Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How should entrepreneurs navigate running a business in a time of uncertainty? Gabe Coyne and Collin Duff are seasoned entrepreneurs who have founded multiple companies and provided leadership for numerous start-up ventures. They are co-founders of Stix Golf, one of the fastest-growing modern golf equipment brands in the U.S. Their most recent venture, Host Modern, surpassed its goal by 1,100% on Kickstarter.
Join them for our first Acton Lecture Series event of the year, a lively Acton on Tap fireside chat at New Holland Brewing where they will discuss their experience on the topics of entrepreneurship, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership and will provide a brief update on the state of the economy.
Gabe Coyne is a designer, software engineer, and serial entrepreneur whose career spans digital product development, large-scale mobile platforms, and some of today’s fastest-growing consumer brands. He began his career as a designer and developer, eventually founding and leading a creative studio in Seattle for over a decade, where he and his team built custom digital products, interactive experiences, and brand identities for a wide range of clients.
Gabe later co-founded Influence Mobile, serving as Chief Technology Officer and architecting one of the top mobile ad networks in the world. The platform reached tens of millions of users and powered high-performance user acquisition for leading consumer applications—establishing Gabe as a technical innovator with deep expertise in mobile systems, data architecture, and product scaling.
After Influence Mobile’s growth, Gabe joined the venture studio Prota Ventures, where he partnered with early-stage founders and Fortune 100 companies to build new digital products, design go-to-market strategies, and drive innovation inside large organizations. His work at Prota blended creativity, engineering depth, and strategic insight—skills that underpin his later consumer hardware successes.
Today, Gabe is the Founder of Stix Golf, one of the fastest-growing modern golf equipment brands in the U.S., and the Co-Founder of Host Modern, a design-led home and serveware company whose vacuum-sealed thermal dishes have become a category-defining product. Across both companies, he is known for elevating overlooked categories through thoughtful industrial design, storytelling that resonates, and operational excellence from manufacturing to digital growth.
Collin Duff is an entrepreneur and product leader who loves building things that make everyday life better. He started his career working in the non-profit Faith & Work space, where he learned how to help people connect what they believe with the work they do. That experience shaped the way he thinks about leadership and creating products with purpose.
His first business was Viator Coffee Co., which he started as a way to get hands-on experience as an entrepreneur. Since then, the company has grown into catering, café operations, and roasting—and even completed its first acquisition to expand further. After that, he helped start Stix Golf, a modern golf brand focused on high-quality, great-looking clubs that don’t cost a fortune. At Stix, he worked as VP of Operations and now serves as Head of Product, helping design new golf gear and manage the teams that build it.
Collin is also the Co-Founder and COO of Host Modern, a fast-growing home goods company known for its innovative vacuum-sealed serveware. At Host Modern, Collin works on product design, manufacturing, and making sure the company runs smoothly as it grows.
Throughout his career, Collin has built a reputation for combining creativity with practical problem-solving. He loves working on design, supply chains, and direct-to-consumer brands—turning early ideas into real products people use and love.
The Acton Institute is a think-tank whose mission is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.
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Subscribe to the Acton Line Podcast: acton.org/acton-line
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How should entrepreneurs navigate running a business in a time of uncertainty? Gabe Coyne and Collin Duff are seasoned entrepreneurs who have founded multiple companies and provided leadership for numerous start-up ventures. They are co-founders of Stix Golf, one of the fastest-growing modern golf equipment brands in the U.S. Their most recent venture, Host Modern, surpassed its goal by 1,100% on Kickstarter.
Join them for our first Acton Lecture Series event of the year, a lively Acton on Tap fireside chat at New Holland Brewing where they will discuss their experience on the topics of entrepreneurship, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership and will provide a brief update on the state of the economy.
Gabe Coyne is a designer, software engineer, and serial entrepreneur whose career spans digital product development, large-scale mobile platforms, and some of today’s fastest-growing consumer brands. He began his career as a designer and developer, eventually founding and leading a creative studio in Seattle for over a decade, where he and his team built custom digital products, interactive experiences, and brand identities for a wide range of clients.
Gabe later co-founded Influence Mobile, serving as Chief Technology Officer and architecting one of the top mobile ad networks in the world. The platform reached tens of millions of users and powered high-performance user acquisition for leading consumer applications—establishing Gabe as a technical innovator with deep expertise in mobile systems, data architecture, and product scaling.
After Influence Mobile’s growth, Gabe joined the venture studio Prota Ventures, where he partnered with early-stage founders and Fortune 100 companies to build new digital products, design go-to-market strategies, and drive innovation inside large organizations. His work at Prota blended creativity, engineering depth, and strategic insight—skills that underpin his later consumer hardware successes.
Today, Gabe is the Founder of Stix Golf, one of the fastest-growing modern golf equipment brands in the U.S., and the Co-Founder of Host Modern, a design-led home and serveware company whose vacuum-sealed thermal dishes have become a category-defining product. Across both companies, he is known for elevating overlooked categories through thoughtful industrial design, storytelling that resonates, and operational excellence from manufacturing to digital growth.
Collin Duff is an entrepreneur and product leader who loves building things that make everyday life better. He started his career working in the non-profit Faith & Work space, where he learned how to help people connect what they believe with the work they do. That experience shaped the way he thinks about leadership and creating products with purpose.
His first business was Viator Coffee Co., which he started as a way to get hands-on experience as an entrepreneur. Since then, the company has grown into catering, café operations, and roasting—and even completed its first acquisition to expand further. After that, he helped start Stix Golf, a modern golf brand focused on high-quality, great-looking clubs that don’t cost a fortune. At Stix, he worked as VP of Operations and now serves as Head of Product, helping design new golf gear and manage the teams that build it.
Collin is also the Co-Founder and COO of Host Modern, a fast-growing home goods company known for its innovative vacuum-sealed serveware. At Host Modern, Collin works on product design, manufacturing, and making sure the company runs smoothly as it grows.
Throughout his career, Collin has built a reputation for combining creativity with practical problem-solving. He loves working on design, supply chains, and direct-to-consumer brands—turning early ideas into real products people use and love.
The Acton Institute is a think-tank whose mission is to promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.
Visit our website: acton.org
Subscribe to the Acton Line Podcast: acton.org/acton-line
Visit the Acton Bookshop: shop.acton.org
Follow Acton on Facebook: facebook.com/ActonInstitute
Follow Acton on Twitter: twitter.com/ActonInstitute
Follow Acton on Instagram: instagram.com/acton_institute
