Working at Valve, Finding Mentors, Reinventing Yourself, Collecting Pinball, Grit, Nolan Bushnell, Working Under Pressure, Silicon Valley, The Enthusiasm Advantage, and Ham Radio with CEO Jeri Ellsworth of Tilt Five

Summary: Jeri Ellsworth shares her journey from childhood fascination with technology to becoming the CEO of Tilt Five. She describes her early interest in science and computers, fueled by her father's gift of a Commodore 64. Jeri recounts her experiences in racing, learning fabrication skills, and self-promotion to fund her racing career. Transitioning to computers, she opened several computer stores, experiencing both success and challenges. After a business failure, she moved to Silicon Valley, using her electronics skills to secure engineering roles. Jeri highlights her work on various projects, including chip design and collaborations with notable industry figures. Her time at Valve involved leading an R&D lab and facing internal cultural challenges, which eventually led to her departure. She acquired technology from Valve to start Tilt Five, focusing on multiplayer AR experiences. Jeri discusses the challenges and successes of running a venture-backed startup, including a successful Kickstarter campaign. She emphasizes the importance of mentors, continuous learning, and pursuing projects that spark joy and innovation. Bio: Jeri Ellsworth is an inventor, product creator, chip designer, and system-level engineer. Her love for invention began with building race cars before working with hardware design, creating a complete Commodore 64 system on a chip housed within a joystick, called C64 Direct-to-TV. Her combined passion for gaming and invention has fueled the creation of many cutting edge technologies, culminating in the creation of Tilt Five, the world’s first augmented reality gaming system. Her vision for the future of gaming is driving innovation for the entire Tilt Five team. Show Links: * Tilt Five - website * Tilt Five - YouTube * Steve Wozniak - Wikipedia * C64 Direct-to-TV - Wikipedia * Valve Corporation - website * How two Valve engineers walked away with the company's augmented reality glasses - The Verge * Alan Alcorn - Wikipedia * Silicon Valley - HBO website * Stern Pinball - website * Nolan Bushnell - Wikipedia * Ham Radio - Wikipedia * 2019’s Global Game Industry’s 50 Over 50 List - website Connect With Links: * Jeri Ellsworth - Wikipedia * Jeri Ellsworth - YouTube * Jeri Ellsworth - LinkedIn * Jeri Ellsworth - website Game Dev Advice Links:  * YouTube Podcasts - check out this episode with a guarantee of 100% more video * Patreon - career coaching through the Gain Wisdom membership * Game Dev Advice hotline: (224) 484-7733 * website - show notes, links, etc. * [email protected] - reach out! * Subscribe and go to the website for full show notes with links Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices