# Operand Group

Operand Group is a Private Equity based in Deer Park, United States.

## Overview

- **Organization type:** Private Equity
- **Headquarters:** Deer Park, United States
- **Region:** North America
- **Address:** Barrington, IL, United States
- **Founded:** 2009
- **Assets under management:** Undisclosed
- **Website:** www.theoperandgroup.com
- **LinkedIn:** https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-operand-group

## About

Operand Group is a private equity firm specializing in search fund investments. The firm supports entrepreneurship through acquisition with capital, time, and the partnership’s collective wisdom. It focuses on small, privately-held lifestyle businesses with untapped potential across North America, typically with EBITDA of $1M–$3M, and works through acquiring, enhancing, and exiting these businesses.

## Sectors

- Private Equity
- Services
- Consumer
- Industrial Tech

## People

- Michael Miles — Co-Founder
- Carlos — Co-Founder and Managing Director
- Matthew Hooper — Partner

## Questions

### What is Operand Group's investment model?

Operand exclusively invests in the search-fund model. It recruits, evaluates, and backs entrepreneurs — called searchers — who raise an initial fund to cover their living expenses while they hunt for a single small business to acquire and operate. Once an acquisition target is identified, Operand provides acquisition capital and board-level oversight, holding the investment for four to seven years before exiting.

### Does Operand Group invest outside North America?

The firm's stated geographic focus is the United States and Canada. Its portfolio includes Canadian-based companies, such as Hometurf Lawn Care, which was acquired in 2020 by former searcher Matthew Hooper and sold to a US private equity fund in 2023.

### How does Operand Group's team background shape its strategy?

Co-founder Michael Miles built and sold SeatonCorp, a staffing company that grew to over $700 million in revenue before its 2014 sale to TrueBlue (NYSE: TBI). That operating background, combined with Co-Founder and Managing Director Carlos' derivatives trading and quant experience at Spot Trading, gives the firm an operator-plus-capital-markets lens on search-fund investing.

### Does Operand Group participate in fund commitments or only direct deals?

Operand's capital is deployed directly alongside the search-fund entrepreneurs it backs. The firm does not commit to external private equity funds; its investment vehicle structure follows a traditional drawdown fund model, with Operand Fund IV currently being raised from accredited investors.

### What is Operand's track record with search-fund exits?

Operand reports several successful exits through the search-fund model. Named outcomes include Explora Biolabs, Innflux, Workplace Answers, and Caravel Autism. The firm's Partner Matthew Hooper also realized a strong exit as CEO of Hometurf Lawn Care, selling to a US private equity fund in 2023 after four years of operational improvement.

## Related profiles

- [Opera Investment Partners](https://altss.com/profile/opera-investment-partners)
- [Operando Partners](https://altss.com/profile/operando-partners)

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Last updated: 2026-08-11T15:07:41.444Z

Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/operand-group

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