Today, video games are a $300B industry and part of the mainstream. But back in the 1990s, video games represented counter-culture. No game 'bucked the system' more than Mortal Kombat - it exploded originally on the arcade scene, then made its way into homes across the country and around the world through SEGA, Nintendo, and Playstation. Alongside Mortal Kombat was NBA Jam, and a host of other titles that defined an era.

The story of these games is secretly one of Chicago's greatest startup success stories.

On October 21st, we welcome Josh Tsui to Startup Grind for a special fireside chat event. Josh was Art Director & founding team member of the Mortal Kombat and NBA Jam franchises with Chicago-based Midway Games. He would also go on to hold a lead role at EA, become a 2x startup founder, release an award-winning documentary, and today serves as Director of Innovation for DePaul University.

We'll cover:

• The real origin story of the most popular games

• How a small and scrappy team created cultural groundswells

• The design hacks that led to sticky products and repeat customers

• Balancing a creative vision with market shifts and stakeholder interests

• The importance of method development as a function of product development

• How Josh is prepping the next technology leaders at DePaul

• And so much more

Put on your neon colors and throw it back to the 90s for this one. It'll be a full house so grab your ticket early!

Event presented in part by Carta - FREE Cap Table Management for companies with less than 25 stakeholders and $1M in funding. Use 'startupgrind' code to get 20% off your first year when you upgrade.