Gauge Capital

Co-founders Drew Johnson and Tom McKelvey lead the investment committee together. Both remain actively involved in originating, underwriting, and managing portfolio positions, which departs from the tiered decision-making structure common at firms of comparable size.

Gauge relies heavily on its partners' personal networks developed over decades at Bain Capital and within specific industry verticals. The firm supplements this with a dedicated business-development function and relationships with regional intermediaries, but it competes on reputation and operating expertise rather than broad auction processes.

Yes. While buy-and-build control investments are the core strategy, Gauge occasionally executes structured minority and growth-equity transactions when the partnership dynamic suits the founder's objectives and the return profile meets the firm's hurdle rates.

The firm typically deploys equity checks between $25 million and $100 million in companies generating $5 million to $30 million of EBITDA. This places Gauge squarely in the lower middle market, where it can apply institutional-scale resources to platforms that are too small for mega-funds.

Gauge has no stated sector exclusions, but its portfolio concentration in healthcare services, technology, business services, and consumer implies it rarely engages with capital-intensive industrials, commodity-dependent enterprises, or regulated financial institutions outside of specialized service subsets.

The firm's ability to double its fund size from $700 million to $1.4 billion between 2021 and 2024 — during a constrained fundraising environment — suggests strong LP re-up rates and perceived differentiation. The co-founders' institutional pedigree anchored early commitments, and realized exits from Smile Doctors and similar platforms have reinforced the model.

There is no public indication that Gauge operates a philanthropic foundation or separately-managed co-investment vehicle distinct from its main fund series. The firm's structure remains focused on its private equity fund complex.