Can you remember a time before Gmail? Mary Grove can - she was one of the beta users.

Back in 2004 Mary joined Google with plans to work at the startup for a year through its IPO before heading to law school. Plans changed and Mary spent 15 years with Google. She went on to lead new business development partnerships, negotiating worldwide early stage product and technology deals. Mary then served as the founding director of Google for Startups, leading the company’s global efforts to support entrepreneurs in over 100 countries.

Today Mary is Managing Partner of Bread and Butter Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm based in Minnesota, the Bread and Butter State. The firm invests in the staple sectors of modern economy (food tech, health tech, enterprise SaaS) globally, but leverages Minnesota's unparalleled access to deep corporate connections, talent pools, and industry expertise.

In this episode, Mary shares lessons she learned at Google, drops fun facts about Minnesota's rich talent ecosystem and business-friendly culture, and gives founders advice on VC outreach.

You can find Bread and Butter Ventures on Twitter - @Bread_ButterVC - and LinkedIn.

Follow Mary directly on Twitter or LinkedIn.

To learn more about how you can build a company with Antler, come check us out and apply directly to one of our studios.

TNP189 Recovering Towards Mothering with Taryn Strong