From Theater to PE: Cory Sandrock's Strategic Dealmaking

Cory Sandrock's unique path from theater director to PE sponsor isn't just a quirky origin story. It's the lens through which he runs every deal. In both worlds, success hinges on the same fundamentals: cast the right people, shape a compelling story, raise the capital, and execute with precision. As he puts it, "The clapping is dollars now."

A crowd pleaser, he refuses to follow the crowd. In 2019, he spotted early momentum in residential HVAC, well before it became the most saturated vertical in home services. He passed on crowded trends like dental practices, where one-man shops were inexplicably trading at 10x EBITDA. Cory's rule is simple: if micro deals are pricing like exits, it's time to walk away.

He poured his time into building United Air Temp. The platform started with $4 million of EBITDA and scaled to $16 million in just 3.5 years through 6 bolt-on acquisitions and strong organic growth. They exited at a 14x multiple. Cory credits the outcome to a standout CEO who sourced many of the bolt-ons personally.

Consistently in his career, Cory leaned in on terms that others might resist. He turns off his own management fee when liquidity is tight. He gave a major capital partner a larger share of fees when they brought deeper operational capacity. He carved out up to 15 percent of equity for management. For Cory, yielding on economics builds alignment and turns good deals into great outcomes.