Nolan Bushnell, Co-founderAtari, Inc. - A Crash Course in Founding

01/29/21 • 26 min

Nolan founded Atari, and brought video games to the home user, selling over 30 million units. As if changing the video game industry wasn’t enough, Nolan also went on to found Chuck E. Cheese, which at the height of its popularity, had over 200 locations. Not to mention the countless boards he sits on, advisory roles he’s taken, and incubators he’s founded.

The first part of our conversation centered around:

- The history of Atari and what led to it’s founding

- The concept of “eat your babies” (Don’t worry, it’s not what it sounds like)

- Straddling the line between leading a company and inventing forward at the same time

- How the University of Utah & Silicon Valley had equal impact on his career

Listen to this and all of The Founder Formula episodes at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website

The first part of our conversation centered around:

- The history of Atari and what led to it’s founding

- The concept of “eat your babies” (Don’t worry, it’s not what it sounds like)

- Straddling the line between leading a company and inventing forward at the same time

- How the University of Utah & Silicon Valley had equal impact on his career

Listen to this and all of The Founder Formula episodes at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website

Previous Episode

Renen Hallak, Co-founder VAST Data - Making Company Culture a Priority

On this week’s episode of The Founder Formula, we talk with Renen Hallak, Founder and CEO of VAST Data. In 2019, he was honored for entrepreneurship by Goldman Sachs at their annual Innovator Summit. His company also recently made the news by raising $100M in Series C Funding — so it’s safe to say that Renen knows a thing or two about being a successful founder.

Our conversation was incredible, and we were fortunate that Renen was so generous with his time. We discussed, among other things:

The key differences between the hardware and software company and how those experiences differ greatly.

The journey to four successful fundraising cycles and why the most recent $100M cycle was so unique.

The complex decisions that go into selecting a board of directors for your company.

Making the company culture a foundation from day 1.

Listen to this and all of The Founder Formula episodes at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or our website.

Next Episode

Nolan Bushnell - Co-founder of Atari, Inc. Part 1

For the 25th episode of The Founder Formula, we thought we’d pull out all the stops, and invite one of the most famous founders in Silicon Valley history on the show for a two part extravaganza. If you spent any amount of time in the 1970’s & 1980’s playing Atari, you have our guest, Nolan Bushnell to thank.
Nolan founded Atari, and brought video games to the home user, selling over 30 million units. As if changing the video game industry wasn’t enough, Nolan also went on to found Chuck E. Cheese, which at the height of its popularity, had over 200 locations. Not to mention the countless boards he sits on, advisory roles he’s taken, and incubators he’s founded.

Listen to this and all of The Founder Formula episodes through your favorite podcast platform or Trace3.com.