Knollgate Is Betting the Future of Consumer Growth Doesn't Require Giving Away More Equity
Every growing consumer brand eventually reaches the same crossroads. Demand is accelerating. Retail opportunities are expanding. New product categories are within reach.
But growth comes with a catch.
Inventory must be produced before it's sold. Retailers often don't pay invoices for weeks or even months. Working capital becomes the fuel for expansion, yet many founders find themselves raising another equity round simply to finance timing gaps in their cash flow.
For Greg Greifeld, that pattern became impossible to ignore.
After nearly 17 years in private markets, Greifeld had watched one too many promising founder-led brands give up ownership, not because their businesses lacked momentum, but because traditional financing options failed to match the realities of consumer growth.
That realization ultimately led to the launch of Knollgate, a new West Palm Beach-based private investment firm built around a simple premise: founders shouldn't have to surrender more equity just to finance the next stage of their success.
Solving the Timing Gap
Unlike software companies, consumer brands face a unique challenge as they scale.
Products must be manufactured months before they generate revenue. Retail partners often purchase in large volumes but pay on extended terms. As sales accelerate, so does the amount of cash required to keep inventory moving.
"It's a timing problem more than a business problem," said Greifeld in announcing the firm's launch. Yet many companies have traditionally solved that challenge by selling another piece of their business.
Knollgate was created to offer another path.
Its financing platform, FlexScale™, is designed specifically for established consumer brands that have already achieved product-market fit and are entering a defining growth phase. Rather than financing through additional equity, FlexScale provides capital for inventory and receivables that expands alongside the business and naturally pays down as inventory sells through.
The objective is straightforward: create a capital structure that works on the same timeline as the business itself.
Built by Both an Investor and an Operator
Greifeld brings an uncommon perspective to that mission.
As an investor, he has spent years evaluating growth-stage companies, serving on portfolio company boards, and advising executive teams through critical strategic decisions.
As an operator, he helped lead Runway Growth Capital through one of its most significant chapters. Serving as Chief Investment Officer, he helped grow the firm's investment portfolio to more than $2 billion across more than 70 companies. He was also a key member of the executive team that took Runway public, later stepping in as Chief Executive Officer of the public company and helping guide its eventual sale to BC Partners.
Earlier in his career, Greifeld held investment roles at J.P. Morgan and HPS Investment Partners, earning recognition as a "Rising Star" from both Venture Capital Journal and Private Debt Investor.
That combination of operating and investing experience shapes Knollgate's approach.
The firm isn't positioning itself solely as a capital provider. Instead, it aims to pair financing with the strategic guidance, operational insights, and executive-level counsel typically associated with top-tier venture capital firms.
In announcing the firm's launch, Greifeld noted that too many growing brands have been forced to trade away equity, governance, margins, or control simply to access the capital they need. Knollgate, he says, was created to offer founders more flexible financing while serving as a long-term strategic partner through their next chapter of growth.
A Growing Role for Alternative Capital
Knollgate's launch also reflects a broader shift across today's entrepreneurial landscape.
The days when equity financing was the default solution for every stage of growth are giving way to a more nuanced capital strategy. Founders are increasingly exploring venture debt, private credit, revenue-based financing, and other non-dilutive alternatives that allow them to preserve ownership while continuing to scale.
For consumer brands, that shift is particularly meaningful.
Unlike many technology startups, consumer businesses often have proven demand but require substantial working capital to manufacture products, fulfill retailer orders, and support expansion into new markets. Financing solutions that mirror those business cycles are becoming increasingly valuable.
Why West Palm Beach?
Knollgate's decision to launch in the City of West Palm Beach adds another specialized investment platform to South Florida's rapidly expanding financial ecosystem.
Over the past several years, Palm Beach County has attracted a growing concentration of venture capital firms, family offices, private equity groups, and alternative asset managers. Increasingly, however, the region is becoming home to firms with highly specialized investment mandates rather than broad-based funds. Knollgate's exclusive focus on founder-led consumer brands represents another step in that evolution.
For South Florida's innovation economy, the firm's arrival signals more than the launch of another investment company. It reflects the growing sophistication of the region's capital markets, and the emergence of financing models designed around the real-world challenges founders face as they build enduring businesses.
As more entrepreneurs seek to scale without sacrificing ownership, Knollgate is betting that the future of growth capital isn't about writing bigger equity checks. It's about building smarter financing solutions that allow founders to keep more of what they've created.
