[Editor’s Note: This obituary of Tom Huseby, founder of SeaPoint Ventures and a longtime member of the Seattle tech community, was shared by his family for publication on GeekWire. See below for additional remembrances from friends and colleagues.]
Thomas Signor Huseby died on June 16, 2024, in Everett, Wash., from complications of pancreatic cancer. He was 76 years old.
Tom was born in Pearl River, N.Y., on July 27, 1947. He was the first-born child of Jane Brunstetter Huseby and Albert William Huseby. Tom graduated from George School in Newtown, Pa., in 1965; from Columbia College in 1969 and Columbia School of Engineering in 1970; and from Stanford University Graduate School of Business in 1972.
Tom is remembered as a larger-than-life personality, a charismatic and deeply loving father, son, husband, friend, and colleague, and a natural storyteller. His absence is keenly felt, and he will be deeply missed.
Tom spent a large part of his childhood in Brazil, and delighted in his ability to charm Portuguese speakers throughout his life. He launched his career at Raychem in Menlo Park, Calif., after business school, and returned to South America to open Raychem do Brasil. He took great pride in his work building the company, and in the 1990s, he moved to Seattle to join Innova and the technology venture capital community.
This led to Tom founding SeaPoint Ventures in 1997. Over the last 25 years, he served on the boards of many technology startups, including SnapIn, Airspan Communications, Glympse, Photobucket, autoGraph, and Zumobi.
His companies and their stories became intimately familiar to those around him, as Tom treated his colleagues and coworkers, and the companies they sought to build together, like family. He treated everyone he worked with with kindness and respect, and his unfailing optimism turned many of those colleagues into lifelong friends. He found his passion, working with entrepreneurs to build companies, after founding SeaPoint Ventures in Seattle.
Throughout his final months, his role as advisor to companies new and old brought him satisfaction and joy, and he delighted in his ability to administer advice like that of a slightly more funny and relatively less cryptic Yoda. We think he would like that analogy.
Tom was loved by many. He worked hard and with enthusiasm for his companies, his country, his friends, and, most importantly, his family. He adored his children and grandchildren and unfailingly charmed his many nieces and nephews with magic tricks at family gatherings, earning the nickname “Magic Uncle Tom.”
His laughter was infectious, often laughing harder at his own jokes than anyone else did. Tom had a joke for every situation, and the characters he brought to life with gestures and accents became as familiar to those around him as dear friends. Always entertaining, Tom would spin captivating stories featuring his many adventures, from driving a taxi in New York City to sinking a sailboat off the coast of Santa Cruz.
He loved sailing, assembling three winning crews for Vic-Maui, a race from Canada to Hawaii, and forming a strong family of sailors for countless races in and around the Puget Sound. But most of all, he loved his home on Decatur Island in the San Juan Islands, which he shared with his wife of 35 years, Janice Magee Huseby, and his beloved family.
In addition to Janice, Tom is survived by his four children: Conor Huseby, Devin Huseby, Max Huseby, and Alexis Huseby. He is survived by his daughter-in-law Thalia Sady and son-in-law William Bambury, and grandchildren Reese, Cole, Stella, Quinn, and Owen Huseby.
In addition, he is survived by his mother Jane Brunstetter Forsthoff, his sister Janet Huseby, and brother Bill Huseby, brother-in-law Bob Smith and sister-in-law Becky Huseby, many nieces and nephews, and former wives Jane O’Neil and Peigi Donaghy Huseby. He is predeceased by his father, and sister Kathy Huseby.
Tom is also survived by his countless jokes, stories, and idioms, which his family hopes will be carried forward by those who had the great pleasure and luck to know him.
Remembrances of Tom Huseby
Susan Sigl, one of Huseby’s partners at SeaPoint Ventures:
“What an amazing person to share a company with. Tom had a genetic code that drove him to launch and support start-ups. That’s what energized him. He delivered his full self to the task without losing his keen sense of humor. Like the rare white Buffalo born in Yellowstone last month, Tom was a 1-in-1 million natural phenomenon.”
Chris Roution, who was mentored by Huseby and learned life lessons from him about C-level business development in meetings with SNAPin and autoGraph customers:
“The Huseby: <intransitive verb>
1. Non verbal action to demonstrate power
2. To leave in the middle of a conversation, typical at social events
We all know Tom was the greatest salesperson. He was constantly working the room. His eyes and ears are always open, in a business social setting, so to not miss an opportunity to network. Tom had this move, I coined “The Huseby”. I have worked on The Huseby for years, but have still not mastered. The Huseby is the ability to gracefully leave a group or individual conversation so you can move on to something more important, while making the group you just Huseby’d feel good about themselves.
Now in order for me to coin this new power move, yes, The Huseby was played on me several times by Tom. At first I didn’t think anything about it. I would get Huseby’d with not even knowing I was Huseby’d as a junior sales executive, I would hear the stories about how great a salesperson Tom was, so I started to study Tom’s ability to work the room. Tom would not walk but glide from group to individual, laugh at times and also be very serious. The grace, the confidence, teasing his audience with his attention. It was like I was watching Tom single-handedly perform Rumba-style dance moves with whoever he was conversing with at that moment.
I have tried over the years, but I find myself awkwardly bowing out of a conversation at the wrong time. Either I would feel guilt or come across as an asshole. So these days I just wade it out until I have to refresh my drink at the bar or go to a bathroom.
Next time you are in a group conversation, saying to yourself “Each word they say is more meaningless than the last” try the Huseby.”
Brian Roundtree, founder and CEO of aiShield.me, and founding CEO of companies including SNAPin and autoGraph:
One of my most memorable learnings from Tom was when I was pitching him SNAPin’s phone applet(app) platform. This was in 2003 before the iPhone and apps. He asked me to come back and pitch him again. “Pick one app that would provide value if only one person had it on their phone.” That laser focus helped me boil my abstract thinking down to one thing that could be said as an elevator pitch. It has stuck with me. SNAPin’s was “Self-service customer care for smartphones.”
Tom was a gracious soul. Knowing he had a limited time left here with us, he helped me focus my current startup on ‘AI that protects seniors from Cybercrime.’
Tom also taught me about personal focus and how the right focus leads to greater happiness. He taught me to figure out what I am good at that brings me joy and fulfillment at my core, and use that as my foundation in business. It has made it so easy to do the right thing for all aspects of my last three startups, its co-founders, investors, employees, and customers. For example, this way of thinking made it easy to step aside when the right CEO came along. Having the success of the venture as my personal focus and goal made it emotionally easier to always do the right thing.
This comes out in the way Tom once spoke about me when he said one of the nicest things anyone publicly has ever said about me:
John SanGiovanni, cofounder of Zumobi and Visual Vocal, both catalyzed by Tom. They served on the Zumobi board together for more than seven years:
Contemporary thinking among many technology entrepreneurs is to live the life of a Cheetah… Run Fast, Eat Fast, Live Fast.
But Tom Huseby should be remembered as the rare entrepreneurial leader / investor / mentor who embodied a very different organism… the Oak Tree. Descend Deep Roots (throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond), Plan for the Long Haul (always with honesty and grace), Always Be Present (Tom ALWAYS answered his phone), Reach Your Branches Wide (embracing everyone whom he could help), and in doing so Leave a Legacy to last generations (…through Tom’s stories, lessons, and laughter).
Tom Huseby: Truly an INCREDIBLE Dude.
Dan Rosen, angel investor and startup mentor, chair emeritus of the Seattle Alliance of Angels, and professional photographer:
Tom Huseby was one-of-a-kind and will be missed by me, his friends, and the Seattle entrepreneur community. He was a great bridge between our local ecosystem and Silicon Valley. He had encyclopedic knowledge of the telecom industry, with contacts to match. He passionately believed in his companies — always willing to go the extra mile for them through introductions and business leads.
I served on a couple of boards with him and traveled with him several times. It was always enjoyable! Tom seemed to sniff out the best restaurants and engaged the waitstaff to get us the best food and service.
But, most of all, Tom had a wicked sense of humor. I vividly remember his stories and jokes that would lighten the mood in any tense situation. I’ll miss my friend and keep retelling his jokes!
Erik Benson, Voyager Capital managing director:
Tom Huseby was a champion of the entrepreneur. I’ve never seen someone ingratiate himself with founders the way Tom did in part because he understood the founder journey in a very real way.
Tom was one of the smartest investors I’ve ever known, a trait that he combined with a dry wit to disarm you.
He originally introduced my firm Voyager Capital to John Lauer, founding CEO of Seattle-based Zipwhip, which eventually led us to leading the company’s first venture round, and later acquired by Twilio for $940 million.
John Cook, GeekWire co-founder:
Tom Huseby is the guy who shared this startup advice with me, which I use all of the time: “You can be successful by just hanging around for a long time.”
Basically, do not run out of cash, outlast competitors and then take advantage of the opportunities as they arise. I loved Tom — he was a straight shooter, and just a fun guy.
Thanks to Brian Roundtree for helping to coordinate this piece.
https://ift.tt/ygABonG July 18, 2024 at 01:00PM GeekWire
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