Companies frequently rebrand to align with lucrative trends, like adding “.com” during the dot-com boom or associating with AI today, often chasing higher valuations. While narrative is crucial for attracting investors, employees, and media, especially for frontier technologies that lack immediate tangible products, it cannot compensate for weak fundamentals. A compelling story sets expectations and can position a company ahead of the market, but this "gap" between vision and execution has a limited shelf life. The longer a gap persists without foundational proof, the greater the risk of public distrust, media scrutiny, and regulatory action. Early-stage companies have more leeway, but established brands face intense scrutiny from reporters, analysts, and competitors, who meticulously verify claims against real-world achievements. In the current climate, public fatigue with AI hype and increasing regulatory oversight, exemplified by "AI washing" cases, significantly reduce this tolerance. Repositioning requires concrete proof, including credible leadership, customer testimonials, transparent product functionality, and a defensible business model even without buzzwords. Without such evidence, a new brand identity is merely a costume. Conversely, a strong product with a lagging narrative requires efforts to elevate its story. Ultimately, like in sports, focusing on rigorous preparation, details, and quality—the "work"—ensures that the desired outcomes, such as category leadership and higher valuation, naturally follow, rather than relying solely on storytelling.