Today we’d like to introduce you to Greg Lancette.
Greg, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
4o4 Esports started as an idea to bring Atlanta gamers together in one venue for daily gaming tournaments. I didn’t have any collateral possessions to secure a loan, so everything has been done with a business credit card and personal savings from my navy career. I did all the renovations in the space to save money on paying out contractors, and have been learning about, and trying different marketing strategies as this is my first business venture. The Doraville location was picked because there weren’t any gaming facilities, to my knowledge, this side of the perimeter.
In addition to the price being affordable, a big factor in choosing this exact location was because of the already existing businesses within the plaza. We are next to some really good restaurants and entertainment. There is a billiards hall, a karaoke bar, a Korean BBQ, a few Japanese restaurants, bakeries, dessert. and tea shops and more which all create great energy together.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has been anything but smooth. Just like Atlanta, there have been potholes, ditches, cracks, and out of sync traffic lights all along the way. I started this project with a partner, but after the lack of success upon initially opening and disagreements with failing marketing strategies, he disappeared; so I have been running the show solo since the end of March. Before opening, my role was to take care of all construction and renovations and have the shop ready for operations on opening day. His role, as someone with a business and marketing background, was to have people in the door once we opened. He did a good job with creating the logo and coming up with layout concepts, but after about 3-4 weeks of having no customers enter the shop, no social media presence, not to mention no networking and connections made leading up to our launch date, and no outside promotional plans, we needed to change whatever was happening on the marketing side rather than doing the same thing and expecting different results. We also opened with a rotation of nine staff members, with two being on shift at all times for the first month (another brilliant business plan). So, for the first four weeks, we paid employees $8 an hour to basically sit around playing video games all day in an empty shop. Since his sudden and voluntary disappearance, I have taken over marketing in addition to operations, and we are starting to pick up piece by piece, but it is definitely a struggle. The best way to explain it is by imagining all the different departments that make up one business such as human resources, public relations, accounting and finance, operations, staff, custodial, and marketing, and giving all of those tasks to one person. It’s definitely been a 24-7 tornado, and it almost seems as if the universe is against you and wants to make you quit, but you just have to be stubborn and keep battling the storm.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about 4o4 Esports – what should we know?
4o4 Esports is a local gaming facility that is home to gamers looking to play casually or competitively. We offer cash prizes for tournament winners; host exclusive events such as pre-release tournaments partnered with GameStop at Perimeter Mall, and offer our facility for event rentals. We have had our space booked for birthdays and corporate events, consider us a multi-user gaming facility. The two most important purposes of 4o4 Esports are getting tournament organizers in the door to use our facility for their events, and just having gamers come in and hang out for open play. We are open every day here, and we want this to become known for being an affordable, chill spot where Atlanta gamers can train, relax, compete, meet new friends, and build the gaming community. We carry Playstation 4, XBOX1, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 2, SNES Classic, and Sega Genesis Classic. Gamers can use our equipment and games or bring in their own! We also carry enterprise speed internet for online gamers and streamers. Our gaming library currently includes Mortal Kombat 11, Tekken 7, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Street Fighter V, Madden 19, Fifa 19, NBA2K 19, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, Fortnite, Apex Legends, Brawlhalla, Smite, and Paladins. We do watch parties as well! We are going to start developing youth leagues, esports trainers, adult social and competitive leagues, camps, and more!
What I am most proud of as a company is a way 4o4 has been able to get in touch with the Atlanta FGC (Fighting Game Community). They have really started to show interest and support for 4o4, and in return, I am going to give them everything I’ve got. We are putting some really great things together that are in developmental stages and under wraps right now, and if these plans work out, 4o4 is going to change the way the nation talks about Atlanta as a gaming hub, especially the FGC.
The interesting thing about all the gaming centers in Atlanta is that we all do different things. Our setups are all unique, so the thing 4o4 is known for is our head to head setups. It gives gamers more comfort, as well as a pro-style feel, and the feedback has been very good.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The cool thing about the Atlanta Gaming Ecosystem is that everyone knows everyone. So, I would like to give a big thanks to everyone I have ever met and held a simple conversation with along the way, as the list goes on forever. However, if I could single out a few individuals, these are the people who have tremendously helped 4o4, and myself, grow along the way and are still rallying around us:
Mario Reid, owner of Kombo Breakerz Podcast,
Dosa Kim, owner of Goma.Pro Production Studios,
Darius Patterson, owner of Gwinnett Brawl
Kat De Sheilds-Moon, head of partnerships at Skillshot Studios,
Peter Sherrard, Discover Dekalb sports and sales manager,
Andrew Greenberg, the president of the Georgia Gaming Developers Association,
Nicholas Marrano, Planning Group, Inc. financial advisor,
Marty P. Hill, owner of Sweet Science Fitness Boxing Club,
Travis and Jackson Crettenden, Owners of Junkfood Custom Arcades
Herb May, interim 4o4 business development adviser,
Ryan Johnson, owner of Nexus Entertainment and Sports,
Most Importantly: The Atlanta FGC!
Pricing:
- $5 dollars/hour for open play
- $10 dollars for a weekday pass
- tournament prices and prizes vary based on event
Contact Info:
- Address: 6035 Peachtree Rd STE C-220
Doraville, GA 30360 - Website: 4o4 Esports
- Phone: 6783957105
- Email: support@4o4esports.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/4o4esports
- Facebook: facebook.com/4o4esports
- Twitter: twitter.com/4o4esports
- Yelp: 4o4 esports
- Other: 4o4esports.com
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