PLUS Capital Research
Investment Thesis
PLUS Capital is a Venice, California-based venture capital investment and advisory firm founded in 2012 by Adam Lilling. Its defining structural feature is the "PLUS Collective": a network of 65-75+ high-profile artists, athletes, and cultural leaders (reported figures vary by source and year) whom the firm partners with to invest in and advise emerging growth-stage companies. PLUS runs two parallel but related business lines: a registered investment adviser business (Plus Capital Management, LLC) that manages fund capital into growth-stage rounds, and an advisory practice that helps individual celebrity clients make direct equity investments, structure equity-based brand partnerships, and launch new ventures. The firm's stated focus is on companies "that strive to be better for the world and the beings on it," spanning health & wellness, the future of work, the future of societies, and the conscious consumer.
Stage Focus
PLUS Capital explicitly targets "emerging growth stage companies" rather than early-stage seed investing. Portfolio evidence supports this: holdings span Series A/B consumer and health brands through pre-IPO growth names (Anduril at a $61B valuation, Wealthsimple at C$10B, BuildOps as a newly minted unicorn). There is no visible seed or pre-seed activity in the public portfolio.
Check Size
PLUS Capital does not publish target check sizes, and no reliable third-party figure was found. Given the growth-stage focus and a relatively modest ~$294M in SEC-reported regulatory assets under management across roughly 15 private funds/vehicles, individual fund checks are likely in the low-to-mid single-digit millions, supplemented by direct celebrity-client capital that can vary widely by client. This should be treated as a low-confidence estimate.
Lead Tendency
PLUS Capital appears to primarily follow rather than lead. Its own press coverage repeatedly frames PLUS and its collective as participants alongside a named lead: Sequoia Capital led Grow Therapy's $88M Series C, Imaginary Ventures led Bathhouse's $35M round, Thrive Capital and Andreessen Horowitz led Anduril's $5B Series H, and Prelude Growth Partners led OneSkin's $20M round. No public instance of PLUS Capital itself leading a round was identified.
Recent Activity
The firm has been highly active in 2025-2026 based on portfolio-company milestones: Wispr Flow reached a $2B valuation (Aug 2026), Fora hit a $1B valuation on a $60M raise (Jul 2026), Garner Health raised $100M (May 2026) after hitting a $1.4B valuation (Feb 2026), Anduril closed a $5B Series H (May 2026), Wealthsimple raised C$750M at a C$10B valuation (Oct 2025), and BuildOps became a unicorn on a $127M raise (Mar 2025). Two portfolio companies are mid-acquisition: Grüns (agreement to be acquired by Unilever for $1.2B) and The Long Drink (agreement to be acquired by The Mark Anthony Group, maker of White Claw).
Portfolio Highlights
Across its ~36 disclosed fund investments, standout names include Anduril (defense tech, $61B valuation), Wealthsimple (Canadian digital wealth manager, C$10B), MoonPay (crypto payments infrastructure), BuildOps (field service software unicorn), Multiverse (UK apprenticeship unicorn, acquired AI-recruiting startup Searchlight), Grow Therapy and Lyra Health (mental healthcare), Garner Health and Pomelo Care (health cost/maternal health platforms), and consumer brands Tecovas, Gruns, The Long Drink, and Vivrelle. The much larger advisory-only portfolio (100+ companies) reflects direct celebrity-client investments and brand partnerships rather than fund capital, and includes names like 1Password, Salesforce, DocuSign, Casper, Beyond Meat, and Bumble.
Team
- Adam Lilling, Founder + CEO - Serial internet entrepreneur since 1994 (sold Pentagon CDs & Tapes to Virgin Entertainment Group in 1999); co-founded LaunchpadLA in 2009. Named to Forbes' Top 12 LA Entrepreneurs (2012) and Hollywood Reporter's Top Dealmakers (2022, 2023).
- Amanda Groves, General Partner - Leads the investment team (structuring, sourcing, investor/client relations, portfolio management). Ex-J.P. Morgan LA investment desk. Forbes 30 Under 30 (2019).
- Ryan Morris, Partner - Leads deal sourcing. Previously an investor with Rocket Internet's Global Founders Capital. Business Insider Rising Star VC (2021).
- Michelle Dawson, Operating Partner / Head of Corporate Development & General Counsel - Oversees deal structuring and all legal matters. Ex-Skadden Arps corporate associate; Hollywood Reporter Top Dealmaker (2023).
- Howard Morgan, Special Advisor - Co-founder of First Round Capital, Chairman of B Capital Group, former President of Idealab; Wharton/Penn/Caltech/HBS academic background.
- Jordan Weiss, Operating Partner / Head of Platform - Runs client relations, portfolio management, marketing, and operations for the collective.
- Travis Pfeiffer, Head of Finance - Oversees internal finance/accounting for the firm's funds and collective.
- Isabelle Sinclair, Principal - Deal sourcing, diligence, and execution; ex-Barclays Financial Sponsors/Consumer Retail analyst.
- Allie Toerge, Platform Associate - Supports platform operations, client/portfolio relationship management, and marketing.
Decision Process
Partnership-led: Amanda Groves (GP) leads the investment team with Ryan Morris (Partner) driving sourcing, supported by Michelle Dawson on structuring/legal and Isabelle Sinclair on diligence. Howard Morgan serves in a Special Advisor capacity on thesis and strategy rather than day-to-day decisions.
Founder Preferences
PLUS Capital favors consumer-facing health, wellness, and lifestyle businesses with strong brand potential and cultural resonance - the kind of company that benefits from authentic engagement by athletes, artists, and cultural leaders as investors, brand partners, and platform amplifiers. Its selective growth-stage bets outside consumer (Anduril, BuildOps) suggest openness to larger, more institutional rounds when the collective's network still adds distribution or brand value.
Geographic Focus
Headquartered in Venice, California, with a stated presence in Austin, San Francisco, and New York. Portfolio is overwhelmingly US-based, with occasional international exposure through co-investments (e.g., Wealthsimple in Canada, Multiverse in the UK).
Sources
Research drawn from pluscapital.com (home, team, investments, advisory, news, Form CRS), SEC-adviser aggregators (privatefunddata.com, aum13f.com, altss.com) for AUM, and press coverage from TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Forbes, Fortune, PR Newswire, Business Wire, WWD, and Inc.