Meet Jeff Hilimire | Entrepreneur & Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jeff Hilimire and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jeff, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
I created Purpose Group in 2022 with the explicit goal of creating more “purpose-driven” businesses in the world. Purpose Group buys, grows, and holds (forever) small businesses. When we acquire a business, we work with its team to unlock its true purpose via our Purpose Playbook methodology.

It is our belief that business should be a force for good in the world, and we hope to inspire that kind of change one business at a time. Purpose-driven businesses do right by their team members, their partners and customers, and their community.

What should our readers know about your business?
I fell into being an entrepreneur in college when my college roommate (Raj Choudhury) and I started building websites in 1998. We started our first business, Spunlogic, in the dorm room, and ten years later, we had 75 employees and sold to a private equity firm.

Those early years of being under the age of 25 and learning how to build a business were tough. I’ve never worked so hard in my life, as nothing comes easy at that stage. But the joy of building my own business and doing work I was proud of made it all worth it.

Perhaps it isn’t a surprise that I ended up an entrepreneur, as my father, many of my aunts and uncles, and my grandfather were all entrepreneurs. But when I went to college, I wanted to be a tennis player first and a programmer second. Starting a business wasn’t even anything I considered at that point.

After I sold my second company in 2013, I went through a program called Leadership Atlanta, and my entire world changed. It was through that program that I began to see the massive amount of privilege I have as a human being. I’m a white, straight, Christian male with no physical or mental disabilities, and as unfortunate as this is to say, those characteristics give me an advantage over most people. I wrestled with this realization and ultimately found my personal purpose: to have an outsized, positive impact on the world.

Since landing on my personal purpose, I started Dragon Army and Purpose Group, both “purpose-driven” businesses that strive to prove that business can be a force for good in the world. I have also founded three nonprofits, and I mentor many BIPOC leaders in the Atlanta area. I’m working hard to live into my purpose every day.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting me in Atlanta, I would want to take him to some of the more unique and impactful places that Atlanta has to offer. A few examples would include:

A walk along the Beltline, which circles the Atlanta area, results in what I think is the most diverse group of people in the city. We’d end at Ponce City Market for lunch.

From there, we would head down the road to take a walking tour of Martin Luther King Jr.’s home and early childhood neighborhood. We’d visit the King Center and Ebenezer Baptist Church.

That afternoon we would head to Buckhead to visit my office at the Atlanta Tech Village. There are over 500 people in that building working on their tech startups, and the energy you feel just touring the space is incredible. It’s also where my company, Purpose Group, is based, so we’d check out our office as well.

There are many great places for dinner in Atlanta, but I’d stick with my favorite local Mexican restaurant, Taqueria El Vecino.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I can’t overstate how much the support of my wife has meant to my career. I started my first business in 1998 in my dorm room, and soon after that we were married (having dated since junior year of high school). She’s been by my side through the many valleys that an entrepreneur goes through and has supported me through the founding of five for-profit businesses and three nonprofit businesses.

Together we have five children (ages 11 – 18), and you won’t find a happier father on the planet 🙂

Website: http://www.jeffhilimire.com/

Instagram: http://www.jeffhilimire.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffhilimire/