AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Next Coast Ventures, the Austin-based venture capital firm focused on investing in disruptive ideas and thematic marketplaces, today announced the close of its debut fund at $85 million, oversubscribed by $35 million. One of the largest funds in Austin within the last three years, Next Coast’s limited partners include leading institutional investors, funds of funds and family offices.
“Austin has already arrived in the VC realm but now it needs to evolve,” said Mike Smerklo, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Next Coast Ventures. “We are finding outsized opportunities between the coasts with talented, tech-savvy entrepreneurs with vision. Our connections to Silicon Valley mean we can ink deals that accelerate our startups’ growth and open them up to national and international markets—turning the middle of the country into the center of the next tech revolution.”
With a focus to transform the traditional venture capital model, Next Coast Ventures boasts a thematic approach to investing backed by entrepreneurial experience. The fund will concentrate on software-powered, full-stack business models designed for digital natives as well as innovative companies in the education, retail, B2B and B2C sectors, addressing surging regional demand for progressive startup capital.
“The time is ripe to build something in Austin that drives real impact,” said Tom Ball, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Next Coast Ventures. “It is a privilege and honor to work with an amazing group of investors as well as some of the very best entrepreneurs in the world. We’re thrilled to bring a hands-on, thematic and focused VC experience to the market, better serving the community and building amazing companies in the process.”
To date, Next Coast Ventures has deployed capital from its inaugural fund into four Austin startups—Umuse, Dropoff, OnRamp and Phlur, one San Francisco-headquartered startup Cloverpop and one New York-based startup Clarity Money.
About Next Coast Ventures
Next Coast Ventures was born in 2015 with a simple vision to create a different kind of venture capital firm focused on company building, thought leadership and giving back to the community. With a dedication to investing in entrepreneurs building disruptive companies in big markets, Next Coast Ventures is pursuing a new model of VC “built for entrepreneurs by entrepreneurs.” For more information, visit http://www.nextcoastventures.com.
