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 the firm is continuing to assemble a dynamic team of industry experts to help its portfolio companies reach new levels of growth. The firm has added Paul Rogers and Jim Dunham as Technology Venture Partners, and Adam Salamon as its first Entrepreneur in Residence. The technology-focused Venture Partners will serve as mentors to the tech entrepreneurs of the fund’s portfolio, as well as advisors to the fund’s leadership.
“These additions to our growing footprint in Austin echo our founding mantra: to attract, identify and support the strongest entrepreneurial talent in Texas and beyond,” said Tom Ball, co-founder and managing director of Next Coast Ventures. “We are highly focused on the importance of company building and believe that having the critical experience of Paul and Jim will be an invaluable asset to our growing portfolio.”
Dunham has been in the technology industry for over 25 years and most recently served as the president of cloud and business intelligence at ServiceSource, a San Francisco-based software company. Rogers is an alumnus of Google and currently serves as chief technology officer of New York-based Namely Inc., an HR data platform. Prior to Namely, Rogers served as the chief technology officer of Austin-based RetailMeNot Inc. and as the vice president of engineering and operations at Austin-based Bazaarvoice Inc.
Entrepreneur in Residence Adam Salamon most recently served as the founder and chief operating officer of Perk Inc, a mobile-first rewards and engagement platform that went public on the Toronto Stock Exchange before being acquired by RhythmOne PLC earlier this year.
“Adam’s significant experience in some of our core investment themes makes him a natural pick for our first Entrepreneur in Residence,” said Mike Smerklo, co-founder and managing director of Next Coast Ventures. “We sought to foster a collaborative environment for our entrepreneurs in our new downtown office and we believe that having a strong in-house entrepreneur like Adam is integral to that goal.”
NCV’s leadership is currently comprised of industry veterans with a wide array of expertise including running a public company, bootstrapping a business and scaling startups as serial entrepreneurs. All three additions to the team will further the fund’s developing advisory network, which it plans to grow vigorously and thoughtfully over the next year. NCV is committed to arming its portfolio companies with this arsenal of business acumen and providing access to the leadership network as part of their pledge to company building.
About Next Coast Ventures
Next Coast Ventures is an Austin-based venture capital firm founded by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. It engages top entrepreneurs in ‘Next Coast’ markets to build a robust portfolio comprised of early-stage and high-growth startups disrupting big markets with innovative technology. With a focus on thematic investing, NCV keeps its finger on the pulse of what top entrepreneurs are creating outside the East and West coasts, and helps bring those ideas to life with a dynamic network of industry experts. The fund provides comprehensive company building resources to support the portfolio’s business growth and its leaders’ personal growth as rising entrepreneurs.
