Does success in business venture define Shaquille O’Neal? Or is it Diesel’s presence in the ventures that make them a success? Whatever the case, with a staggering net worth of $400 million and owning fifty brands in different industries, Shaq’s acumen is well-established. However, even the best of the minds slips. Shaq also had to face that low in his business ventures. And how? Not only did he incur a financial loss, but the debacle led an entire fleet of employees to lose their jobs!

It was more than two decades back that Shaquille O’Neal had invested in his startup Dunk.net in early 2000. It was touted to serve as a one-stop shop for everything basketball-related. But history stands otherwise. Although the exact reasons for this chaos were not made public, financial issues likely led to the firing of all employees. Shaq tried to save it by recruiting a marketer in place of his CEO. But that did no good to him and the website eventually perished.

“I want to be a game-changer,” Shaquille O’Neal had declared once. And if anything that can be tagged as the crown jewel of this game-changing stint as a businessman post-retirement, that is his restaurant chain, Big Chicken, which launched in 2018 in Los Angeles. Since then, it has seen tremendous growth, setting its footprints in more than 300 locations in dozens of cities, stadiums, and even cruise ships. But, while the Shaq factor is definitely a reason for its success, that is not all.

The 4x NBA champ and the Big Chicken CEO Josh Halpern have some strict rules when it comes to hiring for the brand. Let us not forget that the Lakers legend is known to have even fired the entire staff once. After all these years, O’Neal ensures a proper work system thanks to Josh Halpern’s hiring system. 

Speaking with Gregg Majewski on Room For Seconds podcasts, the CEO of Big Chicken, Halpern shares the principles by which they like to hire for the company. While joking about how O’Neal is the major reason why the company gets so much attention, Halpern discussed that it is the values that make the final call. 

He says that candidates are hired based on whether their values align with those of the company. “We get a lot of interest in the company because of Shaquille but we also get a lot of interest in the company because of our values, right? We try to have big fun every day. We try to have tough conversations every day, you know, not in a way where it’s like this but it’s we, we believe in just being candid and honest and transparent and working together to solve problems,” Halpern said.

Halpern follows the concept of having fun while working alongside like-minded people who could contribute to the growth of the company. He further added, “We’re really fortunate that we brought on some rock stars in the team in the last recent months and we have a few more hires to make this year and you just keep building the team to the best of your ability but you got to build with folks that share the same values as the company.” 

He further suggested that it is these values that determine whether an employee becomes a benefit or a threat to the company. Halpern says that the same values apply to all employees and franchises. Hearing all these, Halpern was questioned, “So how quick do you cut somebody if they’re not the right fit?” Halpern’s reply might make the job seekers think that there is still a chance for them to survive in his company.

“it depends on why they’re not the right fit right. If there’s a technical reason why they’re not the right fit. We’re going to work with that person, try to see if they could get there. if we feel like someone’s not living to our values, and by the way, it’s not just our internal team, that could be franchisees too. Franchises that are hurting the system because they’re not doing the right thing or suppliers not doing the right thing,” Halpern said in the podcast.

In clear words, he spelled out, “If you’re not exhibiting the values of Big Chicken, you cannot be a part of the Big Chicken ecosystem. You may be great but somewhere else ” Are you thinking of where to turn to if you want to work in Shaq’s company despite the stick values?

“We post all of our roles on LinkedIn, that’s the way we’ve been doing it right now because we want to be interfacing with the community every single day as we grow” Halpern informed. The strategies that Halpern has put in place, look to have benefitted the company big time. Big Chicken has become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains so far. Interestingly, Halpern’s joining the company was somewhat like a chance factor. It dates way back to 2016.

At that point, Halpern was working for Anheuser-Busch to launch the popular Beer Park by Budweiser in Las Vegas. There he met Perry Rogers, a partner in the project, was also a longtime agent of Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq was a behind-the-scenes investor in the project. The association that Perry and Halpern formed during that project laid the foundation for Halpern’s joining Big Chicken five years later.

Shaq himself reached out to Halpern in 2021. Since then, he has been looking after the brand. He sets the strategies with the vision to make the customers return to it by making an impression rather than a one-and-done affair. With that, their plans are big. They are set to open international outlets, probably starting with the UK. This certainly looks to be a great turnaround after the chaos that happened with his e-commerce company more than two decades back.

Shaquille O’Neal’s business acumen did not pay him well once 

Remember the dot-com bubble crash? Some of the tech giants we see today managed to weather the storm, but many companies went under. One of those was the shoe and apparel e-commerce company Dunk.net, founded by the Los Angeles Lakers legend O’Neal. 

Yes, as surprising as it is, even a business-savvy genius like O’Neal had to face some failures. Shaq had joined hands with WNBA legend DeLisha Milton and pro baseball player Mike Piazza to co-found the company. But their combined charm failed to make it a hit. Many saw the dot com bubble as a “get rich quick scheme.” Most Companies failed to set a strategy to sail through that. This is not to say that Shaq did not have a plan. But just that, he launched it amid the internet industry’s collapse, which made it fall flat.

During the same time, his venture with internet service provider Freeinternet.com also went south. Not only that, the in October 2000, dunk.net faced a lawsuit as well. It was sued by its Web designer, DNA Studio, for $332,000, according to Shprintz & Graser of DAILY VARIETY. DNA claimed that it created the Web site for Dunk.net, but “has not been paid” for that. 

That debacle visibly did not dampen Shaq’s enthusiasm for business ventures. And probably a reason for his success is his unique approach while hiring for his company. In a podcast in March, Shaq had emphasized that he focuses more on personality than on academic qualifications.

As we know, Big Chicken has been expanding its presence in numerous locations such as Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and more. Halpern also alluded that along with the expansion, the company has hired some great candidates in the last few months. That would certainly make O’Neal happy. 

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.