The Dating Game

Keith Litke

By Megan Malugani

Keith Litke became an Internet entrepreneur around the time thousands of other dot-commers were losing the denim shirts right off their backs. Keith’s gutsy gamble has paid off. BrokerBin.com, which Keith launched when he moved to Rochester at age 24, has gone from two to 22 employees and is now doing business in 63 countries. “Starting a dot-com in 2001 was scary ... I was married to the company for the first five years and finally within the last year or so I have been able to establish more of a work/life balance—I know I sound like Dr. Phil—and have been able to take a day off when I want,” Keith says.

Bio Box: Keith Litke.

Age: 30.

Occupation: President of BrokerBin.com (a business-to-business computer hardware exchange).

Before BrokerBin: Keith grew up in Andover, Minnesota. He went to college at Bemidji State University, and worked as a Compaq sales representative in Minnetonka for a year before moving to Rochester to launch his company.

On Starting A Company: “I really didn’t have anything to lose. I was a year out of college and used to subsistence living.”

Nicest Room In His Home: His garage, adorned with moose antlers inherited from his grandpa and a two-foot stuffed animal that resembles a Northern pike. “It’s like Gander Mountain meets garage,” he says. “My friends are freaked out by how clean it is.”

Interests Outside Of Work: Tinkering around the house (and garage). Golfing. Boating. Jetskiing. Running. Working out at the Rochester Athletic Club. Hanging out with friends on a patio—any patio—sipping beer.

Meeting Singles: Keith primarily meets single friends through other single friends. “There’s a small pool of single people our age. I’m hanging out with people I wouldn’t necessarily have hung out with in the past. I’m glad. Everybody has a story.” Parties or barbecues are particularly good venues, he says. “It’s easier to meet people when there is some commonality. You can ask ‘how do you know this person?’”

The Friend Test: Keith rates people on how far they’d go to get him if his car broke down. “A lot of friends would drive to Antarctica. You can’t drive there but they would try anyway. Other people wouldn’t go across the street.”

First Date Avoidance: “I like to hang out [with groups of friends] as opposed to go on first dates. If we hang out and find each other interesting, it may move into a date.”

Winter Dating Idea: Sledding and hot cocoa.

Words His Friends Use To Describe Him: Motivated. Ambitious. Friends of the opposite sex call him a “true gentleman.” “I’m a guy’s guy and a girl’s guy,” Keith says. “I can go hunting, fishing, or finish your basement, but I can also listen, talk, and sense if someone is having a good or bad day.”

Claim To Fame: Keith set up three of his buddies with their wives.