Fundraising Fox

Next Coast Ventures

Venture capital

Austin Β· Seed–Growth Β· 12 people tracked

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Investment thesis

Next Coast Ventures invests in what they call 'glass-eating entrepreneurs'β€”founders building category-defining companies across their identified themes. Rather than focusing on traditional sectors, the firm emphasizes finding exceptional entrepreneurs operating in emerging areas and providing them with pragmatic, experience-based support. The partnership approach draws on the founders' own entrepreneurial journeys to help portfolio companies accelerate growth, with support spanning product-market fit development, recruiting, and succession planning.

Source: firm website, verified Jul 21, 2026.

Stage
Seed–Growth
HQ
Austin, US
Leads rounds
Leads
Instruments
Equity
Tracked investments
143

Team Β· 12 people

from the firm's website
Mike SmerkloΒ· Co-Founder and Managing Director

Co-founder and managing director at Next Coast Ventures with extensive operating experience as former CEO of ServiceSource and director of business development at Opsware. Author and board member at several portfolio companies including Crowdhealth, Everly Health, and BrainCheck. Holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Thomas BallΒ· Co-Founder and Managing Director

Co-founder and managing partner at Next Coast Ventures with a background as general partner at Austin Ventures and founder of multiple companies including Razorgator and eCoupons. Serves on boards of portfolio companies and former ventures including TrustRadius and GOJA. Earned MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Adam RogersΒ· Partner at Next Coast Ventures

Partner at Next Coast Ventures investing in and advising early-stage companies. Held prior roles including CTO and interim CEO at Ultimate Software with exposure to venture operations and early-stage company scaling.

Kaitlyn DeBernardoΒ· Partner, COO & Head of Platform

Partner, COO and head of platform at Next Coast Ventures. Early employee at Workrise during significant funding rounds and held equity analyst role at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Stanford GSB MBA graduate with undergraduate degree in Economics from Columbia University.

Julie DoddΒ· Operating Partner

Operating partner with extensive executive experience as award-winning COO and CSO at Ultimate Software. Previously worked at Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe focusing on operational leadership and strategic execution in growth-stage companies.

Brian SharplesΒ· Co-founder and CEO of HomeAway

Co-founder and former CEO of HomeAway with board membership at Avalara and prior executive leadership at IntelliQuest Information Group. Stanford GSB MBA graduate bringing marketplace and consumer internet expertise to the firm.

Cotter CunninghamΒ· Founder, Chair and CEO RetailMeNot

Founder and CEO of RetailMeNot (NASDAQ:SALE) and former COO of Bankrate (NASDAQ:RATE), bringing deep expertise in consumer internet and marketplace business models at scale from public company leadership experience.

Jason DorseyΒ· Gen Z and Millennial Expert

Gen Z and millennial expert, global keynote speaker, and prolific author with expertise across multiple industries and markets. Has conducted extensive research and advises on demographic trends and consumer behavior relevant to portfolio companies.

Julian CastelliΒ· Senior Technology + SaaS Executive

Senior technology and SaaS executive with proven track record as serial entrepreneur across multiple industries. Brings operational scaling experience and growth expertise to Next Coast Ventures' portfolio.

Laura SchenkeΒ· Operations Consultant

Operations consultant at Next Coast Ventures with background in health and wellness coaching at Noom and event management experience in the hospitality industry. Holds graduate degree from Concordia University.

Paul RogersΒ· CTO at Equipment Share

Chief technology officer at Equipment Share with prior CTO roles at RetailMeNot and Namely. Opened Google's Austin office in 2008 and led engineering during BazaarVoice's early growth phase, bringing deep technical and scaling expertise.

Scott MillerΒ· EIR @ NCV

Entrepreneur-in-residence at Next Coast Ventures with significant operating background including COO role at Vast (acquired by Vroom) and strategic operations leadership at SolarWinds across APAC. MIT-trained engineer with HBS MBA.

What they invest in

from 28 of 143 portfolio companies

SaaS Γ—12Enterprise Software Γ—9AI & Machine Learning Γ—8Healthtech Γ—7Fintech Γ—6Digital Health Γ—5Wellness & Fitness Γ—4Cloud Computing Γ—2

HQs:United StatesΓ—12

Investments Β· showing 60 of 143

founders shown can be your intro path
More Infoenboarder.comβœ“ verified

Enboarder provides an AI-driven platform for employee onboarding and cross-functional HR journeys, helping enterprise customers like Deloitte, ING, and Cisco reduce time-to-productivity and attrition. The platform automates onboarding, internal mobility, and offboarding processes for large organizations.

AI & Machine LearningHR TechSaaSAustin, US

3D Robotics Construction Company
Ableable.com
Account-Based Marketing Platform
Aclaimantaclaimant.com

Aclaimant provides risk management software to help organizations identify and actively manage business risks. The platform originated in workers' compensation claim management and serves companies seeking real-time insights to mitigate or reduce loss frequency and severity.

Enterprise SoftwareInsurTechChicago, US

Michael Schultz(Co-founder)

Affordable Healthtech Startup
AI Bookkeeping and Tax Solutions
AI Customer Service Automation
AI Finance Tool
AI Robot Assistants
Alertmediaalertmedia.com

AlertMedia provides a unified risk intelligence and incident response platform that helps organizations manage disruptions, emergencies, and business continuity across geographically distributed teams.

Enterprise SoftwareSaaS

API Design Platform
Arcade
Architectarchitect.io

Architect provides live migration and hibernation technology for stateful Kubernetes pods running on spot instances, enabling cost reduction of up to 90% compared to on-demand pricing without dropping connections or losing data. The platform targets cloud infrastructure teams running Kubernetes on AWS EKS and similar environments.

Cloud ComputingDeveloper Tools

Architecture-as-Code Framework
At-Home Healthcare Access
BeFake
Befakeaibefakeai.com
Braincheckbraincheck.comin𝕏
Bravabrava.com
Calendar Monetization Platform
Cardlyticscardlytics.comin𝕏
Cash Back App
Ceresaceresa.com
Chargebackchargeback.comin𝕏
Clean Beauty Manufacturing Partner
Cognitive Health Solutions Provider
Collectibles Marketplaces
CollXcollx.app𝕏
Community Health Insurance Alternative
Conversificonversifi.com
Copilotsearchcopilotsearch.comin𝕏
CoreChaincorechain.tech

Corechain provides a B2B payments platform that streamlines paperless payments and supply chain financing to help suppliers unlock working capital from unpaid invoices.

Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaS

Data Privacy Platform
Digital Asset and DeFi Platform
Digital Health Company
Diligent Robotics

Hospital automation company creating socially intelligent robots that assist clinical staff with routine tasks to improve patient care.

Dispute Automation Platform
Distributedistribute.soin
Domain Moneydomainmoney.comin𝕏

Domain Money provides investment management and financial planning services, charging no asset-under-management fees while offering tax-aware portfolio construction, direct indexing, and tax-loss harvesting. The company serves individual investors seeking professional wealth management integrated with comprehensive financial planning.

Digital HealthFintechSaaS

<UNKNOWN>Adam Dell(Founder and CEO)

Doshdosh.com
Drinkboxtdrinkboxt.com𝕏
E-Commerce Brand Platform
E-Commerce Returns Platform
Emergency Communication Platform
Endless healthbesthearttest.com

Endless Health provides an all-in-one platform and strategic support for wellness professionals to launch and scale preventive health practices, combining precision lab testing, practice management software, and personalized coaching infrastructure.

HealthtechSaaSWellness & Fitness

Endless Health
Eternevaeterneva.com
Everly Health

At-home diagnostic solutions provider offering convenient, affordable access to lab testing and digital health services.

Factory Inventory Optimization
Firstdollarfirstdollar.comin𝕏
Floorfoundfloorfound.com

FloorFound is an operational sales platform that connects premium furniture brands with independent dealers, handling inventory management, dealer targeting, and transaction execution for closeout and recovery inventory.

B2B MarketplacesRetail TechSaaS

Fondofondo.comin𝕏

Fondo provides financial management and bookkeeping services to help startups track cash flow, burn rate, and runway. The company serves early-stage startups seeking accounting and financial visibility.

Enterprise SoftwareFintechSaaSSan Francisco, US

David J. Phillips(Founder/CEO)inDavid

Fraud Detection Platform
Frontrow Healthfrontrowmd.comin

FrontrowMD is a platform that helps consumers discover and purchase health and wellness products with guidance from medical professionals. The service connects shoppers to expert opinions at the point of purchase, targeting direct-to-consumer health brands and their customers.

Direct to ConsumerHealthtechMarketplacesWellness & Fitness

<UNKNOWN>

Galileogalileohealth.comin

Galileo Health is a digital health service that connects patients with board-certified doctors and nurse practitioners available 24/7 via mobile app for consultations, prescription management, specialist referrals, and chronic care management. The service functions as a healthcare provider rather than insurance, offering affordable membership plans that cover in-app medical care.

Digital HealthHealthtech

Board seats Β· per SEC filings

what is this? β“˜
Stoplight, Inc.SEC filing

$11M raise Β· filed Feb 2021 Β· via Mike Smerklo

Inferred from directors named on each company's SEC Form D β€” public regulatory data, not a portfolio list published by the firm.

Frequently asked questions

What stage does Next Coast Ventures invest at?
Next Coast Ventures invests at the Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth stages.
What sectors does Next Coast Ventures focus on?
Next Coast Ventures focuses on Creator Economy, Digital Health, Healthtech, PropTech, Robotics, Sector Agnostic.
Where is Next Coast Ventures located?
Next Coast Ventures is headquartered in Austin, US.
Does Next Coast Ventures lead rounds?
Yes, Next Coast Ventures leads investment rounds.

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