Mary Grove’s Post

A special co-worker today at Bread and Butter Ventures for our unofficial bring-your-daugther-to work day. 😊 I have so many memories growing up underneath the desk in my parents' clinic and office, tagging along, and seeing them in action building businesses together for over 30 yrs. Really loved getting to bring Lottie in! She sat in today on a board call, our team meeting, a customer reference call, one with a sales expert in our network, enjoyed some North Loop eats, and is learning about being an investor. I'm excited to cheer her on through any and all paths she chooses in life. As Ada Lovelace said, "Strong women. May we know them. May we be them. May we raise them."

We are living the dream today at our own version of summer camp at the Bread and Butter Ventures Founder Summit 2024 in Minneapolis. We have founders in town from Buffalo, Nashville, Sun Valley, Detroit, Chicago, Portland, LA, Boston, Boulder, London, Bangalore, and more. Some thoughts from the morning - and more to come! We're learning from experts in our network, operational leaders, corporate executives, investors, and most importantly - from each other. My mind is blown by the inspiring leaders in the room and the vulnerability and authenticity of their leadership. A few observations: 1 - Our theme this year is RESILIENCE. It's been a tough last 18 months in the macro economic environment and it's required a level of adaptability, scrappiness, and tenacity that is unique. Survive in advance by leaning into cash planning, communication, and allow more time for fundraising and optionality. 2 - As leaders, prioritizing your own mental, emotional and physical health is paramount. Lead by setting good examples from the top. It's hard to pull yourself out of running the business for summits like this and the result was powerful. 3 - Fundraising markets are still tight. Run your fundraise process like an enterprise saas process, batching conversations into cohorts and waves. There is capital out there - find the right, best aligned partners for the journey. 4 - Entrepreneurs are amazing. Full stop. Entrepreneurship is about resilience, economic development, freedom to pursue your dreams, democracy, the pursuit of solving the most difficult challenge you and probably millions or billions of people are facing. It is the greatest gift to do this work. 🙏 Thanks for letting Bread and Butter Ventures be part of the journey. Carbon Origins Inc.Bizzy® Cold Brew Science On Call: Tech Support for Restaurants Knit Rentgrata Betterleave Bereavement EarthSense, Inc. Clean Crop Technologies, Inc. ShearShare, Inc. Omnia Fishing Snout Ducky Chiyo YourPath Nest Collaborative River Health Tendrel FACE PLANT HeavyConnect First Bite xRobotics Caddy Dispatch Goods Tendrel BetterMynd ConverSight Whitebalance Nyla Itiliti Health Kahilla SocialCrowd Delfina Caldo Restaurant Technologies Kishan Vasani 🎉 🎉 🎉 Brett Brohl Stephanie Rich Brianna Sharp Clay Bottensek #venturecapital #earlystage #bread&buttersummit2024 #founders #entrepreneurship

TODAY'S THE DAY! Our 2024 Bread and Butter Ventures Founders Summer kicks off in a few minutes in glorious and sunny Minneapolis. Our portfolio is 74 companies and growing who are innovating in the future of the food system, the healthcare industry, and the future of work and supply chain. We are so thrilled to welcome founders from down the street to across the country to across the world for connection, community, and learning. Can't wait to share updates and learnings in the days ahead. Lets go!! 🎉 Stephanie Rich Brianna Sharp Brett Brohl

Oh what a night! An inspiring evening at the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Heartland Awards in Minneapolis, celebrating 28 companies and the entrepreneurs leading their innovative growth. #EYHL These regional finalists are building the economy of tomorrow. They collectively drive more than $20B in annual revenue, employ more than 45K people, and are building in areas ranging from manufacturing to healthcare to logistics to retail to deep tech and more. Congratulations to Dominic Iannazzo Kathleen Brown and the whole EY team on an inspiring program. Congratulations to finalists 🎉 Sean Higgins | Alex ❄️☕️ French | Andrew Healy | Margaret Murphy | Nolan Lubarski | Ron Konezny | Erin Pash | Brad Batz | Craig O'Halloran | Paula Gamer| Mark Watkins | Rick Bauerly | David Graff | Matt Mueller | John Wirtz | Brian Kaiser | Joel Peterson | James Loffler | Patricia Chinander | Bo Lais | Beth Wozniak | Joseph Dunham II | Ryan Bosshart | Marco Assis | Jeffrey (Jeff) Kiesel | Brian Roers | Kent Roers, CFP | Staszak, Tyler | Josh Herron | Reshma Chattaram Chamberlin | Lori Coulter | M. Gayle Packer | Jimmy Sansone | Lan Sansone | Conrad Sansone | Brian Smith | Bret Weiss I loved celebrating with all the finalists, including Bread and Butter Ventures portfolio companies SUMMERSALT and Bizzy® Cold Brew.

At Bread and Butter Ventures, we're hugely passionate about investing in women's health. If you're in Minneapolis on July 18th, please join us for this panel and conversation for Let's Talk Women's Innovation, an initiative led by the wonderful Katie Hjelmstad Severt, MBA. I am so excited to join Nneka Sederstrom, PhD, MPH, MA, FCCP, FCCM Mary MacCarthy, MBA Simone Hardeman-Jones in a conversation hosted by Chanda Smith Baker Gratitude to event sponsors: Hennepin Healthcare, Herself Health, Associated Healthcare Credit Union, Bloom44℠ #HealthDisparities #WomensHealth #Innovation https://lnkd.in/gYwNtcAY

Congrats Tender Food -- let's go!! 🎉

Happy Loving Day! This annual June 12th celebration marks the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision Loving v. Virginia that struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen U.S. states which banned interracial marriages. This was just 57 years ago. Thank you to those who paved the way for the freedom to love. Steve Grove and I married 12 years ago, merging our Thai and American families. So grateful for our freedom to love, for Mildred & Richard Loving and those who paved the way for these civil rights, and for the reminder of the continued quest for racial equity and civil rights for all. #lovingday

Today's shoutout is to my talented friend Roshini Rajkumar who wears many hats, including Csuite & Crisis Strategist. Roshini has coached many leaders over the years from F500 to startups. I love her podcast, The Crisis Files, described as a blend of irreverent dissection and savvy advice you never knew you needed. I got to join Roshini in studio last fall for Case File #62, Show Me the Money -- where break down the crisis that is the state of US venture capital, where women receive less than 2% of venture capital dollars. I loved the opportunity to discuss this and take a candid look at what solutions can drive systemic change. Episode here: https://lnkd.in/gteVx3eB #venturecapital #podcast #innovation

A sendoff lunch today for Elise Riniker who has been our rockstar intern at Bread and Butter Ventures for the last 2.5 yrs! We absolutely loved working with you and are so grateful that you shared your gifts and talents with us. Elise just graduated from University of Minnesota - Carlson School of Management and is headed to join the investment team at Mairs & Power Venture Capital. We are so proud of you, Elise! Excited to co-invest and continue to cheer you on 🎉 cc Stephanie Rich Brianna Sharp Brett Brohl

Growing up, when asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I certainly would never have said I'd want to be a venture capital investor, much less know that was a career path! I know that seeing is believing and love the idea that young people today can be exposed to more opportunities and ideas at an early age. Bread and Butter Ventures is excited to host a special virtual session for current and recent students who are interested in the world of venture capital. On July 17 from 6-7pm CT, Brett Brohl and I will share candid advice and talk through the VC industry in general, the different career paths available in VC, and practical steps to start gaining exposure in the field. To RSVP, we ask that students please submit this form: https://bit.ly/3QWyNP6 We’ll send a calendar invite to those who RSVP. Students, we hope to see you there! And non-students, please share with any aspiring VCs that you know who are currently studying! #venturecapital #gettingintovc #students #entrepreneurship