Courtney Zaugg

Courtney is a serial entrepreneur and Partner at NEXT Studios, an innovation studio, working to increase innovation at the intersection of capital, talent, and community. Based in Indianapolis, Courtney assists clients across the U.S. to ignite entrepreneurship and encourage growth.  Additionally, Courtney leads an initiative that helps veterans and military spouses launch and scale their companies and is a member of the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition’s Advisory Committee to promote smart and effective investments in development and diplomacy, Courtney is an Ambassador for Right to Start, a national nonpartisan movement to advance entrepreneurship as a civic priority throughout the United States and is a member of the Ecosystem Builder Leadership Project, a coalition providing leadership for the advancement of the entrepreneurship ecosystem-building field of practice. Beyond this, Courtney has founded six companies since 2017 including a new launch of a tech product focused on older adults aging in place, and founded a not-for-profit to support community-centric initiatives that align with entrepreneurship, economic development, and workforce. Additionally, she is a Certified Economic Developer and an Entrepreneurship Development Professional by the International Economic Development Council – one of the first certified in the U.S. Courtney is a proud military spouse and mother.