Nerv with Ryan Williams (Mushrooms, Mycology, and Mycelium)

Brent Bushnell is the co-founder and CEO of Two Bit Circus, an educational entertainment company that provides a wide range of high-tech and hands-on experiences. The company's goal is not only to entertain but, more importantly, to inspire participants to become involved in engineering, computing, inventing, the arts, and other creative pursuits. Brent is himself an engineer and an entrepreneur who has founded a number of tech endeavors, including Doppelgames, a mobile game company; Anti-Aging Games, building games that reduce the risk of early memory loss; Syyn Labs, which creates content for entertainers and large corporations; and Tapcode, which provided self-service and entertainment solutions for the hospitality industry. He was an on-camera inventor for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, and he also works as a consultant and mentor for game development and entrepreneurship. Brent is the son of Nolan Bushnell, a gifted engineer and innovator and the founder of both Atari and Chuck E. Cheese.

Read The Influencer Economy Book: influencereconomybook.com

Brent believes strongly in the importance of the STEAM paradigm, which integrates the
arts (A) with the more traditional "teaming" of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). He works hard to expose young people to STEM topics in creative, engaging ways that will inspire both their intellect and their passion and thereby lead them to become inventors and creators themselves. He targets young people largely through his project called STEAM Carnival, a traveling event that includes a giant high-tech game arcade, a battling robot band showcase, a wearable technology fashion show, and much more. In Brent's words, it's "kind of like Cirque du Soleil for games".

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All of Brent's projects emphasize collaboration and interaction, and his advice for creators is no different. He has built his own companies and projects by listening to his passions and by seeking out collaborators who have similar passions and are willing to take risks. For example, when Brent started Two Bit Circus, he and his co-founder Eric Gradman started out knowing only the general direction they wanted to take. They spent the next few years experimenting with a wide variety of ideas. They funded their endeavors with entertainment consulting events (many of which allowed them to test their innovations) and invested the profits in further development. Only when they felt that they had sufficiently refined their vision did they seek out investors to accelerate their growth and mature into an established company. 

In this episode, Brent encourages listeners to "get their hands dirty" and make physical things. As an engineer and high-tech entrepreneur, Brent certainly appreciates the value of digital solutions, but he also understands the importance of physical solutions in a physical world and fears that our current education system is alienating young people from that kind of thinking. Inspiration isn't just for the young, however. This podcast will inspire all of us to trust our imaginations, follow our passions, and build our dreams.

Quotes from the episode:

"There's no shortage of hard problems. And, frankly, no shortage of capable humans. But what we do have a shortage of are inspired, tool-capable, invention-capable humans to go out and solve those hard problems.... We've got this perfect storm of needing it badly [and] the tools are easier than they've ever been; we just need people to be aware."

"I love online creation. My background is software. But I think we got carried away with the success of the internet and [thought] that all of the great innovations are gonna be apps. And that's just not the case because there's some things you can't solve with apps. You need other stuff."

"I think that humans are really naturally creative and that our school system kind of beats it out of us in a very heart-wrenching and terrible process, and that what we need to now do is sort of unwind that.... The thing is to not get too much in your head about it. Just start doing stuff!"

"Failure's rad! The second you fail, that means you've been out there trying and that's fantastic!"

"If your motivation is to try to make a buck, you're doing it wrong."

Links:

Personal Website: http://brentbushnell.com

Two Bit Circus: http://twobitcircus.com

STEAM Carnival: http://twobitcircus.com/productions/steamcarnival

 

Grand Challenges for Engineering: http://www.engineeringchallenges.org/

United Nations Key Issues: http://www.un.org/en/sections/priorities/

Y Combinator Request for Startups: https://www.ycombinator.com/rfs/

 

Direct download: Brett_Bushnell_influencer_economy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:12am PST

The Influencer Economy is a movement and book to help you to launch your idea, share it with the world and thrive in the digital age. What I realized early in the process of writing this book and creating my podcast, is that in order to thrive in the digital age, you don’t need to go to business school. You don’t need an Ivy League degree. You don’t need to know celebrities. And you don’t need to have a lot of money. You just need to learn the new rules of success from the emerging leaders of the Influencer Economy.

Sign-up for the FREE Influencer Economy Action Guide:  

http://www.influencereconomy.com/

I wrote this book from my own perspective as a creative entrepreneur, bootstrapping my ideas and vision without any large budget. I’m imagining you’re in a similar boat—it’s you and maybe a co-founder out there working on your idea, and it’s a lonely slog. I want this book to move your journey along and help you build a community and platform around your idea, even if your idea has yet to launch.

When I began attending VidCon, Comic-Con, South by Southwest (SXSW), TechCrunch Disrupt and other tech and fan- geek conferences, I noticed two remarkable things: these events were celebrating geeks, technology, and modern social media; and no one was telling the stories of the awesome people embracing this new form of influence and the wildly successful businesses they were creating. I was on the front lines of what I called the Influencer Economy, and this movement was permeating all tech- nology and media-based businesses, from California to New York to London to Mumbai.

I was inspired and went on to launch a podcast dedicated to interviewing the Influencer Economy pioneers. After speaking to more than a hundred artists, experts, and entrepreneurs—from world-famous YouTubers to New York Times best-selling authorsto the most creative start-up founders and investors on the plan- et—I reverse engineered their careers, to understand the stories behind their success, and now present everything I learned in The Influencer Economy: How to Launch Your Idea, Share It with the World and Thrive in the Digital Age. You can listen to the podcast here: http://www.influencereconomy.com/

 
Direct download: Launch_Share_Thrive_Influencer_Economy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 1:45pm PST

Keith Bulluck (kbull53) is a retired NFL football player turned startup entrepreneur. Keith is a former NFL All Pro with the Tennessee Titans. He was drafted by the Titans 30th overall in the 2000 NFL Draft after attending Syracuse University. Keith was a leader on the defense for the Titans, leading the team in tackles for 5 seasons. He played his undergrad seasons at Syracuse and was their MVP his final seasons in 1999. 
 
After Keith retired he kept investing in himself and in 2014 he got his Masters in Business (MBA) at the George Washington University School of Business.
 
<>Please Review our podcast on iTunes, it really helps us get discovered in iTunes by new listeners. :) Click HERE to review our podcast.....AND to buy The Influencer Economy Book Click Here. <>
 
Growing up Keith never met his father, his mother was in an abusive relationship, and he ended up spending 6 years living with a foster care family in New York. Years later has gone to raise thousands of dollars on an annual basis to benefit children in foster care as well as underprivileged children. We talk in detail how being adopted shaped his life and how he gives back as a graduate for foster care now.
 
Keith is now a Managing Partner at Transition Sports & Entertainment, a sports media marketing and business company. 
 
What you'll learn from former all-pro Keith Bulluck in Ep. 90:  Life After NFL Football, Leading on the Field, and Giving Back with Keith Bulluck
  • What do NFL players miss after they retire from playing in the NFL?
  • What was it like competing every week in the NFL?
  • How does an NFL player transition into retirement after their career?
  • How did Keith Bulluck lead his teammates on the field?
  • How does Keith lead his business team mates off the field in deals now?
  • How did Keith become a startup entrepreneur?
  • How does Keith Bulluck prepare for his day?
Keith's website: http://kbulluck.com/
 
Follow Keith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kbull53
 
Direct download: Keith_Bulluck_Influencer_Economy.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:51pm PST

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