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CH103 | DI
🕑 Added 2025-05-06 13:45:07 +0000 UTC
Finally, the long-awaited day of my debut has arrived.
Today, I must defeat White Shark and establish myself as a genius rookie.
However, there is a serious obstacle in my way.
That is none other than White Shark’s overwhelming reputation.
White Shark is a top-tier figure, ranked just below Buffett and Soros.
Can I defeat such a person with mere words?
That’s something that only happens in novels.
Reality is not so easy.
When a big name with an established reputation faces an unknown newcomer, people don’t even bother to take the newcomer seriously.
Imagine this:
A rookie is competing against Son Heung-min, skillfully dribbling and showing off fancy footwork.
How would the audience react?
Would they cheer and say, “Wow, that rookie is amazing!”?
Not a chance.
They would jeer, “Enough already! Just let us see Son Heung-min!”
No matter how much effort the rookie puts in, it’s useless.
The audience only craves the star’s performance.
That’s why I prepared a special setup before the main event.
A setup that would force everyone to focus on my words.
That setup was turning Epicura into a national traitor.
A major corporation openly discriminating against Black people in this climate?
If such a disgraceful company remained silent without a single explanation, the viewers would boil with anger as they watched.
They would be thinking, “If you have a mouth, say something!”
The moment the entire nation’s attention was on me,
[Yes, it’s true.]
I first captured the audience’s attention with a shocking statement, then calmly continued my explanation.
[First of all, it is true that we commissioned an investigation. Harbor Lobster’s performance was significantly worse than its competitors, and we believed the reason lay in the racial composition of our customer base.]
At that moment, a sharp voice interrupted from the side.
[Why did you specifically investigate African Americans?]
It was White Shark.
He was trying to disrupt my rhythm.
I casually shrugged and replied.
[Of course, we investigated ‘Black people.’ Because Harbor Lobster’s main customers are ‘Black people.’]
White Shark flinched without realizing it.
I had deliberately used the direct term ‘Black people’ instead of the more softened ‘African American.’
In private conversations, it might not matter, but using such a term on air was somewhat inappropriate.
That’s why he was caught off guard.
Of course, this choice of words was intentional.
It was a tactic to unsettle him and slightly disrupt the flow.
However, White Shark quickly regained his balance and launched a counterattack.
[Even if African Americans make up the main customer base, Harbor Lobster is still a restaurant for people of all races, isn’t it? White people, Hispanics, and Asians all eat there. So why specifically investigate only African Americans when evaluating profitability?]
His voice was sharp, but the question itself was vague.
I looked him straight in the eye and asked back.
[So, you’re saying we investigated this to confirm that ‘Black people don’t bring in profits’… Is that how you see it?]
White Shark faltered once more.
What I had just said was a highly problematic statement.
And I had turned that problematic statement back onto him.
“Is that what you think?”
White Shark’s menacing aura weakened slightly.
[That’s not what I meant. I just want to know why only one race was investigated.]
Alright, let’s not be too aggressive and keep things civil.
[We commissioned this investigation because of recent concerns about economic discrimination against Black people. Authorities conducted an in-depth study on how Black individuals were affected during the financial crisis, and they found that racial discrimination was rampant. Despite having high credit scores, Black people were often steered towards high-interest loans or risky financial products. As a result, Black homeowners faced foreclosures at disproportionately high rates.]
First, I needed to explain why Epicura focused solely on Black customers.
All of this was because of the financial crisis.
[That’s why our sales plummeted. Our main customers were Black, and if they suddenly lost everything overnight, how could they afford to eat lobster? So, we simply wanted to know what they would turn to instead.]
[Then, that’s an even more serious problem.]
But White Shark launched another counterattack.
[So, you’re saying that you judged African Americans, who suffered the most from the financial crisis, solely based on profitability? That you coldly discriminated against and excluded customers who had lost their homes, just because of how much they spent at restaurants?]
Bringing up the subprime mortgage crisis was a form of shifting the blame.
The logic was, “We had no choice but to give up on Black customers, but the root cause lies in the mortgage crisis.”
However, White Shark was now throwing that blame right back at us.
No matter what happened with the mortgage crisis, wasn’t it ultimately Epicura that cut ties with them?
[Of course, a company exists to pursue profit. But even companies have lines they shouldn’t cross. Abandoning customers going through the hardest times—now that crosses the line. Don’t you understand that’s why consumers are so angry?]
It was a reasonable criticism.
Selling off Harbor Lobster was indeed a cold and indifferent decision toward the victims.
But not anymore.
Because now, I was about to completely change that narrative.
[That’s quite a strange claim. When did we ever abandon our customers?]
[You sold off the brand! Sure, the brand still exists under new ownership, but you completely washed your hands of it, didn’t you?]
[Haah…]
I shook my head and let out a deep sigh.
Then, in a tired tone, I continued.
[That’s only from a corporate perspective. We viewed the situation strictly from the customers’ point of view. Just because they lost their homes, does that mean they gave up on dining out? No. It’s just that lobster became too expensive for them. But on special occasions, they would still want to go out to eat. We were simply curious about where they would go instead. And according to our investigation, the restaurants that saw an increase in sales despite the recession were all fast-casual dining places.]
[······.]
White Shark fell silent again.
It seemed like he was starting to grasp what I was getting at.
Still, I might as well explain it fully.
[Fast-casual dining offers a more refined and enjoyable experience than fast food. Our customers had moved from Harbor Lobster to fast-casual restaurants instead. So…]
I paused for a moment to take a breath.
[We followed them.]
Yes, this was the picture I had rewritten.
After selling Harbor Lobster, we acquired a new brand.
And with that, we could now tell a completely different story.
A story like this:
[Epicura didn’t abandon its struggling Black customers. On the contrary, we made the bold decision to part ways with our long-standing flagship brand for their sake.]
That’s right.
We didn’t abandon our customers—we abandoned our flagship brand for them.
For our valued customers who had lost their homes, we transitioned to a more affordable brand.
White Shark looked flustered for a moment but quickly composed himself and went on the offensive again.
[Your explanation keeps changing. Just a while ago, you called this a strategic decision in response to shifting consumer trends. But now, you’re saying it was for the sake of your existing customers? That’s inconsistent.]
He was accusing me of flip-flopping based on the situation.
But I stood my ground confidently.
[Inconsistent? No, we have been saying the same thing from the start. ‘Our customers are shifting toward fast-casual dining, so we are pivoting our business in that direction.’ We just didn’t explicitly state that those customers were Black people who had lost their homes.]
[······.]
That’s right.
I never lied.
I just didn’t tell the whole truth.
I smiled leisurely and continued.
[If this wasn’t for our existing customers, there would be no reason to insist on staying in the seafood business, which has volatile pricing and high maintenance costs. And that’s not all. Among all the seafood chains, we deliberately chose Double Crab House for a reason. This particular chain is run by a Black family and specializes in Southern cuisine infused with Black culinary traditions and spices.]
I had specifically selected a brand with strong ties to the Black community.
Because I had planned this storytelling all along.
[There’s an old saying in the East—‘killing two birds with one stone.’ That’s exactly how we saw this opportunity.]
I smiled like a wise sage and looked straight into the camera.
[When analyzing Chipotle’s success factors, one key aspect stood out—the fact that it was Mexican cuisine. Incorporating the unique flavors of a minority group played a major role in its success. Consumers who had grown tired of conventional Western menus were now seeking new flavors and cultural experiences. So, we thought—why wouldn’t Black seafood cuisine also work?]
White Shark’s eyebrow twitched again.
Meanwhile, a confident smile spread across my lips.
[We wanted a Black culture-based brand to become the leader of fast-casual dining—the next Chipotle.]
That’s right.
We made a choice that both protected our customers and fueled our growth—a win-win.
Beyond that, we even had the grand ambition of turning this Black culture-infused brand into the Nth Flow of the restaurant industry.
It was a narrative that deserved applause from anyone who heard it.
White Shark quickly hid his flustered expression and pulled out his final counterattack.
[If you were so confident, why did you keep everything a secret? Wouldn’t it have been more effective to openly disclose your plan to attract former Harbor Lobster customers to the new brand? And if you had explained this clearly to your shareholders from the start, you wouldn’t have faced such misunderstandings. Instead, Epicura made a unilateral decision and pushed forward without any explanation.]
Epicura had certainly acted suspiciously.
If, as I claimed, we had such a brilliant strategy that encompassed market trends, customer demographics, and a new cultural shift, then why handle everything so secretively and in such a rush?
It was a valid point.
But I had already prepared a response.
Now was the time to put on a somber expression.
[We wanted to free ourselves from the racial frame.]
[······.]
A look of disbelief flickered in White Shark’s eyes.
Just a moment ago, I had emphasized Black ownership, Black-oriented branding, and Black flavors…
And now, suddenly, I wanted to break free from the racial frame?
I pressed on undeterred.
[Race is an incredibly sensitive topic. Discrimination is widespread, yet affirmative policies are often dismissed as unfair advantages. The moment you mention the word ‘Black,’ it gets framed as injustice, a social issue, or inequality. We wanted to succeed without those political narratives—purely based on taste. We wanted this Black culture and flavor to succeed on its own merits.]
Of course, I knew this was all bullshit.
Business is a war where you use every tool at your disposal to win.
To claim we wanted to succeed purely on taste, without leveraging race, was the kind of nonsense that should get a CEO fired on the spot.
An individual might pursue personal beliefs, but a corporate leader must make decisions solely based on profitability.
If a CEO lets ideology or politics dictate their choices, they don’t deserve to hold the position.
However—
[······.]
White Shark couldn’t articulate this argument.
Naturally.
In front of cameras broadcasting to the entire nation, could a privileged white executive really lash out at a Black CEO trying to promote Black culture?
[If we had emphasized the Black identity of the brand, someone might have turned it into an issue about Black economic hardship. We didn’t want that interpretation. We simply wanted this culture and flavor to be recognized for what they were—beyond race.]
Now, it was White Shark’s turn to respond.
Logically, he should call this out as a lack of basic business acumen.
But reality isn’t that simple.
When a Black executive makes this kind of decision, white investors can’t easily criticize it.
[…]
As expected, White Shark said nothing.
It wasn’t just about protecting his public image.
He was likely thinking about ESG.
ESG—Environmental, Social, and Governance—is a key corporate ethics metric.
Even back in 2014, many institutional investors prioritized ESG factors.
Simply put, if White Shark made even a slightly discriminatory remark right now, investors could claim it violated ethical guidelines and trigger a mass sell-off.
A single slip of the tongue could help him win this debate, but at the cost of Shark Capital losing a significant amount of investment funds.
So, he had no choice but to tread carefully.
With White Shark’s tongue effectively tied, I continued appealing to the audience.
[But when we remained silent, we were suddenly accused of racial discrimination. We consistently clarified that such claims were baseless. We simply wanted this controversy to die down. But really—what was so wrong about analyzing Black consumer behavior? It was merely an effort to understand the needs of our primary customers.]
This was, of course, more bullshit.
If we had truly felt wronged, we would have defended ourselves more aggressively.
But if I framed it as a dilemma unique to Black executives, it became harder to argue against.
I lifted my gaze and looked White Shark straight in the eye as I spoke confidently.
[Of course, I understand why you might find our decision difficult to grasp.]
I fixed my exhausted gaze on him.
Pouring every bit of fatigue into my expression, as if to say, *How could someone as privileged as you ever understand this struggle?*
[But is this really a mistake severe enough to warrant removing a CEO?]
A mistake is still a mistake.
If this were an activist hedge fund, they should call out such missteps and correct them.
But could a privileged white executive like White Shark really stand before the public and take that stance?
The answer was no.
