Silas Capital Research
Investment Thesis
Silas Capital was formed to be a specialized investment partner to entrepreneurs building businesses in the consumer space, offering both growth equity and venture capital. The firm's founding partners are themselves former consumer-brand operators (co-founder Carter Weiss built and sold BUILT NY), and the firm leans on that operating experience to work alongside founders rather than act as passive capital. Silas frames its opportunity as the "consumer renaissance" created by empowered consumers reshaping how brands start, grow, and scale at the intersection of commerce and influence. The firm explicitly targets the underserved white space of "emerging growth" consumer businesses: brands with a clear, profitable growth path that are not dependent on repeated venture rounds.
Sector Focus
Silas invests across three broad categories described on its site: Specialty Consumer (home & housewares, electronics accessories, sustainable products, apparel & accessories), Consumable Goods (personal care & beauty, food & beverage, health & wellness, household & pet), and Online/Consumer Retail (direct-to-consumer e-commerce, consumer services, mobile applications, health/fitness/wellness retail, restaurant & food services, learning & education). In practice the realized portfolio skews heavily toward beauty and personal care (Makeup by Mario, ILIA Beauty, Herbivore Botanicals, Oak Essentials, Ôrebella), DTC apparel and home goods (DÔEN, Boll & Branch, Bellroy, Business & Pleasure Co.), and food/wellness (Sakara Life, Fishwife, MUD\WTR, Cure Hydration), with a smaller cluster of consumer-adjacent health and workplace platforms (Heartbeat Health, Veracity, BrightHire, Chief).
Stage Focus and Check Size
Silas runs two programs: Silas Capital for growth-stage consumer brands doing $5–$50 million in annual revenue, and Silas Ventures for seed/Series A consumer brands and enabling technology. Typical check size is $3–$15+ million for growth-stage deals and $100k–$500k+ for early-stage deals, funded from Fund II, which closed at a $150 million hard cap in March 2024.
Lead Tendency
The firm states a preference to lead growth-stage investments, while also co-investing in rounds requiring larger checks — evidenced by recent deals such as Freestyle's Series A (led) and RŌZ's raise (co-invested alongside G9 Ventures).
Recent Activity
Silas has stayed active through 2025 and into 2026: backing Ôrebella's (Bella Hadid) Series A in May 2026, leading Freestyle's $10M Series A in March 2026, closing Molly Sims' YSE Beauty $15M Series A alongside L Catterton in December 2025, leading DÔEN's growth equity round in June 2025, and investing in Business & Pleasure Co. in March 2025. Fund status appears actively deploying given the continuous cadence of new investments through the most recent quarter.
Portfolio Highlights
Notable exits include ILIA Beauty (acquired by the Courtin-Clarins family's Famille C, 2022), Boll & Branch (acquired by L Catterton, 2019), Bare Snacks (acquired by VMG Partners, 2014), Lord Jones (acquired by the Cronos Group, 2019), BrightHire (acquired by Zoom, 2025), and most recently Wonderbelly (acquired by Procter & Gamble, January 2026). Active portfolio highlights include Casper, Sakara Life, Bellroy, Chief, and Makeup by Mario, alongside newer growth bets like Malbon, Vacation, and VIOLETTE_FR.
Team
- Carter Weiss, Partner — Co-founder; previously founded and ran BUILT NY as CEO for 7 years (grew it from $0 to $30M in sales), and was an early internet VC at Hollinger Capital (Shopping.com).
- Frank T. Lin, Partner — 12+ years as a consumer growth investor; previously at EuclidSR Partners (SkinMedica, FatWire, Plateau Systems); co-founded MatchMetrix.
- Brian Thorne, Partner — 15+ years investing in consumer/retail; previously at Tengram Capital Partners and Catterton Partners (L Catterton); started in Consumer/Retail Investment Banking at Lazard.
- Greg Stupore, Chief Financial Officer — CPA; previously VP of Finance at 747 Capital, prior auditor at Deloitte & Touche.
- Mary Murtagh, Vice President — Joined May 2024; previously Senior Associate at CAVU Consumer Partners and on the commercial finance/strategy team at Vita Coco.
Decision Process
Three named partners (Weiss, Lin, Thorne) suggest a partnership-based decision process rather than a solo GP or formal investment committee structure.
Founder Preferences
The firm looks for motivated founders and capable management with strong execution, differentiated products/brands with platform potential, and businesses laser-focused on customer experience that bridge digital and offline channels — with meaningful growth potential over 3–5 years and market-validated or innovative business models.
Geographic Focus
Primarily United States-based, privately-held companies, with occasional investments beyond the US. The firm is headquartered at 1330 6th Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10019.