Headspace Real Estate’s Mission to Transform Addiction Recovery with Matt Brown & Amy Hall 6-9-25

Summary

Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast Episode Summary: "Headspace Real Estate’s Mission to Transform Addiction Recovery with Matt Brown & Amy Hall" Release Date: June 9, 2025

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Introduction and Guest Profiles

In this compelling episode of the Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast, host Scott Becker welcomes two inspiring founders, Amy Hall and Matt Brown. Amy brings over two decades of experience in healthcare real estate, having led leasing and portfolio strategies at some of the largest healthcare REITs. Matt, celebrating 11 years in long-term recovery from an 18-year battle with addiction, has dedicated his career to building and scaling integrated behavioral health systems focused on comprehensive, whole-person care.

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Founding Headspace Real Estate and Momentum Recovery & Wellness

Amy Hall and Matt Brown share the genesis of their collaborative venture, Headspace Real Estate, and their co-founded organization, Momentum Recovery & Wellness. Amy explains her transition from a successful corporate career into the entrepreneurial realm driven by personal experiences with addiction within her family. "This is deeply personal for me... we can help other families walk through that successfully" (Amy Hall, 01:07).

Matt delves into his personal journey, emphasizing how his recovery has shaped his professional mission. "My journey from addiction to purpose has really shaped everything that I do today" (Matt Brown, 02:20). Together, they aim to transform addiction recovery by integrating smart real estate development with behavioral health services.

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Navigating the "Messy Middle" of Building a Business

Scott Becker prompts the founders to discuss the challenges faced in establishing their company. Amy Hall describes the complexities of the early stages, referencing the concept of the "messy middle." She highlights the multifaceted tasks beyond strategic real estate, including website development, IT needs, and human resources. "Every day is just kind of a curiosity journey from HR to IT to strategically running the company" (Amy Hall, 04:59).

Matt Brown adds to this by describing their phase as a "blank slate," where they explore various business models, such as acquiring vacant properties, purchasing properties with existing operations, or engaging in turnaround consulting. "This is the important part where we get to make this our own and assess the needs of the communities that we're going to serve" (Matt Brown, 05:08).

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Vision and Future Focus

When asked about their primary focuses and what excites them for the future, Amy Hall emphasizes her commitment to bringing hope to families affected by addiction. She reflects on her personal experiences, stating, "If we can bring a little bit of hope, a little bit of help in that moment, that's what I want to do" (Amy Hall, 06:20).

Matt Brown shares his enthusiasm for launching the first facilities and beginning patient care. He outlines the foundational pillars for their integrated behavioral health care company: quality patient care, compliance, an attractive workplace, professional development, and fiscal responsibility. "In one quick sentence, I'm looking forward to having patients to serve" (Matt Brown, 07:37).

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Funding Strategies and Financial Planning

The conversation shifts to funding strategies essential for scaling their operations. Amy Hall outlines three primary funding paths:

1. Traditional Debt: Securing loans for property acquisitions.
2. PACE Equity Financing: An innovative approach utilizing property tax assessments to bridge funding gaps, allowing for tax-deductible special assessments.
3. Private Equity Partnerships and Syndications: Leveraging private investments to support operational plays (Amy Hall, 08:58).

Her explanation of PACE Equity Financing stands out as a creative solution for funding real estate projects without solely relying on traditional equity raises.

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Advice for Emerging Leaders

In a segment dedicated to guiding the next generation of leaders, Matt Brown offers sage advice: "Don't be the smartest person in the room. The most effective leaders... knew what they didn't know and weren't afraid to raise their hand and ask for help" (Matt Brown, 10:06). He emphasizes humility and continuous learning as key traits for effective leadership.

Amy Hall echoes this sentiment, encouraging leaders to "stay curious" about people and opportunities. She advises taking every call and approaching conversations with an "honest and humble heart," fostering meaningful connections that can lead to unforeseen opportunities (Amy Hall, 10:40).

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Closing Remarks

Scott Becker concludes the episode by expressing his support and excitement for Amy and Matt's endeavors. Both founders extend their gratitude, underscoring their commitment to transforming addiction recovery through integrated real estate and behavioral health initiatives.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Amy Hall (01:07): "This is deeply personal for me... we can help other families walk through that successfully."
• Matt Brown (02:20): "My journey from addiction to purpose has really shaped everything that I do today."
• Amy Hall (04:59): "Every day is just kind of a curiosity journey from HR to IT to strategically running the company."
• Matt Brown (05:08): "This is the important part where we get to make this our own and assess the needs of the communities that we're going to serve."
• Amy Hall (06:20): "If we can bring a little bit of hope, a little bit of help in that moment, that's what I want to do."
• Matt Brown (07:37): "In one quick sentence, I'm looking forward to having patients to serve."
• Amy Hall (08:58): "There's three different paths that we would look at... traditional debt, PACE Equity Financing, private equity partnership, and syndication."
• Matt Brown (10:06): "Don't be the smartest person in the room."
• Amy Hall (10:40): "Stay curious... take every single call."

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Conclusion

This episode provides a heartfelt and insightful look into the mission-driven endeavors of Amy Hall and Matt Brown. Their dedication to integrating real estate with addiction recovery services exemplifies innovative approaches to addressing societal challenges. Listeners gain valuable perspectives on overcoming entrepreneurial challenges, strategic funding, and leadership development from two leaders passionately committed to making a difference.

Transcript

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[Scott Becker]

On this is Scott Becker with the Becker Private Equity and Business podcast. I'm thrilled today to be joined by two tremendous founders, one of which I've had a chance to watch in her career and the excellent work that she's done for more than a decade. We're joined today by Matt Brown and Amy hall and they're going to tell us about the company they recently founded and what they're doing. Matt or Amy, you first take a moment, just introduce yourselves and then after you introduce yourselves, I'll ask each you to do that. I'll start with Amy and then go to Matt. Then I'll ask you to tell us about what you're doing. Amy, why don't you take a moment and introduce yourself.

[Amy Hall]

Thanks for having us on, Scott. It's an honor. My name is Amy Hall. I'm founder of Headspace Real Estate and co founder of Momentum Recovery and Wellness. I've spent more than 20 years in the healthcare real estate industry leading leasing and portfolio strategies at some of the largest healthcare REITs. About three months ago, Matt and I made the leap into addiction recovery treatment. This is a personal walk for both of us. My family's walk through the pain of addiction. And several years ago my husband entered recovery that just about tore our family apart. Since then he, our family has done great, stayed together and he's actually a marriage and family therapist now. And passion and professional lives just kind of collided in a way where we can help other families walk through that successfully. So that's deeply personal for me. So we launched Headspace Real Estate. So we're focusing on acquiring and repositioning properties for integrated addiction recovery. And then that's where Matt comes in. So with Momentum. So I'll let him speak to that. Sure.

[Matt Brown]

Thanks Amy and Scott, thank you for having us on. My name is Matt Brown. I'm a person in long term Recovery. Just celebrated 11 years of recovery after an 18 year battle with addiction. And my journey from addiction to purpose has really shaped everything that I do today. So professionally I've spent the last several years building and scaling an integrated behavioral health system with a special focus on comprehensive whole person care. Access to treatment and recovery oriented systems of care. I've had the opportunity to lead and manage one of the largest addiction treatment organizations in the country. And now I'm focused on building momentum, recovery and wellness alongside of Headspace Real Estate with Amy to help bring integrated behavioral health resources to communities that need it the most. And what we do is we pair operational excellence with smart real estate development and investment and we believe that that can help be a contributor to the solutions in this country's mental health and addiction crisis.

[Scott Becker]

Well, simply amazing. And thank you both those backstories. Thank you so much. Talk about the process of getting a company going around real estate, around operations. Tell us a little bit about the journey to get the company going and where you're at today.

[Amy Hall]

Well, it's funny, I had a friend talk to me about something called the messy middle. You know, where you're starting something and it's not easy. There's lots of processes and procedures and things that I've never done before trying to figure out know, trying to figure it out and being okay in the messy middle of it all. But that's the hard part. The hard part is the non strategic real estate part. It's the website, it's the it needs, it's figuring out, you know, once you open up a center, we've got 30 to 40 employees that we need to hire within the first six months in HR. And so there's a lot of those things that we've kind of had to figure out. What is our business plan, how do we write it, how do we reach investors. So you know, some of that is really fun. Some of it is not what I've done day to day, but what I've enjoyed learning is the process of beginning each day not having an expectation for how the day is going to end, but for really just being curious, curious in every conversation, curious in the business, curious about what other people are doing and just listening and learning. So that's really like every day is just kind of of a curiosity journey from HR to IT to strategically running the company.

[Scott Becker]

And Matt, let me let you add on to that in terms of some thoughts on getting started and running a business today and how it's going.

[Matt Brown]

So we're in what I would call the blank slate phase where this gets to become whatever we choose for it to become and it gets to meet a societal need and hopefully solve a problem. And so we've had different iterations of whether we buy a property that doesn't have an operating company already in it, whether we Buy something that already has an operating company, whether this is a turnaround consulting play as well. So we're in those conversations and fielding opportunities in all three of those buckets or categories. And. And so this is. This is admittedly not always the fun phase. I'm ready to start seeing some patients and treating patients and managing leadership teams. But this is the important part where we get to make this our own and assess the needs of the communities that we're going to serve in and really bring solutions to them.

[Scott Becker]

So, really amazing. And Amy, take a moment on what you're most focused on and excited about as we get started here. You know, for the rest of this year and next year, where are you most focused and excited? And Matt, I'll ask you the same question.

[Amy Hall]

Yeah, so I would say what I'm focused and excited about is bringing hope to families. I mean, if I could walk you back 10 years ago to just the desperation of, you know, the moment of realizing that addiction had hit our family, that had been going on for a time, and the chances that our marriage would stay together in that moment was zero. But through treatment, through prayer, through just, you know, a lot of faith, we were able to walk through that. And I think there's so many people that are also in that same world that don't have a place to turn. Just literally not enough beds to treat their family members. They watch them struggle. And if we can bring a little bit of hope, a little bit of help in that moment, that's what I want to do. That's what makes me excited. That's what is, I think, motivating for me to take such a leap in my career out of the corporate world and into more of an entrepreneurial world.

[Matt Brown]

Right.

[Scott Becker]

For people that don't know. Amy had an extraordinary corporate career. I knew her mostly for Physicians, Real Estate Trust, Doc Reed. And how well they did now. Well, she did just a remarkable, remarkable professional and leader. Matt, what are you most excited about this coming year and in this journey?

[Matt Brown]

So I'm excited to get our first facility or facilities launched and start treating the first patients. I know from firsthand experience that there's no such thing as too far gone, because if that was the case, I would have never been able to find the miracle of recovery and live a life of purpose and. And happiness that I live today. And so I'm looking forward to again being a part of that journey for other people. And the way I look at it is an integrated behavioral health care company is. Is a living organism that has to have A few different pillars to be successful. One is quality patient care. Two is an extreme commitment to compliance. Three is having a workplace that is fun and attractive so that you can recruit and retain a skilled workforce and then put professional development tools in place so that people can achieve their full potential in the workplace. And then lastly, fiscal responsibility so that the organization can live and be sustainable for years beyond our time. So that's what I'm looking forward to. But in one quick sentence, I'm looking forward to having patients to serve.

[Scott Becker]

Well, just fantastic. And take one moment, sort of tell us where you're at outside funding funding yourselves. Where are you guys at on the funding question?

[Amy Hall]

Yeah, so great question. There's, you know, like Matt talked about, there's three different paths that we would look at. Whether it's buying a property that's vacant. Funding path is traditional debt. We're also looking at a program that maybe some of your listeners haven't heard of, which is called PACE Equity Financing. That's a really cool and creative way to utilize. Basically it's property tax assessments to fund the gap where typically you'd raise equity. And then that special assessment on your tax bill then becomes tax deductible. So the effective rate is really, really great. Other places, if it's all an operational play, then it's private equity partnership. And then, you know, we could also do a syndication. So we've got three different paths and we've got properties or projects in each of those.

[Scott Becker]

Fantastic. Congratulations. And Matt, let me ask you each this quick question. Minute each. Matt, your best advice to emerging leaders. What did you tell emerging leaders?

[Matt Brown]

Don't be the smartest person in the room. The most effective leaders that I've worked alongside of and worked for or had working for me knew what they didn't know and weren't afraid to raise their hand and ask for help. I saw many brilliant leaders hide the fact that they didn't know something and that caused issues along their professional journey. So my advice is don't be the smartest person in every room.

[Scott Becker]

We love that thought. And Amy, from yourself, you've had so much success in the corporate world. Two minutes on your best advice to emerging leaders.

[Amy Hall]

Yeah, I think my best advice would be to stay curious. I would stay curious about just people, who they are, what they represent. You never know. You know, Scott, you talked about like a big change in my career. But if I, if I look around at the people that I'm working with now, there's so much overlap because of the relationships and just being curious in conversations. I would tell people to take every single call. Never think that this isn't going to be fruitful. You just never know. You could help someone else and 10 years later they can help you. But you know, as long as you come with an honest and humble heart into conversations and you're curious about what other people are doing, expecting nothing in return, you know, things fall into place and work out. So I'd really encourage people to take that stance as they move along in their careers.

[Scott Becker]

Thank you very, very much, Amy and Matt. I can't tell you how much I'm cheering for your success. Thank you for joining us today on the Becker Private Equity Business podcast. Thank you very, very much.

[Amy Hall]

Thank you, Scott.

[Matt Brown]

Scott thank you.

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