Chou persuaded the board of directors at HTC to accept the branding idea by pointing out the nature of its ODM
business. where profits would be varnishing eventually. Most investors and financial analysts, however, were not
supportive becausc of appohensions about the financial outlay. Furthermore, they felt that branding decision
might endanger the ODM business, where current clients might retaliate. Given the technological advantage that
HTC enjoyed at the time, Chou firmly believed that the company should take the branding road. "We wanted to
control our own destiny and we had the advantage to build a brand,” said Chou, “HTC wis the leader in many communication technologies. We had the technological advantage to support the brand.”