Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese and one of the true pioneers of the video game industry, joins us to unpack a lifetime of invention, risk-taking, and playful disruption. With a background as an engineer-entrepreneur who helped define interactive entertainment, Nolan shares hard-earned lessons on protecting and sharing your big idea, when to patent, when to prototype fast, and how openness can fuel adoption without handing away your future. We conducted this interview while at Ducere.

Nolan reflects on the future of education and how curiosity-driven, hands-on learning can create the next generation of makers and founders. He also recounts what it was like working alongside a young Steve Jobs at Atari; candid, revealing moments about collaboration, tension, and the spark that launched a movement.

Treat your garage startup project like a serious experiment: protect what matters, share what accelerates progress, and remember; the next Steve Jobs could be you, building something that changes the world from your own workshop.