Zeynep Young Joins Next Coast Ventures

Zeynep Young, venture partner with Next Coast Ventures in Austin.

Zeynep Young, an Austin entrepreneur and former foundation director, has joined Next Coast Ventures, an Austin-based venture capital firm as Venture Partner.

Young previously founded and ran Double Line Partners, an education technology startup in Austin, which sold to a private equity firm a few years ago. She also previously served as portfolio director at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and as an associate principal at McKinsey & Co. She holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern and a BA from Rice University. She is currently CEO of milk+honey, a wellness and beauty company with a portfolio of day spas, salons and products in the organic, luxury market.

“I’m thrilled to bring my expertise to a forward-looking firm committed to changing the rules of the VC industry,” Young said in a news release. “With personal experience as both an entrepreneur and investor within the Austin business community, I am excited to turn my attention towards ‘next coast’ technology markets.”

“Zeynep fits perfectly into our team of former entrepreneurs,” Mike Smerklo, co-founder and managing director at Next Coast Ventures, said in a news release. “Our primary goal is to be a strategic value-add to our portfolio investments, beyond the capital itself. Zeynep will be a vital component of our management team as we continue to scale the firm.”

Next Coast Ventures, founded in 2015, invests in entrepreneurs building disruptive companies in big markets with a focus on Texas. Earlier this month, Next Coast Ventures announced it had closed on a $85 million fund.

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