologizing party suddenly turned around to add, “But actually…,” and started justifying themselves?
Our sincerity would be doubted.
“That’s why this needs to be a ‘leak’ from soone else. That way, whatever explanations we offer will seem more natural. And there’s only one perfect candidate for leaking this truth right now.”
Shark Capital.
We needed to make Shark reveal this truth.
“Do we have the evidence prepared?”
“Yes. I had commissioned a research firm under an alias a while back…”
According to Whitr, he had previously requested a research firm to investigate the spending habits of African Arican households.
This would be our bait.
I planned to attach this data to an email and dangle it in front of Shark.
“But… do you really think Shark will take the bait?”
Whitr expressed his doubts.
Anonymously dropping evidence like this—wouldn’t Shark be suspicious?
But there was no need to worry.
Normally, Pierce would have stepped in by now to explain things to Whitr…
“What’s with him now?”
Instead, Pierce just sat there silently, staring at through the screen.
Since I revealed my bomb-defusal plan, Pierce’s behavior had been odd.
While he seed to acknowledge that this strategy would work, he kept looking at with strange eyes.
Still, he wasn’t trying to stop , so I couldn’t fathom what was on his mind.
Not that I had the bandwidth to concern myself with Pierce’s psychology right now.
“If the opponent realizes it’s a trap from the start, wouldn’t that diminish its effectiveness?”
“It’s fine. Even if they suspect it’s a trap, they’ll jump in. It’s Shark Capital, after all.”
Avoiding traps altogether is the behavior of amateurs.
A figure like Shark would instead try to exploit the trap for their own gain.
“The key is what kind of trap it is.”
For instance, if they think it’s a Trojan horse and decide to burn it to kill any soldiers hiding inside, only to find out it contained a bomb instead—then they’d still fall victim, even knowing it’s a trap.
“It’s fine. It’ll work.”
Have I ntioned this before?
A shark is just a big fish.
And catching sharks isn’t much different from fishing for other fish.
You cast the bait and wait.
The email was successfully sent.
Now, there was only one thing left to do.
Wait for the opponent to take the bait.
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