Today, we are proud to announce the closing of our second fund, which brings $130 million in new capital to Next Coast Ventures. We are thrilled to have assembled a great group of investors – a strong combination of investors from our first fund and new investors who believe in our ambitious goal to become one of the best firms providing early and growth-stage capital in what we call ‘Next Coast markets.’ Of note, just like in our first fund, this investor group includes a substantial amount of capital from our own team – simply put: we are putting our money (literally) where our mouth is.
Like any fundraising effort, it took time, travel and a lot of hard work. But truth be told, this fund was really made possible by the hard work of all the entrepreneurs we have had the privilege to work with since we founded Next Coast Ventures over four years ago. The portfolio we have been able to assemble and the progress these Founders and CEOs have made with our capital has been nothing short of extraordinary. So, NCV II is really a testament to their hustle and the incredible potential that we continue to see across the markets we serve.
And we are just getting started…
When we founded Next Coast Ventures the strategy was simple: We wanted to build a firm that was ‘built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs’ to back hard-working teams that were looking to build disruptive companies outside the coasts. We wanted to help where we could by applying what we simply call ‘Company Building,’ which for us means providing practical, real-world advice and resources to our founders without ever overstepping our role.
We had big goals from the start and have already seen some indicators of success. We have doubled the size of our team, had four exits from our debut fund and have invested in over 30 companies in our key markets. But we – like the entrepreneurs and companies we back – are relentless in our pursuit of excellence, and candidly we feel like we have a long way to go from here. In this next phase of NCV, we continue to believe more than ever that we have the opportunity of a lifetime to build a firm that we can be truly proud of, and we are going to continue to keep our heads down and work tirelessly to make this vision a reality.
So, no major celebration. It is much too early and we have a lot more work to do before reaching our goal. Rather, we simply want to say thank you to our investors, our team and all of those in our extended ecosystem that have helped us get to this next phase of growth. With NCV II officially in the books, we will now have over $215 million in capital under management – an exciting moment for our entire, expanding team and the ecosystems we serve.
But most importantly, we want to tip our hat to all of the entrepreneurs that are a part of Next Coast Ventures. Without your hard work and fortitude, none of this would be possible. Or more appropriately: We are lucky to be standing on the shoulders of giants.
