Founders Everywhere: Kenzie Butera Davis
Kenzie Butera Davis is the founder & CEO of Maro, a platform that provides early intervention and risk detection for youth mental health.
Welcome to Founders Everywhere, where we highlight the incredible people behind the companies we’ve backed at Everywhere Ventures, a global pre-seed fund supported by a community of 500 founders and operators.
Youth mental health is in crisis, with many children and teenagers struggling silently for years before receiving the help they need. According to the Children's Hospital Association, on average, there is an 11-year gap between the first signs of mental health issues and treatment. This leaves countless young people at risk during some of the most critical years of their development. Schools are increasingly shouldering the burden of addressing youth mental health, filling in gaps left by strained healthcare systems and limited access to resources. Maro is a web-based platform that is empowering schools to transition from reactive to proactive care. Their product Maro for Schools is the single most efficient tool for screening youth (ages 7-17) at school for depression, anxiety, suicide and/or ADHD, and also getting families to matched care. They bundle Maro for Schools with an integrated mobile app, Maro for Families, that connects families to their child’s school, enabling them to digitally consent to school-based mental health screening, engage with at-home parenting and mental health content, track symptoms, and navigate care.
Founder and CEO Kenzie Butera Davis has a background spanning entrepreneurship, venture capital, and nonprofit work. Her early career included working in a rape crisis and domestic violence shelter, as well as engaging in policy advocacy focused on families, women, and children. She also conducted academic research on the intersection of healthcare services and K-12 schools, particularly exploring the challenges of implementing mental health services. She has a deep passion for youth mental health and is tackling the issue head-on with Maro.
Why Maro and why now?
Maro is the result of both my professional experiences and personal life. Professionally, I started in the nonprofit sector, focused on kids and families, policy advocacy, and school healthcare services. Personally, during COVID a younger family member survived a suicide attempt and was in and out of inpatient facilities. This deeply affected me and my family, and I found myself constantly thinking about teenage mental health and the barriers to providing effective support. I realized I couldn’t just sit with this problem—I’m a natural problem solver, and it became something I couldn’t ignore. I ended up writing my academic thesis on the intersection of healthcare services in K-12 schools and what began as research and a way to make sense of the issue turned into a calling to build Maro.
What's Maro’s North Star?
Our mission is to eliminate the 11-year gap between first symptom and treatment in youth mental health. Our technology was built to adapt to and embrace whole communities, connecting home, school and clinic.
How does Maro inspire “customer love”?
Schools love that our platform provides immediate insights into their own impact. After screenings, they can see data on how many students are struggling with mental health issues. While we’ve received positive feedback for making the platform smooth and easy to use—essential in chaotic school environments—the most meaningful response is from users who feel excited and connected to the impact they’re making through real-time insights.
Tell us about some milestones that Maro has crushed.
Maro was named Oracle Cerner's Leading Pediatric Health Innovation and World’s Most Innovative EdTech Startup (winner out of ~1K companies across 69 countries). We also recently signed a contract to screen 40,000 students in school districts across the state of Illinois.
Why the name Maro?
The name is derived from the last name of Virgil, the Roman poet who serves as a guide for Dante in The Divine Comedy. In the story, Virgil leads Dante through the most challenging parts of his journey—the Inferno and Purgatorio—and then releases him into Paradiso. Similarly, Maro aims to guide families and children through the most difficult parts of growing up.
Fun fact:
I competed in the Miss USA state pageant in Montana to raise awareness about youth mental health. It was an unconventional but impactful way to use the platform for advocacy.
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