Key Takeaways

  • Adi Filipovic arrived in the United States in December 1994 as a child refugee from war-torn Bosnia, settling with his family in Augusta, Georgia.
  • A planned academic path to Duke University for an economics PhD was abandoned after a chance meeting with Furman alumnus Fred Sturgis, who led tech investing at HIG Capital.
  • Filipovic spent his college football career at Furman University moving inward across the offensive line from tackle to guard, where assignment errors are immediately exposed.
  • His career trajectory into co-founding Resurgens Technology Partners reflects how tolerance for severe friction shapes decision-making in lower-middle-market software private equity.

From Bosnia to the Offensive Line

Filipovic entered the United States in December 1994, escaping the Bosnian war after years of regional conflict. His family settled in Augusta, Georgia. The transition required adapting to an entirely new culture, language, and social structure under extreme pressure.

At Furman University, Filipovic played college football on the offensive line, experiencing the sport's internal hierarchy firsthand.

“I was a right guard in my final senior year,” Filipovic said. “So I was offensive lineman and there's a peck in order. I started as a left tackle and if you're not good enough they move you in and they move you in. When you finish at guard there's nowhere else to go.”

Playing inside on the offensive line means operating in tight, high-contact quarters where mistakes produce immediate consequences. That athletic experience reinforced a blunt appreciation for execution: finding the position where you can deliver results, without romanticizing the process.

The HIG Capital Connection and Duke Deferral

Filipovic initially intended to build a career in academic economics. He had applied to graduate school and secured admission to Duke University to pursue a PhD.

The trajectory shifted through an informal alumni network connection.

“There was this guy Fred Sturgis that went to Furman 12 years before me, played football,” Filipovic recalled. “Fred coincidentally was at HIG Capital and at the time was running the tech practice at HIG and I met Fred. That's basically how my intro to private equity happened.”

The meeting altered his plans entirely. He chose to delay graduate school to test private equity investing.

“And so basically I deferred my PhD for a year and then eventually I deferred it for a lifetime,” Filipovic explained. “It was through dumb luck that I stumbled into it and it's a little bit embarrassing.”

That entry point eventually led to co-founding Resurgens Technology Partners. For Filipovic, the throughline from wartime Bosnia to software buyouts is not about seeking stress, but understanding that value creation requires working through hard conditions.

“It's not like I'm seeking hardship. Far from it,” Filipovic observed. “But it is pretty clear and pretty obvious that anything good and meaningful and fulfilling that has come has come on the back of discomfort and hardship.”

Why It Matters

Private equity recruiting has historically favored standardized investment banking tracks and predictable career paths. Filipovic's progression through HIG Capital and Resurgens Technology Partners illustrates how operating comfort amid friction provides an alternate, durable base for lower-middle-market software investing. In an environment where software multiples are resetting and portfolio value creation requires deep operational rebuilding rather than financial engineering, partners with high tolerance for friction have a distinct edge.