AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Next Coast Ventures, an Austin-based venture capital firm investing in entrepreneurs on the ‘Next Coast’ of innovation, announced today that Julie Dodd has joined as Venture Partner. The firm works to support the best entrepreneurs outside of the coasts by providing them access to a dynamic team of the highest-performing industry experts. Julie’s executive experience scaling a leading enterprise software company further enhances the Next Coast team.
Julie has led industry-disrupting technology companies for more than 20 years and is an active advisor and board member helping firms achieve rapid growth and market share dominance.
Most recently, Julie served as COO, CSO, and General Manager for Ultimate Software, a cloud-based suite of Human Capital Management, or HCM, solutions. Her dedication to building award-winning cultures and fiercely loyal customers enabled her to, in conjunction with Ultimate’s executive team, drive profitable revenue growth from $150 million to $1.5 billion. Her passion for people and talent development helped her scale the team from 650 to 6,000 and Ultimate was recognized as a Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work for 11 times during her tenure.
“Julie is a groundbreaking addition to the Venture Partner team,” states Michael Smerklo, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Next Coast Ventures. “Her people-focused background and extensive experience optimizing all levels of operations across service, product, talent, and finance will help us fulfill our mantra of 'for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs.' Through our Company Building Playbooks and Expert Network, our entrepreneurs benefit from her support and resources to create a people-centric culture within their own companies.”
Julie currently serves as a board member at several privately-held technology companies. Prior to joining Ultimate, Julie held various executive positions with Ceridian Corporation and provided consulting services on process improvements and technical project management. Julie received her B.S. in business administration and marketing from the Gies College of Business, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“I am thrilled to join a team that shares my conviction of being ‘people first,’ specifically with entrepreneurs as the focus. I’ve spent much of my career creating cultures of diversity and highly-engaged workforces where employees can thrive,” says Dodd. “I grew up in a family of entrepreneurs and love the entrepreneurial spirit, which is clearly the heart and soul of the Next Coast team. I am looking forward to learning alongside the other Venture Partners and helping entrepreneurs realize their success.”
“Julie’s operational experiences in talent, go-to-market strategies, and scaling have made her a well-known and respected name in the technology community,” states Thomas Ball, Managing Director and Co-Founder of NCV. “Julie joining Next Coast as a Venture Partner is a huge win for our team in many ways, including giving us the opportunity to attract new entrepreneurs in ‘Next Coast’ markets who could benefit greatly from her focus in leadership development, talent, people and culture.”
About Next Coast Ventures
Next Coast Ventures is an Austin venture capital firm that partners with bold entrepreneurs building innovative companies in big markets. It provides early-stage capital to high-growth startups in ‘Next Coast’ markets, using macro trends and themes to guide its investment strategy.
Next Coast provides its growing group of portfolio companies with hands-on help, Company Building Playbooks, a robust Expert Network, and the founders’ own experiences as entrepreneurs and operators. Learn more at https://www.nextcoastventures.com/.
