Christopher Hamze
Co-founder and co-owner of Izzi’s Gym. Entrepreneur using AI to improve processes and efficiency.
People first. Better systems behind the scenes.
Christopher Hamze, also known as Chris Hamze, is an entrepreneur based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He founded teelaunch and now co-owns Izzi’s Gym with his twin brother, Nicholas “Nick” Hamze. He uses AI to make processes simpler and more efficient. His work connects ecommerce, print-on-demand, collectibles, and building a business around the people it serves.
Hamze earned a Juris Doctor and a Master of Business Administration from the University of South Dakota in 2012. Both degrees appear in the university’s official commencement announcement. He is a licensed South Dakota attorney and a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. His current work centers on entrepreneurship and the businesses he builds.
At teelaunch, Hamze helped online sellers turn creative ideas into physical products. The company’s print-on-demand service and Shopify app gave merchants a way to offer custom merchandise. In his 2019 interview with The Story of a Brand, he discussed the early challenges of the business and its move into Shopify. teelaunch later became part of District Photo, an acquisition confirmed in the company’s own announcement. He exited ownership in 2024.
Izzi’s Gym opened in 2025. Named after Nick’s Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Izzi, the store carries trading cards, collectibles, model kits, and games. Its clubs and open tables give visitors places to play, build, and meet people who share their interests. The official Izzi’s biography describes how the brothers carried their family’s love and connection into the store after losing Izzi and their father.
Hamze also organizes IZZISCON, a free gathering for collectors, gamers, and families in Sioux Falls. Founder-reported milestones include $6 million in Izzi’s Gym’s first-year sales, with over $2 million of that total coming online, and more than 10,000 IZZISCON attendees. These are sales and attendance figures, distinct from historical reporting about distributed convention tickets.
His projects also include Arch Nemesis, where he writes about custom shoes for business gifts and marketing, and Tier4, a project he discusses alongside Nick’s work with Kayou trading-card artwork.
Hamze shares the ongoing work in his writing archive: practical lessons from running a store, experimenting with AI tools, and finding purpose in a new chapter. His posts preserve the personal perspective behind the projects, alongside the published reporting collected on the press page.
