A Partnership of Entrepreneurs, Operators & Investors
We seek to identify ambitious, high-potential leaders where our combination of operating support and permanent capital can help power sustainable growth
About Us
Westerly backs ambitious operators with permanent capital to build platforms within durable industries that are predisposed to a multi-decade outlook. We employ a flexible structure that allows for continual reinvestment and compounding of cash flow. Westerly provides both the initial capital to launch a new platform or the first institutional capital into an existing platform to accelerate growth.
Team of Experienced Entrepreneurs
Our founders have built and grown businesses across a range of industries
Putting Operators First
We know our blind spots and where we can add value, understanding that A+ talent comes above all else
Truly Permanent Capital
We never have to sell and measure returns in decades, not years
Westerly Value Add
Investment Criteria
Team Characteristics
Ambitious Operators:
Relevant industry experience, in “middle-innings” of careers
Complementary Skillsets:
Time in the trenches, leadership, capital allocation
Career Orientation:
Multi-decade outlook, platform would be the keystone achievement of the teams we back

Business Characteristics
Enduringly Profitable:
Leaders within local markets providing critical, recurring services
Independently Owned:
Looking for a leadership transition or growth capital to reinvest
Unique Benefit from Permanent Capital:
Consistent secular tailwinds, lack of technological disruption, attractive but longer pay-back cycles, etc.

Why Permanent Capital?
Portfolio
Team
Ross Brendel
Cofounder & Managing Partner
LinkedIn | vCard
Ross leads Westerly’s sourcing, diligence, and portfolio management. He currently serves on the boards of Sylmar Group and Evermore Industries.
Prior to founding Westerly in 2019, Ross was a Vice President at Sycamore Partners, an $8 billion private equity fund in New York, where he invested over $1 billion of equity across three funds. Ross began his career in the investment banking group at Blackstone, where he advised on transactions in the consumer, real estate, and business services sectors.
Ross received his B.A. summa cum laude, from Yale and his MBA from Harvard Business School.
Listen to Ross’ interview on Alex Bridgeman’s Think Like an Owner Podcast (Ep. 57): ‘Investing in Permanent Capital Vehicles’.
Rich Littlehale
Cofounder
LinkedIn
Rich supports sourcing and board oversight of the portfolio. He currently serves on the board of Sylmar Group.
Rich has cofounded and sold operating companies within the technology and real estate sectors, and most recently founded a real estate investment firm called Six Peak Capital. Rich received his B.A. from Yale.