Crandall Deery

Crandall Deery is a private-capital investor with roughly 25 years of experience in direct investing in the U.S. lower middle-market. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1997, then moved into equity research at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. (2001–2003) before shifting into direct lending and sponsor finance at GE Capital / GE Antares Capital. From 2006 to 2011 he was a Vice President at Jefferies Finance LLC, where he helped build the firm's private lending business (in partnership with MassMutual), managing a structuring team and loan portfolio. Across his career he has closed on 50+ transactions totaling more than $6.0 billion in debt and equity capital, spanning ABL facilities, first- and second-lien and unitranche term loans, unsecured notes, and equity.

From 2012 to 2017 he served as Senior Vice President and an Investment Committee member at Full Circle Capital Corporation, a publicly traded business development company (BDC), leading structuring and origination-through-exit execution. In 2017 he joined Small Business Community Capital (SBCC) — an SBIC-licensed private equity and private debt "impact" fund — as a Partner and Investment Committee member, a role he held through 2022. SBCC provides customized, flexible debt and junior capital to profitable U.S. small businesses, with a mission emphasis on women- and minority-owned companies and businesses in low- and moderate-income communities.

In February 2022, Deery joined Star Mountain Capital as a Managing Director. Star Mountain is a specialized asset manager (roughly $2.5B AUM at the time he joined; larger today) focused exclusively on established private small and medium-sized businesses in the North American lower middle-market. CEO and founder Brett Hickey described him as bringing "25 years of investment experience, including more than 15 years of directly comparable experience in the U.S. lower middle-market" as an investment committee member of both an SBIC fund and a BDC.

Deery holds a B.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University (1997) and an M.B.A. in Finance and Business Law from NYU Stern School of Business (2005).

• Invests in established, cash-flow-positive lower middle-market companies (SBCC generally targets $1M+ EBITDA) — not early-stage/seed startups.
• Provides customized, flexible capital structures: senior and junior debt (first/second lien, unitranche, ABL, unsecured notes) and equity — chosen to fit each company's needs rather than a single instrument.
• Impact-oriented mandate at SBCC: emphasis on "small businesses with an emphasis in women and minority founders as well as investments in low and moderate income communities."
• Sector generalist: consumer products, business services, healthcare, manufacturing, food & beverage, and technology/media/entertainment.
• At Star Mountain Capital, the focus is on private small and medium-sized businesses in North America — established operating companies, not venture bets.
• Evaluation strength is in financial analysis, structuring, and accounting/credit due diligence (background at PwC, Bernstein, GE, Jefferies), so pitches should be financially rigorous.