Brant Ellston Cooper

Brant Cooper Obituary

Brant Ellston Cooper June 13, 1963 - July 18, 2024

Encinitas CA.

Brant Ellston Cooper died of cancer, on 18 July 2024, one month after his 61st birthday. Brant was born to Cynthia Larrabee Cooper and Ross Ellston Cooper in Monterey CA, on June 13, 1963. He was a wonderful person: a loving father, brother, son, uncle, and friend. He was an enlightened man, extraordinary athlete, NYT Best-selling Author, leader and Mentor in the global Startup Community, sought-after consultant and speaker for large corporations around the world, Musician, Craftsman, Comedian, and Philosopher.

Brant certainly lived a full and globe-trotting life, developing and focusing his abilities and talents into a variety of successful endeavors, including, but not limited to, founding his company Moves The Needle. He graduated from UCD, with a BA in Economics. As a young "Navy brat" he lived for 6 years in Virginia, his pilot-physicist-father working for the United States Secretary of Navy. As a Californian by birth and at heart, upon moving to La Jolla in the mid 1970s, Brant quickly took to the West Coast, excelling as has always had in all sports he endeavored in, but also adding surfing and rugby to his mix. His time at UCD allowed him ample skiing opportunities, even 2 years into his cancer treatment, he was easily gliding down the most difficult of California slopes. Gifted a guitar for Christmas in 1978, he quickly took to this instrument, and many years later, a highlight for him was first teaching, then playing and singing with his equally talented daughters. These athletic and musical accomplishments were not arrived at without challenges, but as would be the case for his life, Brant overcame his obstacles triumphantly; his childhood foot ailment never slowed his young-age Schwinn-bike jumping - off the most flimsy of home-made ramps; the brutal mauling by two rottweilers never dampened his baseball pitching prowess; when he nearly lost his arm to a savage plate-glass injury at 15, his high school pitching chances may have been lost, but he pivoted to surfing with his brothers, continuing his guitar playing, and playing rugby at UCD. The never-to-be-held-down attitude always continued in life. He spent time leading a hiking and writing existence in the Appalachian Mountains, writing a book that, while it may have not been published, helped years later in the writing of the NYT best-selling book "The Lean Entrepreneur". Subsequently, in the chaos and mess of the global pandemic in 2020, and with ongoing cancer treatments, he would publish Disruption Proof, where he introduced his concept of "RAD: resilient, aware, and dynamic".

If you see some punish-humor here, it is not without cause, from an early age Brant demonstrated his insightful humor, including making home-made comedy tapes with his brothers on their parent's reel-to-reel tape deck in the 1970s, and then latter the comedic reality-TV spoofing home videos he made with his daughters. Brant's return to California in the Bay Area saw him gain the capabilities and insight that would lead him to become, as Forbes put in a 2021 book review, "a sought-after speaker, startup mentor, executive advisor, ...(who would spend) his career helping organizations shift from industrial-age thinking to the pursuit of new opportunities built around agile teams, human-centered design, and lean methodologies." The time in the Bay Area would also lead to Brant's family, and his two cherished daughters Riva and Eliza. They would move to San Diego in 2007 where Brant would become founder of Moves The Needle and, as one of the originators of the Lean Startup movement, an esteemed startup guru and founder of Startup San Diego. His intellect, experience, and speaking abilities would send him around the world; from Paris to Moscow to London, Auckland, Singapore and Brazil, to name only a few destinations. He was a generous mentor, and loving father, son and brother, always willing to share his knowledge and time. He would pose provocative questions with a sly smile, encouraging you to go bold and push yourself. His commitment to empowering others and driving positive change was as strong as his love for his friends, family - especially is daughters - and a good punchline. Brant will leave a lasting legacy and will be forever missed and remembered.

He is survived by his daughters Riva Cooper and Eliza Cooper, his sister Stephanie Cooper, brother Craig Cooper, and their spouses and children. He was preceded in death by father and mother Ross and Cynthia Cooper, brother Todd Cooper.

In lieu of flowers or tree planting, the family kindly suggests a contribution in honor and memory of Brant, to the Brant Cooper Leadership Fund at https://startupsd.org/donate/ (Scroll down for Brant's fund).

As a concluding note, Brant chose as his final resting place, to be composted at Earth Funeral. This obituary is also located on their site, if you'd like to know more about this process. https://earthfuneral.com/obituary/brant-cooper-07182024/

So that he can have the final word (pun) and joke, to quote from his Will: "Let body be eaten by vultures while attendee's sing "Carrion my Wayward Son" by Kansas.

Services will be held for friends and family Sunday, August 4th, from 4pm to 8pm at Powerhouse Park, in Del Mar. All are Welcome. We love you, Brant