The Bread and Butter Letter 5: Mary Grove of Bread and Butter Ventures
A bread and butter letter is a letter of thanks for hospitality…our version is full of gratitude, thank-yous and advice and will feature founders we’ve backed, our team, and friends of B&B.
We’re switching things up this time by sharing our own Mary Grove’s Bread and Butter Letter. Mary, a Managing Partner at B&B, leads our healthtech practice and co-leads Enterprise SaaS with partner Brett Brohl. The last 3 investments she has led have been into companies led by women. She shares, “We’re leaning into some key areas right now including future of work for a more connected world and supply-chain within foodtech, so look for more news there soon.”
Though she has now been living full-time in Minnesota for three years it was just this year that Mary decided to really get into the winter season. She says, “This winter I tried to fully embrace winter — camped in below freezing temps, snowshoed for the first time, have attempted to learn to ice skate for the first time (still not declaring victory!)”
Mary spoke with us about some of the people, things and choices she is most thankful for as an investor:
Is there a person from growing up who you feel thankful towards?
I’m tremendously grateful to my parents. My parents immigrated from rural villages in Thailand and embody the quintessential entrepreneurial American dream. They raised three children, started and ran small businesses together for over 30 years. Their grit and tenacity gave me a firsthand view of the successes and failures of entrepreneurship. They instilled in me core values of relentless perseverance, picking up when you fall, and having an endless amount of gratitude and appreciation for the people who are part of your journey.
Who was instrumental at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey?
I was fortunate to “grow up” professionally at Google where I spent the first 15 years of my career. One of my earliest mentors was Chris Sacca who is an admired and prolific venture investor. Back then he was leading special projects for our CEO. Chris saw potential in me and taught me a great deal, including the earliest fundamentals of “how” to work — including how to take great notes in a meeting (how to operate & follow up efficiently), to ask for forgiveness rather than permission, how to forge strong partnerships internally and externally, to treat everyone with respect up and down the org chart and not to get caught up in hierarchy.
What books, podcasts, or blogs have really inspired you as a leader?
I recommend Clay Christensen’s “How Will You Measure Your Life” as a great guide. For podcasts, I love listening to Harry Stebbings’ 20 Minute VC for both the wisdom his guests share but also for the authenticity with which he shares his own experiences and asks questions. I recently finished my friend Adiba Barney’s book When Life Gives You Cactuses, Make Margaritas. Adiba and I met about a decade ago through our work in the entrepreneurial community (she was CEO of Silicon Valley Forum and has done tremendous work around the globe). Adiba lives with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer and her life story, perspective on leadership, and raw courage she shares in this book inspire me daily.
Who is an unsung person at your company you’d like to highlight?
Steph Rich, our amazing Head of Platform (who hopefully doesn’t feel unsung!) is someone I’m grateful for each day. Steph brings the perfect blend of entrepreneurial, operational, community-oriented, and giving to her mindset. She rolls up her sleeves each and every day to support our Bread & Butter founders. Topics range from leadership coaching to direct PR outreach to tech stack. I’m always amazed at her range of skills and tireless commitment. Plus, she is pure joy to work with.
What do you look back on and thank yourself for doing when you started your company (i.e. what would you recommend to others?)
I’ll answer this by referencing the first team I built, the Google for Startups team, which started as yours truly and grew to 40+ people working across 17 timezones. Getting to build a team from scratch affords you the opportunity to prioritize team, cultural fit, and building with the right set of diverse backgrounds and perspectives in mind from day one. Overinvesting in hiring is my #1 piece of advice for teams and companies. Take the time to find the right candidate, to invest in their onboarding, support your people managers, and deal with problems directly and swiftly. And always bring gratitude!
