Key Takeaways Coyne wondered why there wasn’t a thermal container that could keep large dishes warm on the market.
He and his brother-in-law, Collin Duff, launched their second venture, Host Modern, to bring the product to life.
Some key lessons learned from building their previous DTC golf brand, Stix, helped along the way, Coyne says.
As a father of four boys of various ages attending different schools, Gabe Coyne faced a common predicament in the mornings: It was difficult to keep breakfast warm for everyone across the 90-minute departure period.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Host Modern. Gabe Coyne.
“I had the option to make breakfast once, and only the first kid got hot food, or make breakfast three different times,” Coyne recalls. “All the while, I’ve got my Yeti thermal coffee tumbler that’s keeping my coffee hot until lunch. I was like, Why don’t I have this for food?“
Coyne was already well-versed in building brands. He ran a creative studio in Seattle, Washington, for about a decade before one of his clients recruited him to be a technical co-founder in his startup. Then he joined a venture studio where he focused on digital products. After that, in 2019, he and co-founder Collin Duff started the direct-to-consumer golf brand Stix Golf.
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Coyne’s breakfast dilemma would lead him and Duff to partner on another venture in 2024: cookware and serveware brand Host Modern. Coyne is the company’s CEO, and Duff, who is also Coyne’s brother-in-law, is COO.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Host Modern
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