Four Level Productions, LLC began on August 16, 2018.
Starting in early 2018, Jack Henslee, owner, has worked with the Pikes Peak Small Business Development Center by attending several workshops and taking advantage of one-on-one consulting. “The Leading-Edge class was probably the number one reason for me moving forward and starting a business. I was able to develop a clear direction of what I needed to do by working with the instructor Mark Bittle, exploring, and working on my business plan.”
Jack’s previous experience included being involved with Industrial Modelmaking, business ownership and working in engineering environments for over 30 years. Jack, although faced with some challenges, embodied strong entrepreneurial spirit, helping him stay committed and dedicated to the development of Four Levels.
When Jack first started his adventure, a different game was ready to be taken to market. Unfortunately, proceedings and negotiations for copyright approvals from the creator fell apart after eight months. Jack, with his determination, started again from scratch to bring another game to market. A new game Four Levels was developed within a month.
The Pikes Peak SBDC helped Jack make connections and provided resources to assist in the manufacturing of Four Levels nationally and internationally. SBDC Consultant, Loren Lancaster, introduced Jack to An Phu’ Vie?t near Hanoi, Vietnam. With this introduction, Jack was able to establish a good working relationship with An Phu’ Vie?t. The Vietnam based company has since provided competitive quotes for injection models for his project. The company’s capabilities also matched the need to produce Four Levels as the facility has large number of molding machines to be able to handle large quantity orders, have a very impressive product inspection to help assure a correctly assembled quality product, and have also embraced the project fulfilling packaging and assembly needs. Finally, Jack’s representative has been very helpful in working through the logistics of bringing the product to the United States.
While the mass production of Four Levels will occur over seas, Jack wants to be sure he creates economic impact in his local community. Jack strives to continue the development of his product by supporting local businesses. Services for 3D printing, laser cutting, website development and graphics were all supported by local Colorado Springs companies.
Jack hopes Four Levels will not only include national sales but international sales as well, with new versions released periodically. He hopes to help promote fun and the educational aspects of playing games in schools and organizations.\
The next few months are critical for Four Levels. A Kickstarter campaign will begin in May 1st, 2019 with the goal of selling over 2,000 games to raise capital for manufacturing injection models and the first run of games.
Since working with the SBDC, not only has Jack been able to get his product into development, but has also finalized his website, www.playfourlevels.com, promoted his game through social media platforms, and has had his first appearance of Four Levels at a local board game event.
Stay up to date on the latest of Four Levels at www.playfourlevels.com.
