Meridian Ventures launched $35M fund to back MBA-deferred founders

Meridian Ventures has officially launched a $35 million fund aimed at supporting pre-seed and seed-stage startups founded by individuals who have deferred their MBA programs. The initiative stems from the shared experiences of founders Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney, both of whom met during Harvard's deferred admission MBA program in 2020. Devon Gethers, 29, brings a unique background to the venture. Having grown up in Washington State under challenging circumstances, he pursued studies in behavioral science and finance at the University of Utah before transitioning into private equity and eventually starting his own company. In contrast, 28-year-old Karlton Haney hails from a farming background in Arkansas, where he raised various birds and studied industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas. His professional experience includes working as an investor at The Stephens Group, a family office. The duo's vision for Meridian Ventures emerged in 2023, fueled by a desire to challenge the prevailing belief that MBA graduates are ill-suited for entrepreneurial ventures. "Our thesis goes against the common narrative in Silicon Valley that MBAs don't make effective founders," Gethers explained. To validate their concept, they began by reaching out to potential limited partners, ultimately securing $2.5 million as a proof-of-concept fund to invest in 45 companies. While attending Harvard Business School, Gethers and Haney decided to pursue their goal of establishing an institutional fund, despite facing a challenging funding landscape. Their efforts culminated in an oversubscribed $35 million fund from a diverse group of investors, including publicly traded banks and Fortune 500 executives. They are set to graduate from Harvard Business School in 2025. This new fund is strategically focused on backing founders who are developing enterprise technology solutions across the United States. Gethers noted that Meridian Ventures maintains an agnostic approach to investment, having already allocated funds to startups in fintech, logistics, healthcare, and artificial intelligence. With an average investment of $500,000 for pre-seed and $750,000 for seed rounds, they aim to deploy this capital over the next three years. "We recognized a growing divide between ambitious founders of frontier technologies and the necessary capital to support their visions," Gethers remarked. "With this $35 million fund, we are determined to bridge that gap."