Four Ambition

What Four Ambition does

Four Ambition is a privately held, bootstrapped custom apparel decoration company founded in 2007 by Shannon Thomas and based in a 3,000 square foot production facility at 29 North June St., Dayton, Ohio. The company began operations in the founder's basement on homemade equipment before relocating to its current facility. Its core technical capability is screen printing using plastisol-based inks on standard 12"x15" screens with an oversize option up to 16"x18", supplemented by CMYK four-color process printing and specialty inks (split fountains, soft hand, glow-in-the-dark, puff, metallic foil). Complementary capabilities include embroidery on hats, polos, and bags, laser-engraved patches with heat-sensitive backings, in-house apparel design billed hourly, and a retail finishing line covering private labels, hang tags, folding, and bagging.

The business operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market with no enterprise sales motion. Customers request quotes through the company website for custom jobs, and pre-made packages are sold through a BigCartel merch storefront. Distribution combines worldwide UPS shipping, local courier delivery in the Dayton region, and on-site pickup. Pricing is unit-based with a 12-piece minimum, a $0.50 per-location upcharge for oversize prints, a $20 Pantone mixing fee, and rush surcharges; embroidery is priced by quantity and stitch count, and design work is hourly.

Four Ambition targets a fragmented, long-tail customer base including entrepreneurs launching apparel lines, bands and musicians producing merchandise, freelance graphic designers outsourcing production, and non-profit organizations needing affordable promotional apparel. The company employs roughly four to ten people across ownership and production roles, including co-owners Jessica and Mitch Baker and Production Manager Cameron Fink, and is actively hiring a Production Assistant. It has no external funding, no parent company, and operates under the legal name Four Ambition, doing business as Four Ambition Screen Printing.

Name

Four Ambition

Legal name

Four Ambition

Website

https://fourambition.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Four Ambition is a bootstrapped Dayton, Ohio screen printing and embroidery service founded in 2007, serving entrepreneurs, bands, freelance designers, and non-profits with custom apparel decoration, design, and retail finishing on a direct-to-consumer quote-based model.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel Printing Services

NAICS

Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel Manufacturing (315990)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Printing & Decoration Services (Screen Print, Embroidery, Laser) (BPAFAMAL)

Keywords

• Custom screen printing
• Apparel embroidery services
• Custom apparel decoration
• Retail finishing services
• Promotional merchandise printing

Headquarters

HQ city

Dayton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Screen Printing Services: Primary revenue stream from screen printing on garments. Pricing varies by quantity, colors, and print type. Standard printing, oversize printing, and specialty inks available.
2. Embroidery Services: Embroidery services for hats, polos, bags, and other garments. Pricing determined by quantity and stitch count.
3. Design Services: Apparel design services charged at hourly rate. Designers work with clients to create custom designs to specifications.
4. Retail Finishing Services: Finishing services including private labels, hang tags, folding, and bagging for retail-ready apparel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Four Ambition is a custom apparel decoration company that provides screen printing (standard, oversize, four-color CMYK process, and specialty inks), embroidery, and complementary design and retail finishing services. The business operates a 3,000 sq ft production facility in Dayton, Ohio, serving entrepreneurs, bands, small businesses, freelance designers, and non-profits with branded apparel and promotional merchandise.

Product overview

Four Ambition is a screen printing and embroidery service company offering a unified set of apparel decoration services. The core offering consists of screen printing in four variants (Standard, Oversize, Four Color Process, and Specialty Inks) plus embroidery services. The company provides complementary design services for custom artwork creation and retail finishing add-ons including private labeling, hang tagging, folding, and bagging. Video tutorials on YouTube serve as educational content. This is a service-based business rather than a software product platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Standard Screen Printing

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Printful: Printful is a large print-on-demand and fulfillment company offering DTG printing, embroidery, and other apparel decoration services integrated with e-commerce platforms. While it operates at a different scale and serves a different production model (on-demand vs. short-run custom), it competes with Four Ambition for SMB and creator apparel customers seeking low-minimum custom apparel solutions.
• Printify: Printify is a print-on-demand marketplace connecting e-commerce sellers with apparel printing and fulfillment partners across multiple printing technologies. While operating on a different business model (marketplace vs. direct service), it competes with Four Ambition for small business and creator customers seeking low-minimum custom apparel production.
• Spreadshirt: Spreadshirt is a global print-on-demand and custom apparel platform serving individuals, creators, and businesses with no-minimum decorated apparel and a public marketplace. It competes with Four Ambition for creator and SMB custom apparel demand through a different fulfillment model (marketplace-driven vs. short-run custom orders).
• Vistaprint (Cimpress): Vistaprint, part of Cimpress, is a large-scale commercial printing platform offering custom apparel, signage, promotional products, and marketing materials to small businesses globally. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Four Ambition for small business promotional apparel spend, though it does not specialize in the band/creator niche.

Direct peers

• RushOrderTees: RushOrderTees is a Philadelphia-based custom apparel company specializing in screen printing, embroidery, and digital apparel decoration with a focus on fast turnaround and small-to-medium quantity orders. It is a direct competitor to Four Ambition in the custom screen printing and embroidery market targeting SMBs, organizations, and individuals.
• Broken Arrow Wear: Broken Arrow Wear is a custom apparel printing company that specializes in screen printing and embroidery for bands, musicians, and entertainment industry clients. It is a direct competitor to Four Ambition in the band merchandise and entertainment apparel niche with overlapping capabilities and customer segments.
• Underground Printing: Underground Printing (formerly Underground Shirts) is a Michigan-based custom apparel printer offering screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products to bands, businesses, schools, and organizations. It is a direct competitor to Four Ambition with similar service offerings and a comparable focus on band merchandise and SMB customers.
• Custom Ink: CustomInk is a leading online custom apparel company offering screen printing, embroidery, and design services to groups, businesses, and individuals across the United States. It directly competes with Four Ambition in custom-decorated apparel with a similar product offering and SMB/band customer base, but at much larger scale and with national marketing reach.
• Real Thread: Real Thread is a California-based custom apparel decoration company offering screen printing, embroidery, and cut-and-sew services for brands and organizations. It directly competes with Four Ambition in the custom apparel printing market with comparable service offerings for brands launching apparel lines.

Emerging players

• Sticker Mule: Sticker Mule is a custom printing company that has expanded from stickers and labels into apparel, patches, and other custom products including screen printing and embroidery. It is an emerging player that increasingly competes with Four Ambition for SMB and creator customers seeking fast, easy online ordering for small-quantity custom merchandise.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fourambition
• Facebookfacebook.com/FourAmbitionLLC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Four Ambition