After injuring his ACL over a year ago and looking to keep himself busy this past season, Bulls guard Derrick Rose hatched a plan for a new technology business to fill the downtime. Rose’s company – DR1 Audio Technologies – only lasted for about a month after none of the three dozen employees showed up for work even once.
“You gotta practice what you preach, you know?” Rose said. “I can’t fault my employees for not showing up to the office. It’s a policy I actively embrace with the Bulls.”
After a rigorous set of interviews for DR1 Audio Technologies, Rose initially hired 36 employees, including web developers, network administrators, sales representatives, product engineers and executive assistants. None of the employees showed up to work once, but Rose happily sent them weekly paychecks via Chase QuickPay.
“We have an innovative and aggressive company motto,” Rose said. “It is, ‘Meh, whatever, it’s cool.’ I painted the words myself in the DR1 office lobby, so it’s the first thing you see when you walk in. Of course no one showed up, so no one saw it. But you know what? Meh, whatever, it’s cool.”
DR1 Audio Technologies is now bankrupt, but Rose has his heart set on starting a new business with similar employee practices, such as: unlimited sick days, mental-health month, and Muscle Memory Mondays.
“Muscle Memory Mondays is pretty avant-garde,” Rose said. “I encourage my employees to try and get ready for work blindfolded, and if they walk into a wall or put on two different socks on accident, they can feel free to not come in to work until 2017.”
