Harvard MBA Students Raise $25M to Fund Startups From Top Business Schools

Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney have raised over $35 million across two funds for their venture capital firm Meridian Ventures. Their newest fund, Fund II, has $25 million to invest in early-stage tech startups. Both founders are MBA candidates at Harvard Business School and focus their investments on entrepreneurs from elite MBA programs like Stanford, Harvard, and Wharton.

The firm has invested in 45 startups over the past two years, with most being business-to-business software companies—meaning they sell tools to other companies rather than consumers. Two standout investments include Cast AI, valued at $900 million, and OneImaging, valued at $250 million. Meridian reports strong performance numbers, placing it in the top quarter of venture funds by return metrics.

Who Are the Founders

Haney graduated from the University of Arkansas in industrial engineering in 2020 and was named to Forbes' 2026 30 Under 30 list for venture capital. He visited Otoxha, a village in western Belize, between his freshman and sophomore years—an experience that shaped his thinking about global development and business.

Gethers is the founding managing partner at Meridian and leads strategy alongside Haney. Together, they pitch their investment idea to wealthy investors and institutions by pointing out that the average age of unicorn founders (companies valued at $1 billion or more) is 28. That makes MBA graduates an attractive target group for early-stage bets.

Their core thesis is different from the traditional Silicon Valley approach. Rather than backing college dropouts or self-taught technologists, Meridian bets that people with MBAs from top programs bring valuable skills: they understand business operations, have access to strong professional networks, and know how to build scalable organizations. For software companies that sell to other businesses, these skills often matter as much as pure technical talent.

Portfolio Performance and What It Means

Meridian has invested across 41 deals in its first funds, staying focused on B2B software. The firm's performance metrics—measured by total value compared to capital invested—place it in the top quartile, which is strong early performance. However, worth noting: these numbers reflect estimated valuations of current holdings, not actual cash returns from companies that have been sold or gone public.

Cast AI, a platform that helps companies manage costs across multiple cloud providers, shows the kind of business Meridian targets. As more enterprises use multiple cloud services from providers like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, they need tools to track and reduce spending—which creates a big market opportunity. OneImaging's $250 million valuation reflects strength in medical technology, where regulatory requirements and long sales cycles typically reward teams with business discipline and formal training.

Two deals per month over two years shows active deal flow and rapid decision-making, especially impressive given that both founders were full-time MBA students during this period. This pace resembles patterns from 2010-2012, when early venture managers first started launching smaller, nimble funds. The main difference now is that startup funding rounds have grown larger than they were back then.

How They Raised This Capital

Raising over $35 million while in business school signals that institutional investors—foundations, pension funds, and wealthy individuals—believed in their thesis. The specific backers remain private, but the ability to raise a second, larger fund ($25 million) suggests their initial results impressed investors enough to trust them with more capital.

A $25 million fund is neither tiny nor massive by today's standards. It's large enough to make meaningful investments—typically $500,000 to $2 million per startup, with extra money set aside to invest more in their best performers as the companies grow. This size lets them stay focused while still having real impact.

The MBA-focused approach addresses a gap that may exist in venture capital. Many established venture firms on Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley prioritize technical founders with deep expertise in their field. But Meridian's strategy rests on a different insight: in B2B software, how well a company executes on sales and go-to-market strategy often matters more than whether the founders invented something technically novel. MBA programs teach exactly those skills.

The Bigger Picture

Meridian arrives in a venture capital market quite different from 2021-2022. Valuations have fallen, and the total dollar volume of deals has dropped—especially in later-stage rounds. Seed-stage funding has held up better, but competition for the best deals remains fierce, with both old-guard firms and new managers competing for a slice.

The MBA network creates real sourcing advantages. Elite business schools graduate hundreds of people per year with the ambition and resources to start companies. That's a steady pipeline of potential investments, which gives Meridian a structural edge over generalist seed funds that have to cast a wider net.

The firm's track record moving companies from seed stage to Series A (the next round of funding) is worth watching. Series A has become tougher in recent years—big institutional investors increasingly demand that startups show strong growth and a clear path to making money. If Meridian can consistently guide its companies through this transition, that's a sign of good deal selection and hands-on help after the investment.

The real test: whether MBA-trained founders can consistently build large-scale businesses that win in competitive technology markets. Early results look promising, but the true verdict will emerge as Meridian's portfolio companies mature over the next several years. A few successful exits or public offerings would validate the thesis; mediocre outcomes would raise questions about whether an MBA from a top school is actually the best predictor of venture success.

One additional thought worth keeping in mind is the concentration risk in this strategy. If economic conditions worsen or fewer people choose to pursue MBAs, the pipeline could shrink. Alternatively, markets might shift to reward different kinds of founders—say, those with deep technical skills in AI or other hot fields. But for now, the operational maturity and discipline that business school training instills may prove especially valuable at a moment when venture investors are less forgiving of cash burn and more focused on unit economics and sustainable growth.