“It’s about quality of life, paying attention to the growing business ecosystem, and to our communities.” Mary Grove, partner at Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, has found a home in the Midwest that is thriving and equipped to compete with the coasts. Since relocating to Minneapolis from the Bay Area, the Stanford University graduate is a champion for communities reaching for their fullest potential.
Before joining Revolution, where she manages the portfolio engagement platform that supports the Rise of the Rest portfolio of over 130 companies in varying industries, Grove spent a number of years in Silicon Valley. The coastal regions of the U.S. are prime hubs of innovation and financial security. For Grove and the Revolution team, their success is attributed to the belief that innovation isn’t exclusive to just New York or California, but that exciting companies, visions, and world-changing innovation are happening in cities like Atlanta, Omaha, and Baltimore, and states like Minnesota, Michigan, and North Dakota.
Having come from a family of entrepreneurs – her parents were small business owners – Grove, an Iowa native, was well-equipped for her role as the founding Director of Google for Entrepreneurs. During her fifteen years at Google, she led the company’s global efforts to support entrepreneurs and communities in over 100 countries. Grove continues to inspire the next generation of business leaders through the Silicon North Stars, an organization of which she is the co-founder. Silicon North Stars is a nonprofit established to inspire young Minnesotans from economically underserved communities toward futures in tech.
Grove is passionate about the business ecosystem present in America’s untapped markets. Since relocating to Minneapolis, she’s found the way of life and difference in the people’s sense of urgency refreshing. Paired with the lower costs of living, it’s attributes like those that make cities in the Midwest the next great locales for growth. Grove hopes to continue helping companies fulfill their destinies and think globally, no matter where they are headquartered.
When asked what challenges she’s found by shifting her perspective to the Midwest, Grove is quick to say the challenges are only present outside of the ecosystem. “It’s the lack of visibility of the companies and opportunities available in cities like Fargo that offer the most challenges.” Those challenges have offered the greatest reward, however, as she’s seen companies across the country earn investments that would have been nearly-impossible in recent years or decades. “By paying attention to our communities and the missions of these companies who are focused on innovation that will affect the world, we grow as a company and the greater ecosystem benefits.”
Grove is excited to bring her expertise and venture capital insight to Fargo as a keynote speaker at this year’s Prairie Capital Summit. Her visit to the Fargo metropolitan region will serve as her first. “I’ve heard so many great things about the growth happening in Fargo and I can’t wait to experience that environment firsthand.”
