In today’s rapidly shifting private equity landscape, independent sponsors are navigating an environment shaped by technological disruption, global uncertainty, and accelerating competition. To understand where real opportunity lies and what separates those who succeed from those who struggle, we spoke with Grant Kornman, Partner at Align Collaborate. Grant shares his perspective on how independent sponsors can build resilience, identify high-growth opportunities, and differentiate themselves in an increasingly sophisticated market.
Success isn’t about timing the market — it’s about creating multiple paths to win so you can thrive in any environment. Every environment presents challenges: COVID may be behind us, but tariffs, geopolitical shifts, and AI-driven disruption create new uncertainties. Smart investors focus on risks they can manage, with clear mitigation strategies in place. Nothing ever goes exactly as planned, so the best investors build resilience, adaptability, and upside across a range of outcomes.
It’s an interesting time to be investing because AI is impacting many sectors of our economy in profound ways. We are trying our best to allocate capital to sectors where AI is a strong tailwind or where its impact is minimal. That often points to blue-collar, service-oriented businesses providing essential work that’s hard to automate. Across all sectors, we prioritize high-quality business models: strong margins, sustainable demand, durable cash flow, and a clear “specialness.” In the lower middle market, opportunities exist in companies that aren’t perfect — where improvements in people, processes, systems, facilities, or go-to-market strategies can create outsized growth. Our goal is to invest in fundamentally sound businesses that sponsors can scale intelligently to capture full multiple expansion when growth accelerates.
The independent sponsor market has evolved far more than we imagined 15 years ago. Once niche, it’s now mainstream, with over 2,000 active firms. Differentiation is critical. It’s no longer enough to position yourself as the “kinder, gentler” alternative to traditional private equity. The sponsors winning today are specialists with real domain expertise — they live in their industries, know the executives, advisors, bankers, and influencers, and have insider perspectives. This allows them to source better deals, move faster, and create more post-close value.
Great independent sponsors need a broad skill set. They must source effectively, understand M&A, execute operationally, lead talented management teams, and attract capital — often simultaneously. Execution is harder than it sounds. Many have technical knowledge but lack the hustle, creativity, and determination required to succeed. Top performers adopt a “burn the boats” mentality: relentlessly resourceful, unshakably tenacious, pushing through every obstacle, whether sourcing, negotiating, recruiting, or executing a growth plan. For those with drive and resilience, independent sponsorship is extraordinarily rewarding, financially and personally.
Twelve years ago, Dallas had a small but growing financial ecosystem. If you wanted to be a private equity investor and did not have a seat at one of the existing PE funds, you had two choices: move or become an independent sponsor. A lot of talented people chose to stay and build something new. That reflects the frontiersman spirit that has always defined Dallas. This is a place where risk takers are celebrated and people start with "how can I help" rather than "what can you do for me." We also had supportive law and accounting firms who were entrepreneurial enough to lean in and help build the community. They recognized an opportunity to build something meaningful here. If the independent sponsor community was the seeds, the local economy was the soil. Texas, and Dallas in particular, has been one of the fastest growing economies in the U.S. Independent sponsors could differentiate themselves culturally from funded sponsors flying in from the coasts. We understood the businesses, the entrepreneurs, and the market dynamics in ways outsiders simply could not. It was the right combination of ingredients at the right time that ignited the Dallas independent sponsor community.
"Success in private equity isn’t about predicting the perfect moment — it’s about being adaptable, disciplined, and relentless. Sponsors who combine domain expertise with operational excellence and sheer tenacity don’t just survive — they thrive."
As the independent sponsor community continues to grow, especially in hubs like Dallas, we’re excited to share that iGlobal Forum will be launching the Independent Sponsor Summit in Dallas in 2026. Stay tuned for more updates as we prepare to bring the industry together for new insights, opportunities, and connections.