Zeynep Young Joins Next Coast Ventures

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.