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Meridian Ventures launched $35M fund to back MBA-deferred founders
Meridian Ventures was born out of a shared experience: deferred MBAs. Now, founders Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney have raised a $35 million fund to back pre-seed and seed-stage companies started by people like them. Gethers, 29, told TechCrunch the idea for a firm arose after he met Haney in Harvard’s MBA deferred admission program in 2020. Gethers grew up in poverty in Washington State, studied behavioral science and finance at the University of Utah, then moved into private equity before launching a company of his own (which he later exited). Haney, meanwhile, grew up on a farm in Arkansas, raising chickens, birds, and “anything that flew,” Gethers said about his business partner. Haney, 28, went on to study industrial engineering at the University of Arkansas and worked as an investor at the family office, The Stephens Group. The two came together in 2023 with the idea of launching a firm that backed people who had also deferred MBAs. “Our thesis is going against a bit of the grain, the rhetoric you hear in Silicon Valley that MBAs don’t make good founders,” Gethers said, referring to the belief that an MBA prepares students for corporate culture, not the flexible, free-wheeling world of Silicon Valley. To prove their thesis, Gethers and Haney went out and cold-called prospective limited partners and knocked on doors until they raised $2.5 million as a proof-of-concept fund to back 45 companies. The two headed off to Harvard Business School in summer 2023 and about a year into it, decided to try and raise their first institutional fund. The funding environment was tough, but the pair ended up raising an oversubscribed $35 million fund from LPs, including publicly traded banks, family offices, and Fortune 500 executives, Gethers said. They graduated from Harvard Business School in 2025. This new fund will back founders building enterprise technology in the United States. Meridian is agnostic, Gethers said, noting that the firm has already invested in companies in fintech, logistics, healthcare, and of course, AI. The average check size will be $500,000 for pre-seed and $750,000 for seed, and the capital hopes to be deployed over the next three years. “We saw an expanding gap between ambitious founders building frontier technologies and the capital required to help carry those ambitions forward,” Gethers said. With this $35 million fund, our goal is to seal that gap.” When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commissio...
Meridian Ventures $35M: fondo para founders con MBA diferido
¿Qué está pasando con Meridian Ventures y por qué debería importarte?Meridian Ventures acaba de cerrar $35 millones en su segundo fondo para respaldar founders que han diferido su MBA, consolidando una tesis de inversión que ya cuenta con más de 45 inversiones en su portfolio. El cheque típico oscila entre $25,000 y $50,000, posicionándose como capital temprano para validación de MVP y traction inicial.Para founders hispanohablantes en etapa pre-seed, esto representa una señal clara: los inversores están validando que el background de MBA (o en proceso) no es un "plan B" sino un diferenciador competitivo en la construcción de startups B2B software.¿Quiénes están detrás de Meridian Ventures?Devon Gethers (29 años) y Karlton Haney (28 años) fundaron Meridian en enero de 2023, antes incluso de iniciar formalmente su MBA en Harvard Business School (clase 2025). Ambos diferieron su aceptación para construir el fondo desde cero.👥 ¿Quieres ir más allá de la noticia?En nuestra comunidad discutimos las tendencias, compartimos oportunidades y nos ayudamos entre emprendedores. Sin humo, solo acción.👥 Unirme a la comunidadGethers tiene experiencia previa clave: en 2020 lanzó Early Admit, una empresa de admissions consulting especializada en MBA deferred. Esta experiencia le dio acceso único a talento 3-5 años antes de que ingresen a programas de MBA, creando una ventaja competitiva que competidores tradicionales no pueden replicar.Su filosofía es contraria a la de Peter Thiel (que favorece founders que abandonan la universidad): Meridian apuesta por founders con madurez empresarial, red corporativa y training formal en negocios.¿Cuál es la tesis de inversión exacta?El criterio es específico y medible: respaldar startups donde al menos una persona del founding team tenga un MBA completado o esté en proceso de programas top-10 estadounidenses. Datos del propio fondo revelan que 70%+ del portfolio cumple este criterio.Sectores objetivo:B2B Software (enfoque generalista dentro del software)AI e Infraestructura (prioridad en Fondo II)Fintech (validado en Fondo I con casos como Transend)Estructura de inversión:Etapa: Pre-seed y seed tempranoCheck: $25K-$50K (co-inversiones, no lideran rondas)Modelo: Capital eficiente para MVP y early growth¿Qué companies han respaldado hasta ahora?El portfolio de Meridian incluye casos con validación de mercado significativa:Cast AI — Valoración de $900 millones, plataforma de AI agents para infraestructura. Demuestra que founders con bac...
39 banks launch $35m venture capital to boost Bangladesh startups
The Bangladesh Startup Investment Company (BSIC), a venture capital platform formed by 39 commercial banks, plans to invest from its inaugural $35 million fund in at least three firms over the next four months, according to officials involved in the process.
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