Two years ago, Devon Gethers and Karlton Haney were just names in Harvard Business School’s deferred admission program. Today, they manage a freshly closed $35 million venture fund that challenges long-held beliefs about MBA founders. The Meridian Ventures fund did not follow the typical path. It started with a $2.5 million proof-of-concept round, 45 early bets, and a conviction that the Silicon Valley playbook on graduate degrees was due for a rewrite.
Gethers grew up in poverty in Washington State. Haney raised chickens on a farm in Arkansas. Neither background screams “venture capitalist.” Yet their combined experience—private equity, a family office, a startup exit, and a shared deferred MBA journey—convinced a lineup of publicly traded banks, family offices, and Fortune 500 executives to back them. The fund is oversubscribed. The check sizes are $500,000 for pre-seed and $750,000 for seed. And the thesis is refreshingly simple: ambitious people who deferred their MBA can build frontier technology companies.
The Deferred MBA Origin Story
Meridian Ventures was born out of a specific shared experience: deferred MBAs. Gethers and Haney met in 2020 through Harvard’s deferred admission program, a route that allows undergraduates to secure a seat in a future MBA class while gaining work experience first. That program created a network of high-potential individuals who had not yet started business school but were already building careers in finance, engineering, and startups.
Both founders saw something others missed. Many deferred MBA candidates were not waiting idly. They were launching companies, joining early-stage teams, and testing ideas. Yet traditional venture capital often dismissed them as “too corporate” or “too academic.” The Meridian Ventures fund was designed to fill that gap.
The Counterintuitive Thesis
“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 told TechCrunch. That belief—that an MBA trains people for corporate bureaucracy, not startup agility—has persisted for decades. But Gethers and Haney argue the opposite. A deferred MBA, they say, signals discipline, network-building ability, and long-term thinking. Those traits matter when building a company from scratch.
The pair set out to prove their point. They cold-called limited partners, knocked on doors, and raised a $2.5 million proof-of-concept fund. That capital backed 45 companies, giving them concrete data to present to institutional investors. The results were strong enough to open the door to a $35 million institutional fund.
From $2.5 Million to $35 Million: The Fundraising Journey
The path from a small proof-of-concept to a $35 million Meridian Ventures fund was anything but smooth. The pair began fundraising for the larger vehicle about a year into their Harvard Business School experience, which started in summer 2023. The macroeconomic climate for first-time fund managers was tough. Interest rates were high. Institutional investors were cautious. Yet the fund ended up oversubscribed.
Cold-Calling LPs
How do you cold-call a limited partner when you are still a student? Gethers and Haney developed a systematic approach. They identified LPs who had previously backed first-time funds or funds with a thesis around education and entrepreneurship. They reached out via email, LinkedIn, and warm introductions from their network. The key message: we have already deployed capital into 45 companies, and we have a differentiated thesis that targets a misunderstood founder demographic.
One effective tactic was leveraging the deferred MBA network itself. Many of the LPs they contacted were alumni of Harvard or other top programs. The shared experience of deferred admission created an immediate sense of trust. “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.”
What LPs Saw in the Fund
Limited partners, including publicly traded banks and family offices, were drawn to two things. First, the proof-of-concept fund showed real traction. Backing 45 companies validated the deal-flow model. Second, the co-founders’ backgrounds—one from poverty and private equity, the other from a farm and a family office—offered complementary perspectives. That diversity of experience is rare in venture capital. LPs also appreciated the sector-agnostic approach, investing across fintech, logistics, healthcare, and AI.
Who Gets Funded? The Investment Strategy
The Meridian Ventures fund backs U.S. enterprise technology companies. The firm is sector-agnostic, meaning it will invest in whatever vertical the best founders pursue. So far, that has included fintech, logistics, healthcare, and AI. The average check size is $500,000 for pre-seed rounds and $750,000 for seed rounds. The capital is expected to deploy over three years.
Not Just Deferred MBAs
While the fund’s origin story centers on deferred MBA founders, the actual investment criteria are broader. Gethers clarified that the firm also backs founders who have not deferred their MBA. The core requirement is that the founder is ambitious and building a frontier technology company. The deferred MBA thesis serves as a signal, not a gate.
This flexibility matters. In practice, many of the best enterprise tech founders do not fit a single archetype. Some come from bootstrapped backgrounds, others from corporate innovation labs. By remaining open to both deferred and non-deferred MBAs, Meridian can capture a wider range of opportunities while still focusing on the educated, network-rich founder profile they know best.
Overcoming the MBA Stigma
The anti-MBA sentiment in Silicon Valley is deeply ingrained. Critics argue that business school teaches risk aversion, linear thinking, and an over-reliance on frameworks. Startups, they say, require chaos tolerance, rapid iteration, and a willingness to ignore spreadsheets. Gethers and Haney have a simple rebuttal: look at the data from their proof-of-concept fund. If MBAs consistently underperformed, those 45 companies would not have attracted follow-on capital.
Moreover, the modern MBA has evolved. Harvard’s deferred admission program, for instance, selects for entrepreneurial inclination. Many deferred admits start companies before they ever sit in a classroom. The Meridian Ventures fund is betting that this pre-MBA startup experience, combined with the structured thinking of a business education, produces exceptional founders.
Practical Advice for Skeptics
If you are a founder with an MBA who has faced rejection from VC firms that “don’t fund MBAs,” the Meridian story offers a playbook. First, build a track record before you ask for money. Gethers and Haney did not raise $35 million on a pitch deck alone. They raised $2.5 million, invested in 45 companies, and collected results. Second, leverage your network. The deferred MBA community is a dense web of ambitious people—use it for intros, advice, and co-founder matching. Third, be prepared to explain why your background is an asset, not a liability. Frame your MBA as evidence of discipline and network, not conformity.
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Balancing Business School and a Venture Fund
One of the most remarkable aspects of the Meridian Ventures fund story is that its founders raised it while attending Harvard Business School full-time. They started the program in summer 2023 and graduated in 2025. That means they spent roughly two years juggling coursework, exams, recruiting, fundraising dinners, and deal screening.
How did they manage it? Gethers credits a clear division of labor. He focused on investor relationships and LP communication. Haney handled deal sourcing and portfolio support. They scheduled fundraising calls around class breaks and used weekends for deep work. The deferred MBA network also provided a ready-made pool of potential founders, reducing the time needed for sourcing.
A Hypothetical Scenario
Imagine you are a deferred MBA student who wants to start a venture fund before graduation. The Meridian example suggests several steps. First, raise a small proof-of-concept fund to validate your thesis. Even $500,000 can prove your ability to source and back good companies. Second, align with a co-founder whose strengths complement yours. Gethers (finance and private equity) and Haney (family office and industrial engineering) covered different bases. Third, start fundraising for the institutional fund only after you have demonstrable results from the proof-of-concept. LPs want evidence, not promises.
What the Fund Means for Early-Stage Enterprise Tech
The launch of this $35 million Meridian Ventures fund signals a shift in how venture capital thinks about founder backgrounds. For years, the most celebrated startup founders were college dropouts or serial entrepreneurs with no formal business education. That narrative is gradually changing. Investors are realizing that structured thinking, financial literacy, and network density—all byproducts of a good MBA program—can be powerful assets in enterprise tech, where sales cycles are long and unit economics matter.
Meridian’s focus on pre-seed and seed stages also addresses a funding gap. Many early-stage enterprise tech companies struggle to raise small checks from institutional VCs, who prefer larger rounds. A $500,000 or $750,000 check can be the difference between prototyping and product-market fit. For founders building in areas like logistics or healthcare AI, that capital is often hard to find.
The Role of Family Offices and Banks
The fact that publicly traded banks and family offices backed the Meridian Ventures fund is notable. Banks rarely invest in first-time fund managers. Family offices, while more open, still demand a strong thesis. Their participation signals institutional confidence in the MBA-founder thesis and in the co-founders’ ability to execute. It also provides Meridian with a network of strategic partners who can help portfolio companies navigate regulatory and financial complexities.
Lessons for First-Time Fund Managers
For anyone considering raising a first-time venture fund, the Meridian Ventures fund story offers several concrete lessons. First, start small. A proof-of-concept fund reduces risk for LPs and builds a track record. Second, embrace a contrarian thesis but back it with data. Meridian’s belief that MBAs make good founders was not just an opinion; they tested it with 45 investments. Third, cold-calling works, especially when you have a compelling personal narrative. Gethers and Haney’s backgrounds—one from poverty, one from a farm—made their pitch memorable.
Another lesson: leverage your educational network. Harvard’s deferred MBA program gave them instant credibility and a built-in deal flow. Even if you did not attend Harvard, your own MBA or graduate program likely has a network of ambitious peers. Tap into it. Ask for introductions. Attend alumni events. The relationships you build during school can become your LP base or your sourcing channel.
The Future of the Fund
With $35 million to deploy over three years, Meridian Ventures plans to back roughly 40 to 50 new companies in enterprise technology. The firm is sector-agnostic but will likely continue focusing on fintech, logistics, healthcare, and AI, given the co-founders’ expertise and the current market trends. The average check size ensures they can lead or co-lead rounds, giving them board seats and influence over company direction.
As they deploy, Gethers and Haney will also be watching for trends in the deferred MBA community. If their thesis proves correct—if these founders outperform—other VC firms may copy the model. That competition would be a positive signal for the ecosystem, validating a new path for capital allocation. Meanwhile, the fund’s LPs will be monitoring return multiples, hoping that the combination of deferred MBA hustle and institutional discipline produces outsized outcomes.
A Closing Thought
The Meridian Ventures fund is more than a financial vehicle. It is a statement that your background does not define your ceiling. A kid who grew up collecting eggs on an Arkansas farm and another who navigated poverty in Washington State can together raise $35 million from Fortune 500 executives. That story resonates beyond venture capital. It suggests that the best founders—and the best venture investors—are those who have experienced scarcity, learned to adapt, and still believe that education, when paired with action, can transform industries.
