Ryan McDonough
Founder, Sometime Artist
CFO and co-founder @Accompany, acquired by @Cisco. Turnaround CFO @Ning, sold to Glam Media. Former seed VC. McKinsey trained. @Wharton School and @Haas School of Business.
At its core is an Android 14-based device that started life as a dedicated MP3 player. It now runs a fully redesigned interface running EmulationStation + RetroArch, neatly CNC-fit behind a screen window where the cartridge label once lived. The “blow port” is now home to USB-C power and a headphone jack, with volume and power buttons tucked into the side. Pair it with an 8BitDo Micro controller and you’re instantly back to 1987 — minus the dust and cable spaghetti.
When idle, it cycles through a slideshow of my old cartridge labels and LEGOCade Mini gameplay clips, doubling as a tiny living display of pixel memories. There’s even a Cassette Mode for playing The Beatles, because why not let nostalgia have a soundtrack?
What started as a simple NES cartridge mod turned into a fully self-contained Android-powered console. Using an AGPTEK T08X (Android 14) MP3 player as the brain, I CNC-milled a precise window where the cartridge label once was — now the 4″ touchscreen display.
The system runs:
Like most of my builds, NES Reloaded sits somewhere between invention and memory — a tiny time capsule built to spark joy. It reminds me that nostalgia doesn’t have to live behind glass; it can be powered on, tapped, and played.
This cartridge now lives on a shelf alongside the LEGOcade Mini, Mini Mac, and other “what if?” experiments from my Cabinet of Curiosities — each one reimagining a bit of the past with modern parts. It’s a reminder that creativity doesn’t need a grand plan — sometimes it just needs a spark, a tool, and something worth remembering.