
Stephen Gurgovits
Managing Partner
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- Full Name
- Stephen J. Gurgovits, Jr.
- Title
- Managing Partner & Co-Founder
- Firm
- Tecum Capital (Tecum Capital Partners)
- Firm Type
- Private investment firm — lower-middle-market mezzanine debt, minority equity, and control/private equity (SBIC-licensed funds); also operates a multi-family-office platform. Note: the source stub labeled him an "Angel Investor," but his verified activity is lower-middle-market private equity/mezzanine, not individual angel investing.
- Investment Stage
- Lower middle market — mezzanine debt, minority equity, and opportunistic control equity (growth capital, buyouts, recapitalizations, add-on acquisitions)
- Check Size
- ~$5–20 million per company
- Target Company Profile
- Established, growth-oriented lower-middle-market companies with roughly $10–100M revenue and $3–10M+ EBITDA, backed by best-in-class sponsors, management teams, and operators
- Sector Focus
- Business-to-business services, manufacturing, and value-added distribution (also food & beverage and tech-enabled businesses across the portfolio)
- Geographic Focus
- United States, with a base and strong presence in the Pittsburgh / Western Pennsylvania region
- Location
- Wexford, PA (Pittsburgh area)
Background
Stephen J. Gurgovits, Jr. is the Managing Partner and co-founder of Tecum Capital, a $500+ million Pittsburgh-based private investment firm he helped launch to manage committed pools of capital focused on mezzanine debt, subordinated notes, minority equity, and private equity, alongside a separate control-equity strategy delivered through a multi-family-office platform. In his role, he provides strategic, operational, and investment-management leadership across the funds — including planning, fundraising, growth, and execution of strategy.
Before founding Tecum, Gurgovits was President and CEO of F.N.B. Capital Corporation, LLC, the wholly-owned merchant-banking subsidiary of F.N.B. Corporation (NYSE: FNB), from its inception in 2005. The Tecum team spun out of that F.N.B. merchant-banking operation. Over his career, he has been directly involved in more than $1 billion of aggregate financial transactions, both public and private, and earlier worked as an investment and portfolio manager overseeing more than $200 million in publicly traded securities.
Gurgovits graduated with High Distinction from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Accounting and earned his MBA from the Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He holds the CFA Charter and is a licensed CPA in Pennsylvania. Under his leadership, Tecum has raised a succession of SBIC funds — Fund I (2013 vintage, ~$180M deployed across 26 companies), Fund II (2017, ~$265M across 28 companies), Fund III (2021, $305M), and Fund IV (2025, a ~$340M SBIC-licensed fund) — and since 2006 the team has collectively invested more than $1.0 billion across 100+ platform and add-on transactions.
Investment Thesis & Focus
- Invests as a lower-middle-market capital partner — mezzanine loans, subordinated notes, minority equity, and opportunistic control equity — rather than as an individual seed/angel writer
- Typical checks of ~$5–20 million into companies with EBITDA generally above $3 million (targeting ~$10–100M revenue, $3–10M+ EBITDA)
- Core sectors: business-to-business services, manufacturing, and value-added distribution, with selective activity in food & beverage and tech-enabled businesses
- Partners with "best-in-class sponsors, management teams and operators," frequently supporting buyouts, recapitalizations, growth capital, and add-on acquisitions
- Colleague David Bonvenuto describes his approach: "Steve's leadership style focuses on making a personal, positive impact on the individual — be it the co-worker, the investor, the portfolio company management team to define and deliver growth" — signaling a relationship-driven, management-partnership orientation
Notable Investments
- Erie Strayer Company (Feb 2026) — fourth-generation, family-owned leader in concrete batching solutions
- Guardian Propane Partners (Jan 2026) — operator-led propane platform partnering with locally owned propane companies across the U.S.
- SupplyCo (Nov 2025) — industrial supply platform focused on technical service for manufacturing and field-service applications
- TPI Efficiency (May 2025) — Cleveland-based energy brokerage and sustainability consulting firm
- Marcy Laboratories (Apr 2025) — contract manufacturer for fragrance brands (Glendale Heights, IL)
- 5280 Waste Solutions (Apr 2025) — Denver-based roll-off, residential, and commercial waste management provider
- NewGuard Plastic Cards (Nov 2024) — one of North America's largest manufacturers of plastic, composite, eco, and technology cards
- Shake Smart (Mar 2024) — healthy fast-casual restaurant concept
- CM Industries (Feb 2024) — manufacturer of branded welding equipment and consumable welding supplies
- Five Point Dental Specialists (Feb 2024) — multi-specialty dental practice (orthodontics, oral surgery, pediatric dentistry, endodontics)
- JD Palatine and Accelevation, LLC — additional Tecum growth investments announced via the firm's investment-news channel
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