Dan Price, the Gravity Payments CEO, was trailed for three weeks in May and June in Seattle by Stephen Rodrick, a veteran magazine journalist known for pulling no punches in his profiles of celebrities and other public figures. The result is a revealing and unvarnished profile in the new issue of Esquire magazine.
The article is full of behind-the-scenes anecdotes, delving into the complex psychology of the Seattle entrepreneur best known for raising minimum salaries to $70,000 at the credit-card processing company. Rodrick accompanies Price to high-stakes poker games, explains how he ended up eating wings with Tyra Banks, and explores his troubled relationship with his brother and business partner, Lucas Price, whose lawsuit against the Gravity Payments CEO forms the core of the story.
For example, Rodrick quotes Dan Price reflecting on the fact that the two people he was once closest with, his brother and former wife, no longer speak with him.
“Maybe I’m not the good guy I think I am,” said Price, wiping his eyes with his hand. But almost immediately, his face brightened. “Well, I also think they sold their Dan Price stock too low and they’re frustrated with themselves.”
Having Rodrick shadow the CEO was a gamble for Price and Gravity Payments, given the journalist’s reputation for hard-hitting profiles. Readers of the piece can judge whether that gamble paid off. But one former Gravity staffer told Rodrick, “He won’t care what you write—just that you wrote about him is the victory.”
Price posted a series of tweets this morning indicating that he was taking it all in stride, determined to learn from the portrayal and the experience.
Glad to have Stephen Rodrick as a friend through this and sort through it all!
— Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) August 3, 2016
Meanwhile in court, after winning the case brought by his brother, Dan Price is seeking reimbursement of $1.3 million in legal fees and expenses from Lucas Price under terms of their shareholder agreement, based on the judge’s order in the case. Lucas Price told GeekWire today that he and his wife, Shannon, are hoping that Dan will withdraw his petition for fees and negotiate a buyout of Lucas’ stake.
“Through this ordeal Dan has communicated through the press and social media that he loves me and my family, he will do anything he can to help us, and he is ready to put this conflict behind us,” Lucas said via email. “While I have may not have always acted as if Dan’s words were genuine, if they were genuine, then Shannon and I are trusting Dan will withdraw his petition for attorney’s fees and he will continue to negotiate a buyout on terms no worse than previous offers.”
