Jeff Helminski is the founder and managing partner of Auxo Investment Partners, a private investment firm that acquires founder- and family-owned industrial, manufacturing and business services companies, offering them a succession planning solution where they know their legacy will be honored and their team’s future employment will be safeguarded.
Jeff Helminski of Auxo Investment Partners was sitting in his downtown Grand Rapids office in May 2020, during the early days of the pandemic, when his phone rang with a cold call from a prospective investment partner. Little did Helminski know when he answered the call that the conversation he was about to have would ultimately lead to a transformative moment for the private equity firm Auxo.
The $100 million private equity fund created to invest in Michigan-based companies has completed its fundraising and now turns its attention to deploying the capital over the next few years. The Grand Rapids-based Auxo Michigan Opportunity Fund I LLC, launched in February 2021 with the backing of Doug and Maria DeVos’ family office, netted the $100 million from 76 investors, according to a federal regulatory filing. “The Michigan Opportunity Fund is all about helping Michigan-based businesses thrive and grow,” Doug DeVos, co-chairman of Ada-based Amway Corp., said in a statement to MiBiz. “We have a great group of Michigan-based investors who care deeply about the state and desire to see Michigan businesses prosper. We believe this fund is a unique opportunity for various Michigan-based industries, some seeking to grow and others looking to transition ownership.”
As a principal, Dora leads Auxo’s deal team that handles research, networking, sourcing investment opportunities, and conducting diligence on a deal. He was also involved in raising investments for the $100 million Michigan Opportunity Fund that Auxo closed on in early 2023 and serves on the boards of two portfolio companies.
“Every day I learn about a new business, a new industry, a new opportunity, and I do all of this research into different areas of our world and our economy that I just find fascinating,” Dora said.
Grand Rapids Business Journal will recognize those people and projects that made news in 2022 at its annual Newsmakers of the Year breakfast from 7:30-9:30 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9, at Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park.
Jeff Helminski, co-founder and managing partner of Auxo Investment Partners in Grand Rapids, successfully leveraged his atypical experience and path in multiple deals last year. Helminski has a diverse professional background, including experience in manufacturing engineering, high-volume assembly operations management and real estate development. His firm, Auxo, now specializes in investing in and growing founder- and family-owned industrial, manufacturing and business services companies.