Dave Wesley Masters, taken at Monstercon 2015
DAVE, (legal name: Dangerous Alien Vanquishing Enterprise) is the main rival to LARS in the area of monster mediation and disposal. Founded 12 years ago by Venture Capitalist and Start-Up prodigy Dave Wesley Masters, DAVE has grown from occupying a niche portion of the market to the largest firm dealing with Monster and Alien removal. Due to corporate policy we are not allowed to divulge the salary and bonus structure by which DAVE operates, but we may say that in comparison to the well organized and efficient corporate structure by which LARS organizes itself, DAVE takes a much laxer approach to project management and is seen as "hip" or "cool" in comparison.
History[]
Early Beginnings[]
Before the formation of DAVE in 2006, David Wesley Masters was a Masters student in the College of Management at the University of West Drumlins, specializing in Disruptive Marketing and Tech Based Innovations, While researching for his thesis "What Do Dildoes Do? The Next Approach to Cylindrical Based Weaponry", Dave became acquainted with Jerry Manziarik, a Ph.D candidate in the College of Xenobiology. At the time Manziarik was writing a proposal on the increasing occurrence of Alien corpses on the shorelines of Paladio and the data which could be obtained by studying those bodies. Since Dave was also researching cylindrical based weaponry, the two came up with the idea to combine their research and apply it to the emerging industry of Monster Mediation. The two dropped out of school together, moved into a studio apartment overlooking Paladio Bay, and began working on a business model which combined Manziarik's knowledge of alien and aberrational biology and Dave's market acumen. In July 2005, the two incorporated under the company name Alien Sedation Services (A.S.S.).
The Year of A.S.S.[]
Jerry Manziarik, 2016
Soon after A.S.S formed the company began a slow creep towards success. By September of 2005, two and a half months after forming, A.S.S. had already obtained four long term vampire culling contracts and had hired seven new field agents. Masters began to distance himself from the day to day running of the business and focused solely on marketing and advertising; leaving regular management work with Manziarik. While Jerry worked on developing high grade weapons based on his study of alien biology, Dave focused on business outreach. By April 2006, Masters had made arrangements with over 140 different investors, who injected roughly $20-40 million into the company. The two co-founders' relationship was strained over this agreement, as Manziarik felt the investment was far in excess of the revenues needed to sustain the running of the business. In addition, Manziarik felt sidelined by Masters' increasing pre-eminence in their partnership and resented Masters taking sole credit for the new weaponry developed through Manziarik's research. In June 2006, Manziarik was propositioned by Masters' for a buyout, which he refused. Masters' then dissolved himself of the partnership, selling out his shares to Venture Capitalist group PINA for an undisclosed amount, and took half of A.S.S's staff to form a new corporate entity named DAVE While Manziarik owned all the patents for the weapons under A.S.S., Masters' was able to steal blueprints before he left and, utilizing a team of engineering students from PALTech, recreated the advanced weaponry with just enough modifications to avoid an outright patent war. In July 2006, Masters opened a civil suit against A.S.S. for copying and using proprietary hardware without consent, to which Manziarik issued a counter-suit. While Masters' case had almost no substance, his hasty exit from A.S.S had crippled the company's ability to defend itself in court. Using the influx of cash from the sale of his partnership and new capital injected by hungry investors in the Paladio region, Masters was able to force Manziarik to settle out of court. Masters agreed to give Manziarik half of the initial capital from the startup cost of A.S.S. ($500,000) and in return Manziarik was to transfer all pertinent patents to D.A.V.E's portfolio. A.S.S. folded as an entity in July 2006, a year after it had been founded, and DAVE subsumed all available assets.
DAVE Today[]
Since its founding in 2006, DAVE has grown to over 2000 employees with 45 offices worldwide. With regular talks at Paladio, Bagumbo, and the Beazne Music Festival, DAVE has branched out from it's base in Monster Mediation to a burgeoning corporate giant with subsidiaries in marketing, technology, music, and manufacturing. In 2017 the company's known revenue, from all its subsidiaries, totaled $11.5 billion. Its unknown revenue, obtained from government contracts in partnership with defense contractors, is estimated to be roughly twice that.
Company Structure[]
DAVE functions as a conglomeration of various companies which are overseen by a capital firm also known as DAVE To ensure no competition interferes with it's supremacy over which ever market it is intending to dominate, DAVE regularly scouts out and acquires promising start-ups; buying out their founders and either placing them as Company Executives under the DAVE logo or replacing them if they refuse. Once placed under control, DAVE begins transforming each new company in order to make it more profitable for the central controlling firm, often drastically changing business practices in the process. Once the firm is no longer generating a surplus, the subsidiary is dismantled, the workers either re-purposed or laid off, assets liquidated, and the cycle begins anew.
An authentic DAVE uniform, worn by a model at Best of Paladio 2010.
Workers within the conglomerate are well accommodated both fiscally and emotionally. The Paladio campus alone boasts a water park, a ball pit, four slides, and a rest and relaxation wing specifically so workers don't need to go home to sleep. In terms of wages, the Investigative Team noticed that while DAVE employees receive better up front compensation there is little in the way of benefits. Due to the ruling on Prop C5, all DAVE workers are employed as contractors, and thus can not unionize, recieve subsidized health insurance packages, discuss earnings, and are signed on an "open" basis. Pension plans are minimal and often dismantled upon the destruction of each subsidiary. Despite attempts to organize workers in some of their foreign offices, the only actual employees of DAVE consist of the executive suite, between 20-30 middle managers, and one cappuccino technician within the Paladian campus.
Public relations are DAVE's chief means of reaching new customers. The Paladio campus is a hub for tech firms worldwide and the host to numerous tech and monster related conventions, including Monster of the Weak (held every January), Good Gaming Gathering (also known as G3), and the West Coast Trade Show (held every August). During these events, Masters will personally present a new DAVE product, generally to the applause and praise of every conference attendant. DAVE employees are easily recognizable by their distinctive rainbow striped uniforms, which have acquired Global Brand Awareness; spawning numerous knock-offs and fashion derivatives since premiering in 2010.
Major Known Contracts[]
- Stole the EYCE festival contract out from under us.
Complications[]
- Intel has revealed DAVE has deep ties with numerous rebel groups in Southern Vargelia, particularly within the wartorn nation of Colchesia. Preliminary reports indicate regular shipments of weapons being supplied to numerous groups in the steppes, most worryingly the Sagiri Nomads of the Plateau.