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Lime
Lime is a San Francisco–based multi-family office founded in 2016 by Rafe Furst, investing across real estate, private credit, and infrastructure.
Lime
Lime was founded in 2016 by Rafe Furst, drawing on his background as a co-founder of Fold and an early Bitcoin advocate. The firm operates as a multi-family office and RIA, with offices in San Francisco, Irvine, and near Stanford University. The firm invests across real estate, private credit, infrastructure, and energy transition—often through direct repeat co-investments alongside institutional partners. Lime is known for sourcing structured debt and equity opportunities in transitional-asset markets, including agricultural land conversions and renewable-energy infrastructure. Confirmed portfolio exposures include positions in California agricultural land and energy-transition projects with co-investors such as institutional pension funds. Lime employs roughly 30 professionals across its offices. The firm has raised multiple vehicles since inception, with cumulative commitments exceeding $500M (Altss estimate). In 2023, the firm closed a private-credit fund focused on transitional real estate, and maintains an active deployment pace across its stated sectors. The firm's structural differentiator is its hybrid approach: it functions as a multi-family office for direct asset origination and as a discretionary manager for co-mingled vehicles. Lime emphasizes tax-efficient rollovers and secondary-market liquidity for family-office clients, a model that differentiates it from traditional real estate managers or straight RIA platforms.
General information
Firm type
Multi Family Office
Year founded
2016
AUM
Below $1 billion (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
San Francisco
Corporate office
San Francisco, CA, United States
Additional offices
Irvine · Stanford
Principals
Rafe Furst
Founder
Dave Tiblier
Partner
Joe Powel
Partner
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at Lime?
Rafe Furst, the founder, oversees strategic direction. Partners Dave Tiblier and Joe Powel manage day-to-day investment selection across real estate and private credit (per Altss research).
How does Lime source proprietary deal flow?
Lime sources leads through its network of family offices, institutional GP relationships, and direct origination on transitional real estate and energy-asset opportunities. Co-investment structures often attract repeat capital from large pension funds (per Altss research).
Is Lime structured as a single family office or does it operate more like a venture firm?
Lime is registered as an RIA and operates as a multi-family office, managing discretionary assets for multiple families. It also offers co-mingled vehicles and co-investment SPVs, making it comparable to a hybrid of a family office and a thematic private-credit manager (per Altss research).
Does Lime participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?
Lime participates in both fund commitments and direct investments. Its direct focus areas are real estate, private credit, and infrastructure, while it also commits to external GP funds on behalf of its clients (Altss estimate).
What investment stages does Lime typically target?
Lime targets transitional-asset stages—including development and conversion of agricultural land, renewable-energy projects, and infrastructure assets requiring structured debt or debt-equity hybrid structures. Its private-credit vehicles typically focus on senior secured debt with 3–5 year holds (per Altss research).
Which sectors does Lime explicitly avoid?
Lime does not typically invest in early-stage venture capital, public equities, or speculative technology startups. Its focus is on tangible assets and credit instruments with defined collateral and exit paths (per Altss research).
Does Lime maintain philanthropic structures, and how are they separated?
Lime does not operate a publicly disclosed philanthropic foundation. Its wealth-advisory platform includes advice on charitable giving and impact investing, but these are client-managed and separate from Lime's own asset-management funds (per Altss research).
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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