even without the obvious evidence to the contrary, its genuinely unhinged that they think making something less accessible makes it more impactful. i've seen so many things become popular despite being cheap and having low barriers of entry enough that any popular product that relies on FOMO feels
more like they're the outlier here tbh. if the goal is to enter the public consciousness, then yeah, i'm not shocked that people sitting on a dragon's hoard of wealth can afford to keep bashing your products over our heads for decades so that they becoming natural.
but then its way better for helpful things to enter the public conscious by just... existing, and being reliable. this isn't just some apply product or an expensive shoe, this is education. whoever those business guys were that you spoke to, they sound hella ignorant