What Curate Capital does

Curate Capital is a Houston-based venture capital firm founded in 2020 by Carrie Colbert, a former 20-year energy industry executive at Hilcorp Energy Company. The firm invests in female-founded consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands at the Seed to Series A stage, writing checks of $500K to $1.5M into companies generating $1M or more in revenue across health and beauty, food and beverage, home and family, and fashion and apparel verticals. Curate's investment thesis is differentiated by its 'Influential Investing' model, in which fund limited partners are predominantly women—including large social-media influencers with a combined following of over 12 million—who provide portfolio companies with brand amplification, marketing expertise, and go-to-market support beyond capital.

The firm's product surface is operational rather than technological: core offerings consist of the Curate Capital Fund Investment Platform (the venture fund itself), the Curate Council (a curated advisory network of industry executives such as former Kate Spade executive Elyce Arons and former McCain Institute director Jane Mosbacher Morris who provide go-to-market, supply chain, and exit support), and the Influencer Investing Network. To date, Curate has funded 16 portfolio companies including Live Tinted, Curie, DEUX, Ema, Nori, TO THE MARKET, IntuiTap Medical, BODY Vodka, Red Clay Hot Sauce, Frances Valentine, Another Tomorrow, Packed Party, Glamhive, and Ampersand, deploying more than $18M in capital. The firm relies on standard venture capital infrastructure (Juniper Square for investor administration, Squarespace for its website) rather than proprietary technology.

Curate generates revenue through traditional venture capital economics: management fees on committed capital and, prospectively, carried interest from successful exits. Its first fund closed at $15 million in 2022—50% above its original target—with nearly 80% of limited partners being women. Six portfolio companies from Fund I have subsequently raised at least one additional round, and the firm is actively raising a second, materially larger fund targeting 40+ new female-founded startups. Recent strategic moves include leading the Series B for Live Tinted alongside L'Oreal BOLD (February 2026) and a strategic partnership with Stavis Wealth (October 2025) to integrate venture capital with women's wealth management.

Name

Curate Capital

Legal name

Curate Capital

Website

https://curate.capital

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Curate Capital is a Houston-based venture capital firm that invests $500K-$1.5M in Seed to Series A female-founded CPG brands. Founded in 2020, it uses an 'Influential Investing' model combining capital with influencer-driven distribution and a curated operator advisory network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Venture Capital

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Sector-Focused Venture Capital (Vertical Specialists) (FSANAAAD)

Keywords

• Venture capital investing
• Consumer brand investment
• Seed stage funding
• Female founder capital
• CPG brand investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. VC Fund Management: Curate Capital generates revenue through traditional venture capital mechanisms including management fees on deployed capital and carried interest from successful portfolio exits. The firm closed its first fund at $15 million in 2022, 50% above target, with nearly 80% of investors being women including leading influencers with over 10 million followers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Curate Capital is a venture capital firm that invests $500K-$1.5M in female-founded consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands at the Seed to Series A stage with at least $1M in revenue. The firm operates an "Influential Investing" model that pairs capital with strategic support from the Curate Council of industry leaders and an influencer investor network with over 12 million combined followers to amplify portfolio brand marketing and distribution.

Product overview

Curate Capital operates as a venture capital investment platform rather than a traditional software product. The company provides funding (Seed to Series A, $500K-$1.5M) to female-founded consumer brands across Health & Beauty, Food & Beverage, Home & Family, and Fashion & Apparel verticals. The platform's core offering is its investment capital combined with the Curate Council advisory network and Influencer Investing Network (12M+ followers) for portfolio support. The portfolio comprises 16 portfolio companies including Live Tinted (inclusive beauty), Curie (clean deodorant), DEUX (functional cookie dough), Ema (women's wellness AI app), Nori (clothing care), TO THE MARKET (ethical sourcing platform), IntuiTap Medical (medical devices), Body Vodka (beverages), and others spanning CPG categories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Curate Capital Venture Fund A venture capital fund providing growth capital investments of $500K to $1.5M to female-founded consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands at the Seed to Series A stage with at least $1M in annual revenue, open to accredited women investors as limited partners.
• Curate Council Advisory Network

Quantifiable outcome

• Six portfolio companies have raised at least one additional round of funding from first fund
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stavis WealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 October 2025Strategic partnership to promote women's financial empowerment through venture capital and wealth management integration. Collaboration aims to close the gender wealth gap by providing access to venture investments for women founders, investors, and advisors. Involves initiatives to educate, mentor, and connect women to capital and strategic resources.
• Curate CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroup of industry leaders and executives across multiple sectors who provide portfolio companies with go-to-market strategies, influencer connections, supply chain management guidance, and exit acquisition relationships. Includes former Kate Spade executive (Elyce Arons), former McCain Institute director (Jane Mosbacher Morris), and other experienced operators.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Female Founders Fund: Early-stage VC focused on female-founded companies across consumer and tech — directly overlaps Curate's thesis of deploying capital into female-led teams and competes for the same founder pool.
• BBG Ventures: Seed-stage fund investing in female-founded consumer and tech startups; comparable fund size, stage, and thematic focus, making it a head-to-head competitor for female-led CPG deal flow.
• Halogen Ventures: Seed-stage VC led by Jesse Draper investing in female-founded consumer and tech companies; highly comparable in stage, check size, and founder demographics.
• SoGal Ventures: Global early-stage fund focused on diverse founders and consumers; directly comparable thesis targeting female-led and minority-led startups at seed to Series A.
• Forerunner Ventures: Consumer-focused VC investing across CPG, commerce, and brands; overlaps significantly with Curate's CPG-heavy portfolio strategy, though at generally larger check sizes and later stages.
• XRC Labs: Accelerator/VC focused on retail and consumer goods technology and brands; comparable CPG sector focus and seed-to-Series A stage, with a similar operating-support value proposition.
• Lerer Hippeau: Early-stage NYC-based VC with a strong consumer brand portfolio; comparable investment stage, sector concentration, and operator-network-driven value-add model.
• CircleUp Growth Partners: Venture and private equity firm focused exclusively on consumer brands using a proprietary data platform; comparable CPG specialization but with deeper data infrastructure and broader stage range.
• Imaginary Ventures: Consumer-focused VC investing in early-stage lifestyle, beauty, and wellness brands; directly comparable in sector, stage, and emphasis on founder-led brand-building theses.

Emerging players

• Willow Growth Partners: Emerging consumer-focused VC; smaller and earlier stage than incumbents but with comparable CPG and female-founder focus, representing next-tier competition.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/carriec
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/curate-capital

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments9 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Curate Capital