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.

Follow

TINKERING

Projects.

I’m a tinkerer at heart. Here are a few of my recent projects, from RetroPie gaming to workspace design.

I love building projects that combine nostalgia with modern tech, turning iconic designs from the past into functional, reimagined pieces. Whether it’s a working LEGO Mini Macintosh or a custom-built Fender ‘Streamocaster,’ each project blends retro charm with today’s technology. It’s all about making the old feel new again—adding a playful, hands-on twist to familiar objects. My work brings a smile not just because it’s functional, but because it’s a celebration of the creativity and innovation across eras.

Project NameYearDescriptionTech Stack / HardwareURL SlugTags / Keywords
LEGO Retro Radio & Custom Walkman2024A 1970s‑style transistor radio built from LEGO, with Internet radio streaming and dual 3 W speakers. Includes a matching LEGO Walkman with MP3 player.Raspberry Pi Zero W, Adafruit I2S amp, custom speakerlego-retro-radioLEGO electronics, Internet radio, Raspberry Pi audio
LEGO Mini Macintosh Replica202444 % scale working Macintosh with touchscreen and System 7 emulator, powered by a Raspberry Pi and Mini vMac.Raspberry Pi 4B, 4″ square touchscreen, Mini vMaclego-mini-macminiature Mac, Raspberry Pi emulation, LEGO nostalgia
Streamocaster Internet Radio2024Fender‑inspired “Streamocaster” guitar with amp housing an Internet radio, speakers, power.Dismantled internet radiofender-streamocasterretro guitar radio, DIY audio, Internet streaming
Nostalgia Box XL Retro Gaming2024All‑in‑one retro‑gaming console in a Marie Kondo box: MAME, NES, SNES emulation plus Chromecast streaming.Raspberry Pi 4B, 18.5″ display, 8BitDo controllers, 8BitDo NES keyboardnostalgia-box-xlretro gaming, MAME, Raspberry Pi arcade
R2‑D2 Hologram Display2024LEGO R2‑D2 build with embedded Pico projector showing Princess Leia’s hologram scene any surface.LEGO 75379 kit, WiMiUS Q2 Pico projectorr2-d2Star Wars LEGO, hologram, Raspberry Pi projector
Pocket‑Sized 26002025Slimmed‑down MyArcade boards repackaged inside an 18‑stud‑wide LEGO Atari 2600 with faux‑wood façade.MyArcade PCB from an Atari Gamestation Pro, custom LEGO housingpocket-sized-2600LEGO Atari, pocket gaming, MyArcade
Elektronika 409A Portable TV Mod2025Soviet‑era Elektronika 409A portable TV retrofitted with Raspberry Pi touchscreen, battery, HDMI, USB, encoders.Raspberry Pi 4B, touchscreen, rotary encoderselektronikavintage TV mod, Raspberry Pi touchscreen, DIY electronics
Brick Spin Record Player20255″ circular touchscreen running Python‑based record‑player emulator with Spotify and local file support, complete with bluetooth speakers.Raspberry Pi 4B, Python, virtual environment, .envbrick-spin-record-playerrecord player emulator, Spotify API, Python project
LEGOcade Pro2025Custom tabletop arcade built from a knockoff LEGO cabinet kit, housing a 12.9″ iPad Pro running MAME4iOS, Mini vMac, NES and Atari emulators—with a Bluetooth arcade joystick.12.9″ iPad Pro, knockoff LEGO Pac‑Man kit, arVin joystick, MAME4iOS, Mini vMac, Delta Emulator, 8BitDo controllerslegocade-proLEGO arcade, iPad gaming, retro emulation
WinBerry 9520248″ Pimoroni display with TwisterOS‑themed Windows 95 on Raspberry Pi 4B, preloaded with RetroPie and Mini vMac for classic PC and Mac nostalgia.8″ Pimoroni screen, Raspberry Pi 4B (8 GB), TwisterOS, RetroPie, Mini vMacwinberry-95Windows 95 Pi, RetroPie, Mini vMac
LEGO Mac Classic Edition2024Full‑scale LEGO recreation of the original 128K Macintosh, complete with working Raspberry Pi–powered emulation of System 7.5.Raspberry Pi 4B, 4″ touchscreen, custom LEGO brickslego-macLEGO Mac, vintage computing, Raspberry Pi emulation
LEGO Polaroid Hi‑Print Printer2024Modified LEGO Polaroid kit to house a Polaroid Hi‑Print portable printer, enabling instant photo prints from your phone.Polaroid Hi‑Print printer, LEGO kitpolaroidinstant photography, LEGO camera, Polaroid mod
RetroTV Console2024Vintage TV shell retrofitted with a Raspberry Pi touchscreen running video streaming and retro‑gaming emulation in a 4:3 frame.Raspberry Pi 4B, 7″ HDMI touchscreen, custom enclosureretrotvretro TV, streaming Pi, vintage display
Nostalgia Box (Original)2024Compact retro‑gaming box in a Container Store “Nostalgia Box”: MAME, NES and SNES emulation plus Chromecast streaming.Raspberry Pi 4B, 10″ screen, RetroPie, Chromecastnostalgia-boxretro gaming, nostalgia box, Container Store
Raspberry Wine2025This wine box is chock full of everything for my Raspberry Pi tinkering needs, with a perfect fit for a Raspberry Pi 400 on top, 8Bitdo N30 Pro 2 NES-styleRaspberry Pi 4Braspberry-wineRaspberry Pi
LEGO Slug Pro2025Discover LEGO‑Slug Pro—our custom Pantasy Metal Slug Neo·Geo arcade built around a 9.7″ iPad Pro, MAME‑powered, with hidden LEGO‑mounted controls and pixel‑art Easter eggs.9.7″ iPad Pro, Pantasy Neo*Geo kit, arVin joystick, MAME4iOS, Mini vMac, Delta Emulator, 8BitDo controllerslegoslug-proLEGO arcade, iPad gaming, retro emulation

Looking for paintings? Please visit our gallery.