Our Story
Our
Story
Washington Avenue Advisors was founded in 2016 by the original partners, Nick and Reuben, with a belief that the world is full of visionary leaders trying to bring their best ideas to fruition. They wanted to build an organization that would help entrepreneurs move from their imaginations into a physical space. There was no better location to call home than REO Town, Lansing, MI, a historical place where innovation meets entrepreneurship.
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REO Town in Lansing, Michigan, was named after Ransom Eli Olds, founder of the Oldsmobile and REO Motor Car Company, and was a major center for the American automobile industry from 1905 to 1975.
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At Washington Avenue Advisors, we believe financial advising is about more than numbers on a spreadsheet — it’s about people, families, and the legacies they build.
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Our mission is to help business owners actualize their legacy. Along the way, WAA has grown into a trusted partner for those navigating every stage of wealth and business. From startup to exit, from first investment to legacy planning, we walk alongside our clients through each step of the journey.
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Connecting Life and Wealth
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We know that life and wealth are inseparable. That’s why our discovery process doesn’t begin with money — it begins with you. We ask about your goals, values, and vision for the future, and then design strategies that align with who you are and what matters most.
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Our work spans:
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Wealth Planning & Investment Management — building portfolios and strategies tailored to long-term success.
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Business & Exit Planning — helping entrepreneurs grow, protect, and exit their companies on their terms.
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Estate & Legacy Planning — ensuring the values you live by are the ones you pass on.
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Accounting & Financial Clarity — empowering businesses with day-to-day accuracy for their accounting needs, serving as an outsourced controller or fractional CFO.
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While our roots are in the Midwest, our reach extends nationally and internationally. We’re proud to be innovators — launching programs like Leadership Talks, the Legacy Lab, and Inside the Mind of a VC, being managing partners of Exit Quotient Ventures, and supporting startup founders through Flying with Founders.
Each initiative is designed to empower growing leaders to make informed, confident decisions for themselves, their businesses, and their communities.
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At the same time, we hold firmly to values of trust, integrity, and personal relationships. We treat our clients with the same respect we show one another, because to us, relationships are central to the true wealth we build.
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The WAA Difference
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Holistic Care: We consider your health, your goals, your business, and your family, because financial planning touches every part of life.
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Hands-On Expertise: With a team of CFP®, CEPA™, and AEP® certified advisors, accountants, and financial specialists, we combine technical skill with lived experience.
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Client-Centered Service: We meet you where you are — whether you’re scaling your company or planning your exit.
Our Commitment
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For over a decade, our advisors and accounting team have helped hundreds of clients bring order to their finances, clarity to their plans, and confidence to their futures.
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Our story is about building more than financial portfolios. It’s about building lives of freedom, businesses of resilience, and legacies of impact.