🔒E-commerce startup Grove Collaborative plans second Portland office

Matthew Bray heads Portland operations for Grove Collaborative, a San Francisco-based e-commerce startup that sells natural home, beauty and personal care products.

Bray, officially known as the company’s community happiness chief for Portland, sat down with Mainebiz in Grove Collaborative’s pet-friendly digs on Middle Street to talk about hiring plans and the role of so-called Grove Guides, who serve as customers’ personal shoppers and solutions providers.

Mainebiz: How many are you now in Portland?

MB: We are now over 75 and still growing. For the first time as a company, we’re offering part-time ‘Grove Guide’ roles for people who will have the ability to work from home but still be part of the Grove family. We’re looking to have 25 of those hired by the beginning of May.

Mainebiz: What are your responsibilities as head of community happiness?

MB: One is making sure that community happiness is absolutely the best possible department it can be — we have a 100% customer satisfaction guarantee, meaning that if we have to give away some stuff, we give away some stuff. We don’t challenge customers — we believe them, we trust them and are as authentic as possible in our actions. We’re also guiding and suggesting product, so we’re helping them understand what shopping natural means. It’s very different than just buying soap that looks like it’s natural because it’s got a clean package. What are the ingredients? Where was this sourced? Are animals in any way, shape or form involved in testing? Our guides know all this, and can answer those questions that help folks whether they’re on step one of their natural journey or have been shopping natural their whole lives.

Mainebiz: And the other part of your job?

MB: The other part of my function is a general site-director type role. We just signed a lease on a secondary expansion office that’s right here downtown as well, over on Canal Street. We expect to be at a total headcount of around 120 in Portland by the end of 2019.

Mainebiz: This looks like a relatively young workforce. All millennials?

MB: Our most recent hiring class is about 50/50 millennials and non-millennials. We have found that a lot of the folks coming here from different backgrounds and experience are bringing insight to the table and helping millennials understand what customer service and interaction really mean. What is a relationship with a customer? Is it just that you send a smiley face or an emoji in an email? Probably not. It’s probably some sort of empathetic reaction to what they’re saying to you.

Mainebiz: Where are you finding job applicants?

MB: They’re all online. A big piece is our status as a certified B Corporation, we’re very proud of that. When people know what a B Corp. is and care about that, they can actually search jobs through the B Corp. directory.

A lot of it is word of mouth as well. I also think we’re starting to build our reputation that we actually deliver on the promises we say we’re going to deliver on. At the same time, we’re still technically a startup, still raising capital, and still trying to figure out where in the marketplace is the best place we should be, so this is still somewhat of a risk. That’s the other thing helping us draw talent, because people like that.

Mainebiz: Given your sales background, what’s different about Grove?

MB: This isn’t really a sales job because no one is paid commission. Their pay is not impacted on what goes out the door, it’s 100% about the mission and making the company as a whole succeed. So many companies claim to be customer first. Well, this is the first place I’ve worked that I’ve seen that across the board.

Mainebiz: In a few words, what’s the mission?

MB: We believe that conscientious choices are not just for the few, and that no matter where you are, you can make good choices for your home, your family and our planet. We want to provide the easiest possible way for you to do that.