# AAVIN

> AAVIN is a VC fund in Cedar Rapids backing Fashion and Wearables. See 2 investments, round sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Cedar Rapids, United States
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: Jun 2005
- Lead investor: 50%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/aavin-equity-advisors-llc-
- Website: http://www.aavin.com

AAVIN is a Midwestern based private equity firm. We invest in high-growth opportunities, management buyouts and certain recapitalization transactions. We partner with strong management teams seeking to build businesses through internal growth or acquisitions. We invest primarily in late-stage and expansion-stage financings. Our focus is onsmaller investment opportunities – companies seeking less than $10 million, with most requesting less than $5 million. Our activities are concentrated in the Middle America region of the United States.AAVIN has extensive private equity investment experience with a long history of serving as lead investors in venture capital financings. Our five-member investment team has over 120 years of cumulative investment and business development experience and has made investments in over 125 companies.AAVIN's investment team combines financial and operational expertise and we have broad expertise in a variety of industries. We provide significant value over the life of our investments through active involvement. We provide assistance to our management teams in many areas including strategic planning, finance, marketing, recruiting, analyzing and closing acquisitions or divestitures, developing treasury strategies and assessing financial markets.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for AAVIN. Shizune tracks 5 team members at AAVIN. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/aavin?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fashion | 1 | 50% |
| Wearables | 1 | 50% |
| Manufacturing | 1 | 50% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Thies Kolln | Partner | 1 | — |
| ERIC M. HENDER | Senior Partner | 0 | — |
| James D. Thorp | Managing Partner | 0 | — |
| Kirk E. Kaalberg | Senior Partner | 0 | — |
| PAUL D. RHINES | Senior Partner | 0 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Round size | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Coolibar | Coolibar designs, manufactures, and markets sun protection products for men, women, and children. The company’s portfolio of products includes sun protective clothes, SPF clothing, sun hats, sun protection swimwear, sunglasses, umbrellas, and sunscreens. Coolibar was founded in 2001 by John Barrow and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. | $1.5M |  | Jun 13, 2005 |  |
| WindLogics | WindLogics (formerly SSESCO) provides advanced wind analysis and forecasting services for wind energy developers, investors, bankers, operators and utilities by scientifically evaluating potential wind energy sites and forecasting and optimizing ongoing operations in real time. WindLogics is able to calculate 3D wind fields based on exclusivehistoric weather data archives and proven meteorological models adapted to wind power applications. | $2.3M | Series B | Feb 25, 2004 |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Altira Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/altira-group) — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- LFE Capital — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- Saint Paul Capital Fund — VC Fund, 1 deal together
- [StarTec Investments](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startec-investments) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Bpifrance](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bpifrance) — VC Fund
- [SFC Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/startup-funding-club) — VC Fund
- [HTGF (High-Tech Gruenderfonds)](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/high-tech-gr%C3%BCnderfonds) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does AAVIN invest in?

AAVIN invests primarily in Fashion, Wearables and Manufacturing startups, most often at Funding Round stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact AAVIN?

Public channels for AAVIN include LinkedIn and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at AAVIN?

The team at AAVIN includes Thies Kolln (Partner), ERIC M. HENDER (Senior Partner) and James D. Thorp (Managing Partner). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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