Nate Martin
Nate Martin (born January 13, 1983) is an American entrepreneur, game designer, and software executive. He is the Co-founder and CEO of Puzzle Break, the first American room escape company.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] He is often referred to as the "Founding Father of Escape Rooms."[9][10][11][12][13][14] He is an alumnus of the DigiPen Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Real-Time Interactive Simulation and Computer Science.[15]
Nate Martin | |
---|---|
Born | Nathan Burk Martin January 13, 1983 |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | CEO |
Website | http://www.puzzlebreak.com |
Career
Software
In 2006, Martin started at Microsoft in the Windows team. Before leaving in 2013, he worked as a software engineer and program manager on products including Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows RT, and Windows 8.1.[16]
Martin joined Electronic Arts as a Senior Product Manager in 2013 to help run the Global Online Services organization. During his time at EA, he worked on several games including Battlefield 4.
Puzzle Break
In August 2013, Martin and Dr. Lindsay Morse co-founded the escape room company Puzzle Break. Based in Seattle, Puzzle Break was started with an initial self-investment from Martin of $7,000.[17] Under Martin’s leadership, Puzzle Break has opened locations in Seattle, San Francisco, Long Island, Boston, and on several Royal Caribbean cruise ships. Puzzle Break’s revenue in 2016 was over $1,000,000.[18] He was named a 2017 Puget Sound Business Journal 40 Under 40 Honoree.[19]
Media
Martin is a frequent lecturer and podcast guest on the topics of escape rooms, interactive entertainment, and entrepreneurship. His interviews have appeared in the New York Times,[20] Entrepreneur Magazine,[21] and Forbes.[22] In 2017, he spoke on the future of experiential storytelling at the Sundance Film Festival.[23]
References
- "Puzzle Break: Country's first escape room located in Seattle". KING. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Maier, Ian (21 May 2018). "Escape Room Community Resources". Xola.
- "Geek of the Week: There's no escaping it — Puzzle Break's Nate Martin created his dream startup". GeekWire. 22 June 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Group, Sinclair Broadcast (5 November 2016). "What in the world is an Escape Room, and how do you survive it??". Seattle Refined. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- By (17 October 2016). "What Running An Escape Room Taught Me About People". Cracked.com. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- "IQ Escape center opens new game, partners with school". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
- Galbraith, Susan. "What in the world is an Escape Room, and how do you survive it??". KOMO. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- "How Novelty Businesses Can Succeed | OPEN Forum". www.americanexpress.com. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- ESTATENVY. "Nate Martin's Puzzling Design Theory". ESTATENVY | Home Industry News. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- "Escape Room Blogs, Conferences, Groups, and Podcasts". Xola University. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- "Nate Martin Broke Out By Locking People in Rooms". Jewish in Seattle Magazine. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- "How Escape Rooms Made Me a Better Traveler". The Discoverer. 2 March 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- Tady, Scott. "Beaver grad pioneered escape rooms and now leads the pivot to digital". The Times. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- Malki, Jason (22 June 2020). ""How to create a fantastic work culture" with Nate Martin Co-Founder & CEO of Puzzle Break". Medium. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
- "Graduate Entrepreneur Brings People and Puzzles Together - News & Events - DigiPen Institute of Technology". News & Events - DigiPen Institute of Technology. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- "IAmA Nate Martin, Co-Founder & CEO of Puzzle Break, the first American-based Escape Room company. Let's talk about locking strangers in rooms & video games IRL. • r/IAmA". reddit. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- Shaw, Sally French, Jessica Marmor. "The unbelievably lucrative business of escape rooms". MarketWatch. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - "From working at Microsoft & EA to leaving and building Puzzle Break". Escape The 9 to 5 Grind. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- "Register". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
- Glusac, Elaine (5 August 2016). "When 'Get Out!' Is Just a Game". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- Halpern, Ashlea (5 December 2016). "How To Make Money In Trendy Businesses-And Survive When The Trend Ends". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
- Stone, Zara. "Escape The Startup Is A Terrifying Twist On Silicon Valley Culture". Forbes. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
- "How escape rooms and live theater are paving the way for VR". The Verge. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.