Our Team
Here for you on the first mile of your startup journey.
Zaz Floreani
Partner
Austin, TX
Austin, TX
- Moved to Austin from NYC for grad school with no intention of staying but fell in love with an entrepreneur and has been there ever since
- Zaz and her husband Mark (the entrepreneur) love to explore new cities and countries with their two daughters and son
- Helps her daughters with The Jam Sisters Co., a confiture & bake sale business
- Attempts to complete the WSJ crossword every weekend
Zaz Floreani joined FirstMile Ventures as a partner in the summer of 2023, bringing with her over 15 years of experience as an operator, investor, and advisor to early-stage technology startups. Based in Austin, she spearheads FirstMile's investment efforts in Texas.
Prior to FirstMile, she served as a Principal at Next Coast Ventures, one of the largest and most active early-stage funds in Austin with over $500M in assets under management. She built out their pre-seed and seed investment platform, where she was responsible for sourcing, diligence and strategic planning. She led investments across diverse sectors including SaaS, Marketplaces, Digital Health, and Proptech. Zaz served as a strategic Board Observer for many of her investments, collaborating closely with founders on go-to-market strategies, product roadmaps, and executive recruitment.
In operating roles, Zaz built out the business development and corporate development functions at three venture-backed startups in Austin – Mass Relevance, Spredfast, and most recently Dropoff. As VP of Corporate Development at Dropoff, a last-mile logistics startup, she led Enterprise Sales, Partnerships, and M&A, leading three acquisitions, two of which doubled the startup's revenue overnight. As Head of Business Development at Spredfast, Zaz fostered and managed strategic relationships with Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. She also steered the integration process for Spredfast's acquisition of Shoutlet, its third-largest competitor in social media marketing.
Post- business school, Zaz led business development for Austin Ventures, the Southwest's largest venture fund at the time, driving early-stage deal flow expansion across Texas and beyond.
Zaz holds an MBA and a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She is originally a California girl, growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area and completing a Bachelors in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Prior to FirstMile, she served as a Principal at Next Coast Ventures, one of the largest and most active early-stage funds in Austin with over $500M in assets under management. She built out their pre-seed and seed investment platform, where she was responsible for sourcing, diligence and strategic planning. She led investments across diverse sectors including SaaS, Marketplaces, Digital Health, and Proptech. Zaz served as a strategic Board Observer for many of her investments, collaborating closely with founders on go-to-market strategies, product roadmaps, and executive recruitment.
In operating roles, Zaz built out the business development and corporate development functions at three venture-backed startups in Austin – Mass Relevance, Spredfast, and most recently Dropoff. As VP of Corporate Development at Dropoff, a last-mile logistics startup, she led Enterprise Sales, Partnerships, and M&A, leading three acquisitions, two of which doubled the startup's revenue overnight. As Head of Business Development at Spredfast, Zaz fostered and managed strategic relationships with Meta, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. She also steered the integration process for Spredfast's acquisition of Shoutlet, its third-largest competitor in social media marketing.
Post- business school, Zaz led business development for Austin Ventures, the Southwest's largest venture fund at the time, driving early-stage deal flow expansion across Texas and beyond.
Zaz holds an MBA and a Masters in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She is originally a California girl, growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area and completing a Bachelors in History from the University of California, Los Angeles.
