Sad news spread quickly thorugh the Seattle business and technology world earlier this week. Keith Grinstein, a successful lawyer, executive, entrepreneur and investor had suddenly and unexpectedly passed away of an apparent heart attack.
I only had the pleasure of meeting Keith a few times, but those meetings tell me a lot about what Seattle has lost. The first time was around 2002, when Keith was the CEO of Coinstar and I was hosting a charity fundraiser for the Boys and Girls Club, a panel discussion where we hoped successful executives would come speak to a crowd of 20-30 year olds about getting ahead. I randomly sent an email to an address I found at his VC firm’s Web site, Second Avenue Partenrs, and invited him to be a panelist. Within a day or two, I didn’t receive an email from his assistant, marketing person or PR handler explaining why he couldn’t make it. I received a short response from him that said something like, “Sounds fun. Just tell me when it is.” He gladly gave up a few hours of one of his evenings to talk to about 100 young professionals, and raise a few bucks for the Boys and Gils club.
The other couple of times I met him were also around chraity events; I think a black tie auction and a Sonics related event that raised millions for Breast Cancer research. I don’t know if he would have been abe to pick me out of a lineup, but he was funny, engaging and extremely interesting to talk to.
In addition to his success in the wireless world, the company he most recently ran, Coinstar, is the correct answer to the age-old interview question, “Tell me a company with a business model you admire.” An executive of another company once told me that Coinstar was his favorite company, because as he put it, “The customer gives them a dollar, and they immediately give the customer 93 cents back. No model beats that.”
Keith had a pretty lasting influence on me, and I only met him a few times. I’m sure those that were close to him are feeling a gigantic loss, and my thoughts go out to them.
Philanthropist, entrepreneur, Angel investor, successful executive, all around good guy – We could use more Keith Grinsteins out there, not one less.
