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20+ Years Experience

Business Executive | Creative Director | Game Developer

I’ve built creative projects, teams, and studios that have generated millions in revenue, marketing impressions, and happy humans!

📢 NEW! I just started a role as Managing Director at “GameName” studio, founded by YouTuber “Socks”!

Hi, I’m Jed!

I've done a bit of everything in the games industry, from full stack game dev to running a multi-million dollar startup studio for tinyBuild Games.

Prior to that I served in the U.S. Military and B2B Management & Analytics.

highlights

  • Most Relevant Titles: Entertainment Executive, Managing Director, Studio Head, Creative Director, Game Designer, Game Developer, Startup Co-Founder, Category Manager, Data Analyst, and Military Veteran.

  • 20 Years Leadership Experience, including 4 Years as a Studio Head for tinyBuild Games.

  • Studio P&L Responsibility w/ $1M+ Annual Budgets & Stakeholder Relations Management.

  • Experience Recruiting, Developing & Leading Teams of 5-20 in Games & 40+ in B2B/Military.

  • Generated over 100M Marketing Impressions and helped Raise Over $10M in Funding.

  • Designed, Developed, Shipped an Award-Winning Game for PC/Consoles w/ over 100k Sales.

  • Proven Track Record of Creating Original IPs with Global Market and Top Influencer Appeal.

  • Genres: Action, Comedy, Physics, Sandbox, Roguelike, Narrative, Adventure, Multiplayer Games.

  • Unity Engine, C#, DevOps, GitHub, Adobe, Blender, Figma, JIRA, Confluence, Codecks, Notion, etc.

  • Agile Game Development, Rapid Prototyping, Early Marketing Validations, Iterative Designs.

  • Cross-Functional Team Bridge with hands-on experience in Business, Creative & Technical.

  • Pragmatic visionary skilled in team leadership, data-driven decisions, and practical results.

New adventure unlocked!

I’ve recently accepted a role as Managing Director for “GameName” studio, a subsidiary of Socksfor1 Media Productions, founded by a hit YouTuber with a ton of creative ambition and charm.

Click the links below to see what I’m working on today!

Previous Work

Pigeon Simulator

Pigeon Simulator is a physics sandbox roguelite about the world’s most notorious birds and their quest for world domination.

As Creative Director, I led a team of up to 20 people to design and develop this ambitious project and underlying tech for tinyBuild Games, featuring advanced procedural content generation, fully explorable and destructible cities, and loads of action-comedy adventure.

Unfortunately, the project was cancelled when tinyBuild reached the verge of bankruptcy due to post-IPO investments.

Guts & Glory

Guts and Glory is a physics-based, action-comedy racing game where players navigate through deadly obstacle courses for riches and glory.

As a solo, full-stack, indie Game Developer, I brought this project from concept to commercial success on PC and Consoles. It generated over 1,000 UGC levels and 100s of millions of views globally.

It became a viral hit on YouTube, covered by top gaming influencers around the world and garnering attention from major publishers. It raised $30k on Kickstarter, sold over 100k units, and maintains positive user reviews.

HakJak Studios

HakJak Studios was a multi-million-dollar, first-party game studio startup I co-founded as a subsidiary of tinyBuild Games, a global publisher, developer, and publicly-traded company.

As Managing Director, I built the studio from the ground up, directly recruiting over a dozen talented creatives over time. I made platform pitches (Microsoft, Sony, etc.) that played a critical role in securing millions in funding for multiple studios and projects in the tinyBuild portfolio, and managed day-to-day operations, including project Pigeon Simulator and proprietary generative technologies.

Building an inclusive, productive, awesome team and studio culture that attracted AAA talent earned us a strong, positive reputation in the industry.

Beyond Games

Prior to entering the Entertainment Industry, I gained a wealth of practical experiences in B2B, Retail, and Military roles that accelerated my entry and success in the Games Industry.

As a Category Manager for PepsiCo, a Fortune 500 Company, I gained valuable skills in mid-level management, regional business operations, retail chain operations, marketing, sales, project management, research and data analytics.

As a U.S. Military Veteran, I gained a wealth of experience in leadership, discipline, attention to detail, pragmatic planning, calm problem solving, and the tenacity to overcome any challenges in pursuit of mission objectives.

As an Entrepreneur and Creative I’m constantly exploring, learning, consuming, experimenting, and creating in my eternal quest to build a lasting legacy and bring joy to the world through art and entertainment!

“I bring over 20 years of experience to the table… plus coffee!”

"Jed makes GameDev Easier"

  • "Jed understands games, sure, but even more than that, Jed understands people."

    Amanda Farough

  • "I've never felt more at home in a work environment than I did working for Jed."

    William Pheloung

  • "Jed's passion and amazing ideas make him a standout leader in any project or team. He deeply cares for the project and his team and his courage and positivity are infectious."

    Neelam Jani

  • "Through his presence and mentorship, Jed made each of us feel like we were the most important member of the team while bringing out the best of the collective group."

    Dave Kornfeld

  • "Jed has been a wonderful boss who always focused on bringing out the best in others. His stable running of the studio allowed me to focus on my work and have the tools I needed."

    Madison Belka

  • "Jed's special leadership qualities inspired me to join the studio, where his calmness and positivity set the tone for success."

    Junaid Nomani

  • "Jed is without doubt the best boss I've ever had. He's fantastic at what he does - bringing people together, inspiring creativity and passion, and leading us with a level of honesty, compassion, and positivity that is hard to find."

    Emma Lowry

  • "Jed's enthusiasm for the project, coupled with his industry knowledge and experience, gave everyone the confidence that we could conquer any challenges that lay ahead."

    Grant Niesner

  • "Jed is one of the best bosses I've ever worked with. He is kind, understanding, and actively encouraged all of us to be the best versions of ourselves. He's a shining example of how industry leadership should be."

    Sophia B Marcus

  • "The industry needs more leaders like Jed. His kindness and compassion were inspiring, encouraging me to do my best work and be my best self."

    Dylan Valev

  • "Jed allowed me the creative freedom to create amazing work that I am proud of. He was clear with direction and feedback and kept us on track. He's got leadership skills that support teams under his care."

    Michelle Thomas

  • "What really made Jed special was how much everyone liked him. He didn't have to try, and he used that talent to bring a fantastic group of people together to make the best games they could. Jed wants to bring out the best in everyone around him, and uses his skill and charisma to do just that."

    Colin McInerney

  • "Jed's model for leadership is to build a group of people who support each other, rather than follow him unquestioningly. This style earned him the respect and dedication of the people he hired. I hesitate to even say he was a 'great BOSS' to his team; Jed is a true LEADER."

    Trevor Whitaker Black

Full Recommendation Letters

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