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We are pleased to announce Jordan Morrell has joined NCV as our newest Entrepreneur in Residence.
“We’re incredibly excited about welcoming Jordan as our newest EIR,” said Mike Smerklo. “Jordan brings 20+ years of experience as a seasoned operator with deep industry experience, a clear consumer understanding, and a passion for great products.”
It has always been important to our firm’s culture to have a strong entrepreneur in our office to bring their unique perspective on emerging market trends and discover their next project. We are thrilled to have Jordan start exploring new internet consumer opportunities as the next step in his storied career.
Jordan was most recently Vice President of Strategy and Operations for Nike Design working side by side with Nike's Chief Design Officer. In this capacity, Jordan was the COO of Nike’s 700+ person design organization with responsibility for: driving its business and creative strategy, managing its annual $180M+ operating budget, and leading its 30+ person Strategy and Operations team who provide designers with the time, space, and tools to unleash their creative potential and deliver product excellence.
He also played a critical role in driving collaboration across Product Management & Merchandising, Innovation, Design, and Marketing to define and drive Nike's seasonal narratives and consumer concepts, solve for consumers’ needs and deepen their connection to the Nike brand. He and his team enabled the world’s largest design house to create 16,000+ unique styles of footwear, apparel, and equipment each year.
Prior to joining Nike Design, he was a leader in Nike’s North America Direct To Consumer retail offense (Nike Stores + Nike.com) as GM of both the NIKEiD and Nike+ Digital business units - managing Nike's legacy customization business while also launching and building Nike’s first-to-market wearables business (led by the Nike+ FuelBand).
“I look forward to working side by side with the NCV’s industry-leading team of technology and early-stage investment experts,” said Jordan. “I can’t wait to roll up my sleeves to develop the next great, consumer brand with a disruptive technological advantage.”
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Today, we are proud to announce the closing of an additional $310 million in capital. In just six years, we have raised over half a billion dollars in assets under management. We are honored to hit this milestone and owe a debt of gratitude to our amazing entrepreneurs, whose success enabled us to get here. The new funds include $195mm in Next Coast Ventures III, $50mm in NCV Select I, and $65mm in Next Coast ETA. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity to continue to grow our firm that was "built for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs."
To read the official press release, click here.
After nearly five years at a high-growth technology company, I decided to make a change. I realized the parts of my career I loved the most – and frankly, where I made the biggest impact – were in the early days of company building. Confronting challenges, brainstorming solutions, and effectively utilizing resources gets me excited.
The problems start-up employees face seem unpredictable and nascent when you’re in it, but they often aren’t. Talk to anyone who has been an early employee at a high-growth early-stage company and you’ll likely hear about a lot of similar problems:
I was fortunate to have joined Workrise (then known as RigUp) in 2017 when the company had about fifty employees, had raised less than $25mm, and had a few hundred field worker customers, all working in oil and gas. When I left in early 2022, we had hundreds of employees, had raised over $750mm, and had thousands of field worker customers, working across multiple industrial verticals. For me, and for most of my colleagues in those early years, the challenges we encountered were new – to us, at least.
Company building isn’t a singular achievement. It’s a collection of big wins and (hopefully) smaller mistakes. It’s about building a team of smart people who work hard to further the mission. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and figuring it out. And if you’re lucky, you have a solid investor who's there to support you along the way – an investor whose partners have been entrepreneurs themselves, who have faced and solved similar problems before. Investors who truly understand what it means to start and run a business – investors who have lived through it.
I’m excited about my new role as a Partner and Head of Platform at Next Coast Ventures. I’m eager to start building repeatable, scalable solutions that NCV’s entrepreneurs can leverage to accelerate the learning process.
Complementing my experience are the vast resources available to entrepreneurs at NCV. All of our investing partners have been successful CEOs or Presidents of technology companies. We have assembled a network of 150+ current and former operators to provide expert advice to our portfolio companies. We thrive on helping entrepreneurs, working alongside management teams to not just help launch their first product, but also to help them build their company. As I join NCV this week, I can’t wait to start bringing these resources to life to make our entrepreneurs more successful.
NCV was built for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, and I’m excited to be a part of the journey.
To read the official press release, click here.
