Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 17
Number of Founded Organizations 2
  • Primary Job Title Co-Founder and Managing Director
  • Primary Organization 
    Mercury
  • Investor Type  Investment Partner

Since the late 90's, Blair Garrou has focused on funding, operating and incubating startup software companies. Blair's current investments include Alert Logic, Donde, Filament Labs, GameSalad, Graphicly, Koupon Media, Molecule Software, ShareThis, and Vistar Media. Blair's previous investments have included Alert Logic (Welsh

Carson), BlackLocus (Home Depot), Infochimps (CSC), Phurnace Software (BMC Software), FuelQuest (Saracen Energy), Intermat (IHS) and SAT Corporation (Invensys).

Blair is a Managing Director of Mercury Fund, a seed and early-stage venture capital firm that makes investments in compelling and novel software and science-based startup opportunities, focusing on technology innovation originating in the U.S. Midcontinent. Since inception in 2005, Mercury has become one of the most active seed-stage venture firms in the Midcontinent, becoming a “go-to” fund for entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of idea generation, company formation, and market execution.

Blair is also a co-founder of SURGE Accelerator (Houston, TX), a mentor-driven seed accelerator focused on entrepreneurs seeking to solve the world’s energy problems using software. Blair is also a mentor with seed accelerators The Brandery (Cincinnati, OH) and TechStars (Austin, Chicago, San Antonio).

Prior to co-founding Mercury, Blair was the CEO of Intermat (NYSE: IHS), a leader in product information management software; a Principal with Genesis Park, a Houston-based private equity firm; helped launch and was the Director of Operations for the Houston Technology Center, the largest tech incubator in the Southwest, where he led the formation of the Houston Angel Network. Blair received a B.S. in Management from Washington & Lee University.

Number of Partner Investments 54
Announced Date  
Organization Name  
Investor Name  
Lead Investor  
Funding Round  
Money Raised  
Aug 31, 2023
Otto
Mercury
Series B - Otto
$43M
Apr 11, 2023
Brassica
Mercury
Yes
Seed Round - Brassica
$8M
Aug 9, 2022
ReturnLogic
Mercury
Yes
Series A - ReturnLogic
$8.5M
Jul 19, 2022
Spruce
Mercury
Series B - Spruce
$26M
Aug 11, 2021
Cart.com
Mercury
Series B - Cart.com
$98M
May 6, 2021
Molecule Software
Mercury
Yes
Series A - Molecule Software
$12M
Apr 15, 2021
Cart.com
Mercury
Yes
Series A - Cart.com
$25M
Dec 21, 2020
Topl
Mercury
Yes
Seed Round - Topl
$3M
Nov 11, 2020
Spruce
Mercury
Yes
Series A - Spruce
$8M
Jun 11, 2020
Otto
Mercury
Yes
Series A - Otto
$5M
Number of Current Jobs 3
Number of Past Jobs 5
Blair Garrou has 3 current jobs including Venture Investor at Topl, Adjunct Professor of Management, Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice University, and Co-Founder and Managing Director at Mercury. Additionally, Blair Garrou has had 5 past jobs including CEO at Intermat.
  • Topl Venture InvestorNov 2020
  • Rice University Adjunct Professor of Management, Jones Graduate School of Business2006
  • Mercury Co-Founder and Managing DirectorMar 2005
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
Intermat
CEO20032005
Genesis Park
Principal20002004
Deloitte
Accountant19941997
SURGE Accelerator
Team Member2011
Houston Technology Center
Direcctor Of Operations
Number of Current Board & Advisor Roles 17
Number of Past Board & Advisor Roles 8
Blair Garrou holds 17 board and advisor roles including Strategic Advisor at The Artemis Fund, Venture Investor & Board Member at Otto, and Venture Investor & Board Member at Spruce.
Organization Name  
Title At Company  
Start Date  
End Date  
TrendKite
Board Member20142019
Apto
Board Member20142019
Alert Logic
Member of the Board of Directors20052013
GameSalad
Member of the Board of Directors20092013
Houston Technology Center
Member of the Board of Directors19992000
Phurnace Software
Member of the Board of Directors
Amify
Venture Investor & Board Member2018
BlackLocus
Member of the Board of Directors