Nolan Bushnell minor equity stake in Apple. Nolan remarked, "Steve asked me if I would put $50,000 in and he would give me a third of the company. I was so smart, I said no. It's kind of fun to think about that, when I'm not crying." By 1976, Atari was in the midst of developing the Atari VCS (Video Computer System, later renamed the Atari 2600), but Bushnell realized that if the company was going to grow, it needed capital, and with the stock market in a bleak condition, going public would not be the solution. He made a list of
William C. Dabney from 1916 to 1917. In 1917, Dabney entered the U.S. army as a lieutenant with the 26th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in France. During the Battle of Soissons in July 1918, Dabney commanded four successive attacks that helped lead the Allied Forces to victory. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism". In 1919, Saunders P. Jones and Dabney co-founded the Jones-Dabney Varnish Company. Jones-Dabney specialized in industrial paint finishes for the automotive industry, refrigerator production, and the marine and railroad industries. Dabney served as vice president and general