Investors & Partners at CircleUp

Karen Howland

General Partner, CircleUp

Karen Howland brings a rare combination of public-market hedge fund rigor from her 15 years at firms like Citadel to early-stage consumer investing, using CircleUp's proprietary Helio platform to monitor over 1 million CPG brands and trillions of data points for systematic deal sourcing rather than relying on traditional pattern recognition. She has developed a quantifiable brand score methodology that treats brand strength as a measurable predictor of future growth, allowing CircleUp to proactively reach out to high-potential companies across secondary markets and expand access to underrepresented founders through data-driven discovery.

Pat Robinson

Managing Director - Circle Up Growth Partners, CircleUp

Pat Robinson is a Managing Director at CircleUp Growth Partners, a growth equity firm focused on scaling innovative consumer and agriculture companies. In this role, Robinson leverages deep industry expertise to identify and support high-potential businesses in the consumer and food sectors. As part of the CircleUp team, Robinson works with entrepreneurs to accelerate growth, build sustainable competitive advantages, and create long-term value. With a strategic focus on consumer-facing and agricultural ventures, Robinson brings investment acumen and operational guidance to portfolio companies navigating complex market dynamics. His work at CircleUp reflects a commitment to backing disruptive business models and founder-led teams that are reshaping industries and creating meaningful impact in the consumer and agriculture spaces.