John Stephens was a lifelong risk-taker who loved investing in start-ups, mentoring aspiring traders and betting on stocks, even as he was dying from lymphoma cancer.
"He was never the guy who could sit at a desk and push papers around," said Mike Zipoy, Stephens' son-in-law. "The securities industry is an industry where every single day is different. It's exciting. Some people don't like the uncertainty, but John had the personality that is ideal for that thing."
Stephens, a venture capitalist and successful stock trader, died Feb. 6 at the age of 84.
He had a wry sense of humor and wit that could keep up with the sharpest stock traders. Months before he died, Stephens would often drive to NDX Trading Inc. and engage in short-selling stocks.
"He really was an elder statesman," said Phil Herbert, a fellow trader at NDX Trading. "Everybody looked up to him. There was always an incredible amount of wisdom in his words."
Stephens got his start in trading at Continental Securities in Minneapolis in the mid-1960s and later opened his own brokerage, John Stephens & Co. But in the late 1970s that changed when Stephens invested all the money he earned from his firm into a business he co-founded: Chi Chi's Mexican Restaurant.
Stephens believed the business idea could grow into a national chain. "He laid it all on the line," Zipoy said. "Every nickel he had."
It was a big risk that ended up paying off big-time for Stephens, who went on to help more companies. He invested in a relative's Florida-based home health care business and co-founded a nightclub for people under 21 called Mr. Lucky's in Minneapolis. Both were successful and later sold, said his daughter, Barb Zipoy.
