Meridian Ventures, a venture capital firm established by Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney, has secured $35 million to invest in pre-seed and seed-stage companies led by entrepreneurs who deferred their MBA programs. The fund aims to back founders pursuing frontier technologies across various sectors, including AI, fintech, logistics, and healthcare.
- Founded by two MBA deferred admission program alums
- Raised $35 million oversubscribed fund for early-stage investing
- Focuses on enterprise tech startups across multiple industries
What happened
Meridian Ventures, founded by Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney—both participants in Harvard Business School’s MBA deferred admission program—has raised a $35 million second fund. This fund will support pre-seed and seed-stage startups founded by individuals who have deferred their MBA enrollment, continuing the firm's mission to empower founders with this unique background.
The firm’s origins trace back to 2020 when Gethers and Haney met through the deferred MBA program. After initially raising $2.5 million as a proof-of-concept, they gained momentum and secured backing from a diverse group of limited partners including publicly traded banks, family offices, and executives from Fortune 500 companies. They plan to deploy this fund over the next three years.
Why it matters
Meridian Ventures challenges the prevailing Silicon Valley narrative that MBA graduates are less suited to founding startups due to their corporate training. Gethers and Haney’s own trajectories—rooted in non-traditional backgrounds and entrepreneurial pursuits—underscore the untapped potential of this cohort in the startup ecosystem.
The fund addresses a growing gap in capital availability for ambitious founders developing frontier technologies, such as artificial intelligence, fintech, and healthcare innovations. By investing early in these sectors, Meridian Ventures hopes to empower startups that might otherwise struggle to secure funding during the critical early stages.
What to watch next
Meridian Ventures aims to deploy average check sizes of $500,000 at the pre-seed stage and $750,000 at seed stage, with a focus on enterprise technology companies based in the United States. Tracking the portfolio’s growth and the impact of MBA-deferred founders on innovation will be key indicators of the fund’s success.
As the firm continues its activities, the venture capital community will likely observe how this niche thesis—investing in founders deferred from traditional educational timelines—shapes broader attitudes toward diverse founder backgrounds. Expansion into other verticals and potential future funds may follow based on the outcomes of this initial $35 million investment.