Where does Mike Smerklo work?

Mike Smerklo is Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures and Board director at SiteOwl and Board director at Osano and Board director at Phlur.

What check size does Mike Smerklo write?

Mike Smerklo typically writes checks of $3M – $5M.

What boards does Mike Smerklo sit on?

Mike Smerklo holds tracked board seats at Alert Media, Phlur, StopLight.

Where did Mike Smerklo go to school?

Mike Smerklo studied at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management (MBA, Marketing); Miami University (Bachelor of Science, Accounting).

Mike Smerklo

Investor

Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures · Board director at SiteOwl · Board director at Osano · Board director at Phlur

Austin, Texas

Writes $3M – $5M checks · typically $4M

Find your path to Mike

172 people in our graph share verified history with Mike — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Kevin RileyunlockedMike: together at Miami University (1987–1990)

×7Mike: together at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management

×2Mike: together at Next Coast Ventures

Mike: together at Miami University

About

Mike Smerklo is an entrepreneur, investor, and author who built ServiceSource from a startup into a multibillion-dollar public company. He grew up in Toledo and later wrote "Mr. Monkey and Me," a book about the mental and psychological side of the entrepreneurial journey, including his SHAPE framework for managing self-doubt. His career spans bootstrapped, venture-backed, and hyper-growth stages through to an IPO, and he now works as an investor supporting founders.

Contact· published on Mike's own website

m•••@nextcoastventures.comreveal

Beyond investing

Founded: Built ServiceSource into a multibillion-dollar public company that went through an IPO.
More: Wrote the book Mr. Monkey and Me about the mental challenges of entrepreneurship. Grew up in a low-income household in Toledo. Developed the SHAPE framework for managing self-doubt in entrepreneurship.

From Mike's own website — common ground for a warm intro.

Board director at SiteOwl

Intro paths

→

In turn, Mike can intro founders to SiteOwl's investors below.

SiteOwl's investors · 1

Next Coast VenturesAustin · $2M – $4M checks · since 2022

Board director at Osano

Intro paths

→

In turn, Mike can intro founders to Osano's investors below.

Osano's investors · 9

Baird CapitalChicago · since 2019 First Ascent VenturesToronto · $3.6M – $7.3M checks · since 2019 Jump CapitalChicago · since 2019 LiveOak Venture PartnersAustin · since 2019 LiveOak VenturesAustin · $500K – $10M checks · since 2019 Lookout VenturesChevy Chase · $250K – $2M checks · since 2019 Next Coast VenturesAustin · $2M – $4M checks · since 2019 Social StartsSan Francisco · since 2019 Village GlobalCovina · $100K – $500K checks · since 2019

Co-founders at Osano

Arlo GilbertCo-founder & Chief Innovation Officer

Scott HertelCo-founder

Board director at Phlur

Intro paths

→

In turn, Mike can intro founders to Phlur's investors below.

Phlur's investors · 1

Next Coast VenturesAustin · $2M – $4M checks · since 2016

Co-founders at Phlur

Eric KormanExecutive Officer, Director

Experience

Next Coast VenturesCo Founder & Managing Director - Investorcurrent2015 — presentAustin, Texas Metropolitan Area
www.mikesmerklo.comAuthor / Mentorcurrent2010 — present
Current boards: EverlyWell · Flip AI · Workweek · CrowdHealth · BrainCheck · LeanDNA - SubmittableBoard Member - Investor2003 — 2026
ServiceSource (Chairman) · SPS Commerce (NASDAQ: SPSC), 10+ exitsBoard Member - Operator & Investor2003 — 2020
ServiceSourceChairman and CEO - Operator2003 — 2015San Francisco Bay Area
Opsware (formerly LoudCloud)Senior Director of Business Development - Operator2000 — 2002San Francisco Bay Area
Morgan Stanley, Ernest & YoungInvestment Banking / CPA1991 — 2000San Francisco Bay Area

Skills & more

Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A)Growth InvestingOperations ManagementCloud Computing83Entrepreneurship19Managed Services13Customer Satisfaction14Customer Retention9Strategic Partnerships29Solution Selling14Start-ups48Account Management6

+12 more

AnalyticsBusiness AlliancesBusiness DevelopmentBusiness StrategyCRMChannel PartnersCustomer AcquisitionCustomer ServiceSaaSEnterprise SoftwareSalesforce.comSoftware as a Service (SaaS)

Certified Public Accountant

From Mike's professional profile.

Deals · 2

Alert MediaBoard seat

via Next Coast Ventures · filed Jan 2019 · $32M raise

PhlurBoard seat

via Next Coast Ventures · filed Aug 2016 · $2M raise

Attribution from SEC filings, press coverage, and firm rosters.

Other disclosed investments

Board seats

StopLight

Per SEC Form D filings.

Colleagues at Next Coast Ventures

Adam Rogers

Partner at Next Coast Ventures at Next Coast Ventures

Anthony Walker

Partner, Next Coast Legacy at Next Coast Ventures

Brian Sharples

Co-founder and CEO of HomeAway at Next Coast Ventures

Charles Thomas Ball

General Partner at Next Coast Ventures

Cotter Cunningham

Founder, Chair and CEO RetailMeNot at Next Coast Ventures

Dustin Sellers

Partner, Next Coast Legacy at Next Coast Ventures

Jason Dorsey

Generational and behavioral researcher, keynote speaker, and President of The Center for Generational Kinetics

Julian Castelli

Senior Technology + SaaS Executive at Next Coast Ventures

Network6

Alexander RosenScout

Managing Partner at Ridge Ventures

Charlie PlaucheScout

Managing Director at S3 Ventures

Cotter CunninghamScout

Founder, Chair and CEO RetailMeNot at Next Coast Ventures

Eric WiesenScout

General Partner at Bullpen Capital

Jason DorseyScout

Generational and behavioral researcher, keynote speaker, and President of The Center for Generational Kinetics

Thomas BallScout

Co-Founder and Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures

Investors connected to Mike in public investor directories — a warm-intro map.

Frequently asked questions

Who is Mike Smerklo?: Mike Smerklo is an entrepreneur, investor, and author who built ServiceSource from a startup into a multibillion-dollar public company. He grew up in Toledo and later wrote "Mr. Monkey and Me," a book about the mental and psychological side of the entrepreneurial journey, including his SHAPE framework for managing self-doubt. His career spans bootstrapped, venture-backed, and hyper-growth stages through to an IPO, and he now works as an investor supporting founders.
Where does Mike Smerklo work?: Mike Smerklo is Managing Director at Next Coast Ventures and Board director at SiteOwl and Board director at Osano and Board director at Phlur.
What check size does Mike Smerklo write?: Mike Smerklo typically writes checks of $3M – $5M.
What boards does Mike Smerklo sit on?: Mike Smerklo holds tracked board seats at Alert Media, Phlur, StopLight.
Where did Mike Smerklo go to school?: Mike Smerklo studied at Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management (MBA, Marketing); Miami University (Bachelor of Science, Accounting).