Harvard Students Business School launched a class 1 -million dollar class to support —

Harvard Business School Baker Library

Seven second year students at Harvard Business School They have launched a first place fund to support employers in their own class of graduate and have already raised $ 1 million to start.

The fund, called Twenty25 Ventures, was created by members of the HBS class of 2025 to invest in startups founded by classmates for the next decade. Built around a community -based investment model, the fund will automatically support any qualified company launched by a 2025 graduate, overcoming traditional selective processes in favor of wider support for their companions entrepreneurs.

“There is no specific area we are looking” The co -founder of Twenty25, Insoo Chang The Harvard Crimson. “While a founder of our class is able to do it, he will get a control.”

Automatic financing for qualified startups

IBO CHANG: “Background collection (background collection) should be incredibly difficult. But since we have so much confidence of our classmates, it has not been too difficult”

The financing initiative, which began to be organized in the fall of 2023, marks the first time that HBS students have created a self-organized investment fund to support their classmates.

However, the idea was partly inspired by similar efforts to peer schools, especially Stanford Graduate School of Business. Chang explains the Crimson That the twenty25 team received guidance from Stanford’s Class 2020 Class Fund and used a platform called Power Innumbry to structure its fund legally as an investment club.

Twenty25 Ventures establishes clear and open criteria for founders seeking investments: startups must have a class of 2025 founder, raised at least $ 500,000 in an external round and have institutional validation of another investor. Companies that meet these standards will automatically receive an investment, with checks ranging from $ 10,000 to $ 50,000.

The fund does not plan to support non -profit, academic research, proposals for subsidies or search funds, according to their website. Beyond the capital, the participating founders access an Advisory Board of HBS alumni and venture capital professionals who may offer tutoring, fundraising guidance and possible introductions to additional investors.

In comments at the Crimson, Yuval Efrat, another Twenty25 co-founder, describes the Advisory Board as a “winner” configuration. The advisers receive early connections with the founders of HBS promising, while entrepreneurs receive access to valuable networks and experts.

“((Founders) get their classmates at the headboard ready to help them with everything they need,” says Efrat, “and () achieve this list of advisers who are willing to help them with tips on fundraising, maybe invest -even connect them to other VCs that may be interested.”