I activated my real estate license in April 2019, and within a few months I was working part-time at a brokerage, handling marketing, systems, and lead generation. By March 2020, I had stepped into the role of Chief Operations Officer for both a real estate brokerage and a real estate investment company, leading a team of 24 people and helping close hundreds of transactions a year. It was during this time that I also flipped my first houses personally.

In 2021, I moved to Rochester, New York, where I became COO of a real estate investment company and a coaching company for real estate entrepreneurs. Leading a virtual team across three markets, I oversaw hundreds more transactions each year.

Later that year, I returned home to Spokane as Director of Sales and Operations for a team of 20 agents, while also consulting for a real estate investor CRM company that specialized in serving investors doing 25+ deals a year.

Between 2022 and 2024, I launched and led multiple real estate teams and investment companies — The Creative Agents, Sell With Lily, Sell To Lily, Invest With Lily, and Lily University. Some grew fast, some fizzled, and many failed outright. But every win and every loss taught me something invaluable about real estate, investing, and leading teams.

Those experiences are why I’m able to serve investors and distressed homeowners so well today. I know firsthand the challenges of flipping, managing rentals, building systems, raising capital, and navigating setbacks. Matt Brunner Homes was born from that journey — a company focused on helping serious investors scale and helping homeowners find clear options in tough situations.