Michael Kornman

Michael Kornman is a serial operator-turned-investor based in Dallas. Before becoming an investor, he founded and ran a string of operating companies across very different industries, including MoneyToGo (consumer finance), HelpMeToBuy (direct-response marketing), ASAP Air Services (airfreight), and Quickfire Restaurants (food service). He has guided businesses from as little as a few million dollars in revenue to more than $60 million annually, and his operating experience spans securing institutional financing, obtaining regulatory approvals, completing recapitalizations, and executing exits. Outside of business, he is an accomplished pilot with over 2,000 hours of jet time, qualified on aircraft including the Hawker, Lockheed JetStar, Westwind, Sabreliner, King Air, and Cheyenne.

With his brother Grant Kornman, Michael co-founded NCK Capital, a Dallas-based boutique independent sponsor that acquired controlling interests in lower-middle-market companies. (The "NCK" name comes from the first initials of the brothers' daughters — Natalie, Claire, and Kate — rearranged because the original ordering "kept looking like Chicken Capital.") NCK was an early pioneer in the independent-sponsor community and built a portfolio across environmental services, post-secondary education, wholesale distribution, and building services. NCK Capital no longer pursues new platform investments.

Today Michael's primary role is as a founding Partner and Investment Committee member of Align Collaborate, launched in late 2023 in partnership with Align Capital Partners (ACP). Align Collaborate is purpose-built "by independent sponsors, for independent sponsors," providing flexible, equity-only capital to deal-by-deal sponsors. The firm closed its debut fund, Collaborate I, at an oversubscribed $233 million in March 2025 (well above its $150M target), and reportedly reached a $375 million final close on Collaborate II in mid-2026.

• Equity-only, non-control capital provider to independent sponsors — Align Collaborate backs sponsors' platform deals rather than sourcing control buyouts itself, deliberately avoiding co-sponsorship structures to stay aligned with the sponsor's interests.
• Check size $10–30M per transaction; targets 3–4 new investments per year; companies with $2–15M EBITDA.
• Sector: B2B products and services preferred, with a flexible mandate extending to consumer and healthcare when paired with a specialized sponsor.
• Why he says yes — the sponsor matters as much as the deal. Kornman looks for sponsors who build deep relationships with management, have genuine operating experience or an industry angle, bring a well-developed value-creation plan, and are sophisticated about choosing capital partners.
• In his words, independent sponsors source "very interesting deals at great valuations," and the best of them "embrace a David versus Goliath mentality and are driven to generate exceptional returns."
• On the importance of partner fit: *"These are long marriages, and you want to be under the tent with someone who has a nice bedside manner."*