What stage does Willow Growth Partners invest at?

Willow Growth Partners invests at the Seed, Series A, Growth stages.

What is Willow Growth Partners's typical check size?

Willow Growth Partners typically writes checks of $750K – $1.3M.

What sectors does Willow Growth Partners focus on?

Willow Growth Partners focuses on Consumer, Direct to Consumer, FoodTech, Impact & Social Good, Wellness & Fitness.

Where is Willow Growth Partners located?

Willow Growth Partners is headquartered in Malibu, US.

Does Willow Growth Partners lead rounds?

Yes, Willow Growth Partners leads investment rounds.

Willow Growth Partners

Growth equity

Malibu · Seed–Growth · 6 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Willow Growth Partners invests solely in consumer brands across beauty and personal care, food and beverage, health and wellness, and baby, home, and pet categories. The firm draws on over 20 years of executive operating experience, offering portfolio companies access to CEO-level operating partners and LP sector specialists. Leveraging deep industry networks, the firm sources and recruits talent, helps founders identify aligned capital partners who understand their category, and provides active board-level guidance, oversight, and support to the brands it backs.

Invests inConsumer Direct to Consumer FoodTech Impact & Social Good Wellness & Fitness Malibu United States

Source: firm website, verified Aug 25, 2026.

Stage

Seed–Growth

Check

$750K – $1.3M

Malibu, California, US

Leads rounds

Leads

Instruments

Equity

Founded

2020

Last 12 months

1 investment

Private fund assets

$119M

VC funds

Tracked investments

Team · 6 people

from the firm's website & public directories

Amanda Schutzbank· Co-Founder & General Partner· Los Angeles Metropolitan Areain

Co-Founder and General Partner at Willow. Previously invested in consumer at Amplify and Primary Venture Partners, was a founding team member and VP of Marketing at Karma, and worked in Techstars NY and investment banking at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She holds a BS from the Wharton School.

a•••@willowgrowth.comreveal

Deborah Benton· Founder & Managing Partner· Los Angeles, Californiain 𝕏

Founder and Managing Partner of Willow. Previously ran a family-office investment vehicle focused on seed-stage consumer brands, and held executive operating roles including President & COO of Nasty Gal, COO of ShoeDazzle, and EVP at Teleflora. She holds an MBA and BA from Queen's University.

d•••@willowgrowth.comreveal

Ellie Wanninger· Investor· United Statesin

Investor at Willow. Previously an Investment Banking Analyst on Piper Sandler's Consumer Team, with earlier roles in private equity at Stone Arch Capital and real estate. She graduated cum laude from Pepperdine University in Economics and Applied Mathematics.

John Cochran· Operating Partner· Manhattan Beach, California, United Statesin

Operating Partner and seasoned consumer goods executive with expertise in beverage and food. He has served as CEO of Hollandia Produce, Ole Smoky Distillery, and Pabst Brewing Company, was a founding investor in FLOW Water, and led acquisitions at The Wonderful Company. He holds MBA and Masters of Architecture degrees from the University of Michigan.

Joshua Dau· Investor· Santa Monica, California, United Statesin

Investor at Willow with experience across venture capital, investment banking, and growth advisory through roles at Axcel, Partnership Capital Growth, and Visible Ventures. He earned a BA in Economics and Philosophy from Colgate University.

Silvia Mazzucchelli· Operating Partner· Los Angeles, California, United Statesin

Operating Partner with over 25 years in consumer, retail, and e-commerce. She began her career at BCG and held senior operating roles at TOMS, American Apparel, and ModCloth, later serving as CEO of The Collected Group and now CEO and Chair of Coyuchi. She holds an MBA from UCLA Anderson.

Investments · 4 tracked

founders shown can be your intro path

By year:2026 · 1 2023 · 1 2021 · 1 2019 · 14 dated

Love All Little OnesFeb 2021SEC filingmedium confidence

Brooklyn, US

Gregory Davidson(Executive Officer, Director)Michael Wieder(Executive Officer, Director)

Board seatAmanda Schutzbank· per SEC Form D · $5.9M raise · filed Mar 2021

Tomboy ExchangeJan 2019SEC filingmedium confidence

Seattle, US

FRAN DUNAWAY(Executive Officer, Director)NAOMI GONZALEZ(Executive Officer, Director)Fran Dunaway(Executive Officer, Director)Naomi Gonzalez(Executive Officer, Director)

Board seatDeborah Benton· per SEC Form D · $1.5M raise · filed Jan 2019

Co-investorsThe Craftory

Daash Intelligence inOct 2023

Daash Intelligence runs an AI-based predictive commerce intelligence platform for beauty and personal care retail brands.

San Francisco, US

Philip Smolin(Executive Officer, Director)Kim Perell(Executive Officer, Director)

BoardRoss Kimbel(Director)

Co-investorsBullpen Capital GFT Ventures New Stack Ventures OpenSky Ventures Red Bike Capital Silicon Road Ventures

Filamentfilament.comJun 2026 · $2M

An industrial IoT company enabling secure communications and private exchanges between devices through distributed network technology.

Co-investorsBackstage Capital Gen Capital Pantera Capital VTF Capital ZenStone Venture Capital FINTOP Capital +1 more

Rows marked “SEC filing” are inferred from directors named on the company's SEC Form D — public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.

Portfolio news

latest coverage across their companies

Filament Sciences Raises $2 Million Seed Round | BeautyMatter

Filament · beautymatter.com · Jun 4, 2026

Daash Launches Advisory Board to Deepen Industry Insights and Accelerate Growth

Daash Intelligence · businesswire.com · May 18, 2026

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Willow Growth Partners invest at?: Willow Growth Partners invests at the Seed, Series A, Growth stages.
What is Willow Growth Partners's typical check size?: Willow Growth Partners typically writes checks of $750K – $1.3M.
What sectors does Willow Growth Partners focus on?: Willow Growth Partners focuses on Consumer, Direct to Consumer, FoodTech, Impact & Social Good, Wellness & Fitness.
Where is Willow Growth Partners located?: Willow Growth Partners is headquartered in Malibu, US.
Does Willow Growth Partners lead rounds?: Yes, Willow Growth Partners leads investment rounds.

Media · Podcasts & interviews

featuring the team

Investor Spotlight: Deborah Benton of Willow Growth Partners

Startup CPG · Deborah Benton

Live Q&A with Deborah Benton, Founder & GP at Willow Growth Partners

Female Founder Collective · Deborah Benton

Images

Co-investors · 10

Greycroft

Greycroft is a venture capital firm that partners with founders across multiple industries and geographies, investing in software, sustainability, and consumer brands.

$100K – $5M

Upfront Ventures

Upfront Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that positions itself as a long-term partner to founders, with a presence bridging the Los Angeles and Bay Area startup ecosystems.

$1M – $10M

BAM Ventures

BAM Ventures is an early-stage investment firm made up of experienced entrepreneurs based in Southern California, backing founders building consumer-focused technologies, products, and services that transform commerce.

$100K – $1M

Pelion Venture Partners

Pelion Venture Partners helps entrepreneurs and invests in early-stage B2B software-based companies. Since 1986, Pelion Venture Partners has been helping entrepreneurs turn early-stage concepts into tomorrow's industry-leading companies. Pelion invests in early-stage B2B software across the US. With 7 investment team members, Pelion has deepand diverse industry and investment experience. They are hands-on in their approach and work collaboratively with each portfolio company.

$1M – $20M

Tribeca Venture Partners

Tribeca Venture Partners is a New York-based venture capital firm that backs early-stage founders using emerging technologies to build category-defining companies.

$1M – $15M

TA Ventures

TA Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in ambitious technology startups building the industries of tomorrow.

$100K – $1M

Act One Ventures

Act One Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm based in Los Angeles and San Francisco that invests in founders building AI-native enterprise platforms.

$1M – $3M

Fabric VC

Fabric VC is a venture capital firm that invests in mission-aligned founders and startups, and facilitates community through connector events to reshape the venture capital ecosystem.

True Beauty Ventures

True Beauty Ventures is a specialist investment firm backing beauty and wellness brands from Seed to Series B, offering capital along with sector insight, access, and operational partnership.

$1M – $10M

Verity Venture Partners

Verity Venture Partners is an early-stage investment firm that partners with consumer brand founders once their companies reach $1-10M in sales, supporting them across strategy, execution, talent, and capitalization.

$500K – $3M

Firms observed investing alongside Willow Growth Partners, from public investor directories. Shared companies are the overlap with Willow Growth Partners's recorded portfolio.

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