Sole Source Capital

CEO David Fredston and CIO Scott Sussman lead investment activities. Fredston oversees strategy and origination, while Sussman heads the M&A team. The operating side of the portfolio is managed by Chairman Dewey Turner III, who leads post-acquisition execution and sits on multiple portfolio company boards.

The firm targets founder-owned businesses, corporate carve-outs, and special situations in the lower-middle market of North American industrials. Fredston's origination background at The Gores Group and the firm's relationships with former Gores executives provide an established network within the industrial carve-out space. The firm emphasizes its ability to navigate complex transactions and provide certainty to close.

Sole Source Capital is a committed-pool private equity firm targeting the lower-middle market, not a family office. It operates with a traditional institutional GP/LP structure but differentiates itself through a fully integrated operations team that executes carve-outs and operational improvements rather than acting purely as a financial sponsor.

The firm makes direct control investments in operating companies, primarily through buyouts, carve-outs, and recapitalizations. While the firm's website references a "committed pool of capital," specific fund structures and whether the firm participates as a limited partner in other funds are not publicly disclosed.

SSC focuses on established lower-middle-market companies with sustainable competitive advantages, not startups. The firm's entry points include management buyouts, corporate divestitures, and recapitalizations. Post-acquisition, the firm pursues a buy-and-build strategy — acquiring add-on companies to consolidate fragmented sub-sectors and professionalize operations.

The firm targets recession-resistant industrial assets and has not disclosed explicit sector exclusions. However, the portfolio — which spans plastics manufacturing, environmental services, food distribution, electrical testing, and supply-chain technology — suggests a deliberate avoidance of consumer discretionary and highly cyclical non-industrial sectors.

Sole Source Capital is not affiliated with The Gores Group, but the firms share significant institutional DNA. Founder David Fredston spent six years at Gores as a Principal and Head of Origination. Chairman Dewey Turner III spent eight years at Gores as an operational executive before joining Clearlake Capital and later SSC. The firm's integration of dedicated operations professionals into the deal team replicates Gores' operational private equity model, applied to the lower-middle market.