About
Bread & Butter Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm founded in 2017 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The firm operates with a distinctive geographic strategy, maintaining a global investment mandate while leveraging Minnesota's deep corporate networks, commercial infrastructure, and sector expertise to back founders across multiple industries. The firm's investment thesis focuses on tech-enabled companies within the food value chain, digital health, and enterprise software platforms designed for organizational efficiency. Bread & Butter targets seed-stage companies, typically deploying check sizes between $1 million and $5 million, with a focus on companies seeking total investments in the $1 million to $3 million range. The firm maintains follow-on reserves representing 20-30% of fund capacity to support promising portfolio companies through subsequent rounds. Co-investment is a core strategic practice, with the firm regularly partnering with complementary venture firms to distribute risk and expand operational support networks. Post-investment value creation is central to the firm's model—beyond capital deployment, Bread & Butter actively connects founders with portfolio partners, industry experts, and operational resources through its Platform efforts. The firm has completed over 100 investments across its fund vehicles, with approximately one-quarter of its portfolio based in Minnesota despite its broader geographic reach. In 2025, the firm announced Fund IV with $40 million in capital, with roughly half sourced from Minnesota-based investors, reflecting strong local institutional support. Leadership includes Mary Grove in a Managing Partner role and Stephanie Rich as Partner, Platform, where Rich focuses on team building, infrastructure development, and continuous value creation initiatives for portfolio companies.