# Willow Creek Partners

> Operator-led private equity and real estate investment firm headquartered in Tysons, Virginia. Founded in 2018 by Matt Brady and Phat Dang.

Willow Creek Partners acquires profitable, founder-led businesses and under-managed real estate, then improves them operationally with embedded operating teams, technology, and disciplined management. Its partners hold economic stakes alongside its investors.

## Key facts

- Firm type: private equity and real estate investment firm (operator-led)
- Headquarters: 8521 Leesburg Pike, Suite 270, Tysons, VA 22182, United States
- Founded: 2018
- Founders: Matt Brady and Phat Dang (Managing Partners)
- Team experience: 200+ years combined
- Private equity target: majority control of profitable lower middle market companies with $2M to $10M EBITDA and 15 to 20+ years of operating history
- Entry multiples: 3 to 6x EBITDA
- Real estate focus: under-managed commercial property, industrial and flex space, value-add multifamily, and real estate supporting operating businesses
- Investors: limited partners, family offices, and high-net-worth investors
- Website: https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/

## Strategies

- [Private Equity](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/strategies/private-equity/): Acquires founder-led lower middle market companies and embeds operating teams from day one, using AI enablement, digital transformation, and operational discipline to grow revenue and expand margins.
- [Real Estate](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/strategies/real-estate/): Acquires under-managed commercial and residential real estate from smaller operators and institutionalizes operations to grow NOI.

## Team

- Matt Brady: Managing Partner & Co-Founder
- Phat Dang: Managing Partner & Co-Founder
- Brendan Bartlett: VP of Asset Management
- Peter Blackstone: Director of Research
- Wynter Grant: Operating Partner
- Alex Gregory: Managing Director
- Ozzy Jimenez: General Operating Partner
- Brian McDonald: Operating Partner
- Caesar Nieves: Private Equity General Operating Partner, Government Services
- Angela Opsitos: Private Equity Operating Partner, Government Services
- Kevin Vo: Controller
- Full bios: https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/team/

## Portfolio companies

- [FUSION](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/fusion-ae/) (Architecture & Engineering, Nationwide): A nationwide architecture, interior design, and engineering platform built from four established firms.
- [Merge](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/merge/) (M&A Advisory, New York, New York): Streamlining the business exit process for lower middle market founders.
- [ACi Architects](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/aci/) (Architecture, Winter Park, Florida): Full-service architecture and planning studio with a contextual, community-focused design approach.
- [The One 23 Group](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/one23group/) (Government Services, Herndon, Virginia): Delivering transformative outcomes across defense, intelligence, and civilian sectors.
- [ID Studio 4](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/id-studio-4/) (Architecture & Design, Dallas, Texas): Innovation and sustainability-driven architecture and design.
- [CMG, Inc.](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/cmg/) (Construction Management, St. Louis, Missouri): Organizing brand ideas to achieve store development goals from inception to completion.
- [Reztark Design Studio](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/reztark/) (Architecture & Design, Cincinnati, Ohio): Placemaking, performance, and precision, designing spaces that elevate communities and drive sustainable returns.
- [Sperides Reiners Architects](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/sra/) (Architecture & Interior Design, Minneapolis, Minnesota): Environments that inspire, perform, and endure.
- [ICS Inc.](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/ics/) (Government IT Services, Montgomery, AL): Technology solutions that advance government and defense missions.

## Pages

- [Home](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/): Overview of the firm, investment approach, and portfolio highlights
- [About](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/about/): Firm history, mission, and values
- [Team](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/team/): Leadership and operating team bios
- [Investment Strategies](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/strategies/): Private equity and real estate platforms and investment philosophy
- [Portfolio](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/portfolio/): Current portfolio companies
- [Insights](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/): Articles and market commentary
- [Investor Access](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/investors/): Information for limited partners and prospective investors
- [Contact](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/contact/): Get in touch with the team
- [RSS feed](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/rss.xml): Insights feed

## Insights

- [Cyber Resilience Is Not a Cost. It Is a Quality of Earnings Argument.](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/cyber-resilience-quality-of-earnings/) (2026-10-05, Willow Creek Partners): Cyber incidents are now showing up in deal pricing. Why we treat resilience as a business-quality signal, not an IT checkbox, from underwriting through exit.
- [When the Thermostat Breaks, the Consumer Stops Being Discretionary](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/when-the-thermostat-breaks-the-consumer-stops-being-discretionary/) (2026-08-31, Willow Creek Partners): Why HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services deserve a different economic lens than most consumer businesses, and how we underwrite demand quality across any business tied to the unavoidable maintenance of physical assets.
- [The Market at Halftime: What the Data Says and What It Means](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/wind-in-willows-2026/) (2026-07-07, Willow Creek Partners): A mid-year read on where things stand entering the second half: macro, M&A, sector by sector, and what it means for how we invest and operate.
- [The Operator Premium](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/the-operator-premium/) (2026-05-19, Willow Creek Partners): The premium paid for quality isn't simply about earnings stability or tenant strength. It's increasingly about the systems, infrastructure, and operational rigor that allow businesses and properties to scale predictably.
- [Operational Alpha: How Hands-On Private Equity Creates Value Beyond the Balance Sheet](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/operational-alpha/) (2026-03-23, Willow Creek Partners): Willow Creek Partners explains how they generate returns through operational improvements rather than financial engineering alone, sharing specific portfolio examples from Q4 2025.
- [Agentic AI: From Automation Narrative to Operating Leverage](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/agentic-ai/) (2026-02-24, Willow Creek Partners): Technology is being reshaped at an unprecedented pace, with AI advancing from novelty to operational capability. The real transformation isn't job elimination, it's how expertise, management, and data interact within enterprises.
- [2026 Market Outlook](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/2026-market-outlook/) (2026-02-03, Peter Blackstone): Willow Creek Partners' annual market outlook emphasizes disciplined investing over prediction-making. The analysis covers investment sectors with focus on fundamentals and risk management.
- [You're Done!](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/youre-done/) (2026-01-15, Peter Blackstone): Analysis of Trump's proposed ban on large investors purchasing single-family homes and its implications for housing affordability, market dynamics, and capital reallocation.
- [2025 Year in Review](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/wcp-2025-year-in-review/) (2025-12-30, Willow Creek Partners): Willow Creek Partners reflects on a transformative year marked by portfolio diversification and strategic growth, expanding beyond multifamily real estate into operating businesses across multiple sectors.
- [Politics and Special Interests Eroding National Security](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/politics-and-special-interests-eroding-national-security/) (2024-04-03, Peter Blackstone): The article examines how geopolitical tensions between the US and China are accelerating economic decoupling, particularly in semiconductor manufacturing, and why national security priorities must supersede local labor interests.
- [Office Vacancy Records, Secular Change or Extra-Cyclicality?](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/office-vacancy-records-secular-change-or-extra-cyclicality/) (2024-01-19, Peter Blackstone): This investment analysis examines whether current office vacancy rates represent a permanent structural shift or a cyclical market correction.
- [Trouble in The Red Sea, It's Not Just Oil](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/trouble-in-the-red-sea-its-not-just-oil/) (2024-01-19, Peter Blackstone): Peter Blackstone examines the Red Sea crisis beyond its oil market implications, highlighting broader economic significance for global supply chains and inflation metrics.
- [Government Employees Still Working from Home](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/government-employees-still-working-from-home/) (2023-12-01, Peter Blackstone): The piece discusses federal workforce return-to-office challenges, examining resistance to office mandates and the factors preventing enforcement.
- [Rate Expectations](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/rate-expectations/) (2023-11-29, Peter Blackstone): This analysis examines investor expectations regarding Federal Reserve interest rate policy heading into 2024, noting the paradox of market gains despite rate-hike concerns.
- [Access is the Most Important Thing - Private Equity Investment in Sports](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/access-is-the-most-important-thing-private-equity-investment-in-sports/) (2023-09-12, Willow Creek Partners): The article discusses private equity's expanding role in sports franchise ownership and how access to alternative investments has democratized investment opportunities.
- [Negative Rent Growth](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/negative-rent-growth/) (2023-09-12, Willow Creek Partners): The article examines the multifamily market's shift toward negative rent growth due to historic construction levels and changed market dynamics.
- [ARM Holdings IPO, And the Inevitable Headlines](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/arm-holdings-ipo-and-the-inevitable-headlines/) (2023-09-12, Willow Creek Partners): This piece examines ARM Holdings' anticipated IPO, valued at over $52 billion despite generating only $2.7 billion in annual revenue, exploring why investors are willing to pay such a premium valuation.
- [Deficits, Interest Rates, and Inflation, I'm Uncle Sam](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/deficits-interest-rates-and-inflation-im-uncle-sam/) (2023-09-12, Willow Creek Partners): The piece examines how rising interest rates burden government finances without generating economic benefits, exploring deficit implications and currency consequences.
- [CRE Bottom?](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/cre-bottom/) (2023-09-06, Willow Creek Partners): The article examines whether the commercial real estate market has hit bottom by analyzing sales volumes across different property sectors.
- [VCs are Betting on Mining Deals… Why?](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/vcs-are-betting-on-mining-deals-why/) (2023-09-06, Willow Creek Partners): The piece explores why venture capitalists are increasingly investing in mining operations, despite this contrasting with traditional VC investment patterns.
- [Buffett's Homebuilder Bet](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/buffetts-homebuilder-bet/) (2023-09-06, Willow Creek Partners): The article analyzes Berkshire Hathaway's $814 million investment in homebuilders DR Horton, Lennar, and NVR, representing a strategic bet that defies conventional market sentiment.
- [Labor Unions and Inflation: Playing to the Tide](https://www.willowcreekpartners.com/insights/labor-unions-and-inflation-playing-to-the-tide/) (2023-09-06, Willow Creek Partners): This piece explores why inflation remains stubbornly high despite Federal Reserve efforts to combat it, examining labor union wage negotiations and their inflationary impacts.

## Contact

- Email: info@willowcreekpartners.com
- Phone: +1 703-214-1482
- Address: 8521 Leesburg Pike, Suite 270, Tysons, VA 22182
- Investor login: https://app.junipersquare.com/login?path=%2Fi%2Fwillowcreekpartners