Twenty25 Ventures
Twenty25 Ventures is a class fund at HBS. We raise funds from the HBS Class of 2025, and invest in founders from the HBS Class of 2025.
The Opportunity
As of 2024, HBS produces the highest number of entrepreneurs, female founders, VC-backed companies, and unicorns of any business school (70+ unicorns as of 2024).
What makes a Twenty25 Ventures deal?
At least 1 founder is (or was) part of the HBS Class of 2025.
Founder defined as individual holding more than 10% of the company.
People who’ve dropped out after RC year included in this definition.
2. Round is led by a top-tier VC from a predetermined list.
Intended to make sure we’re indexing for the best deals coming out of HBS.
3. Round is $500K or larger.
Intended to leave out scout checks, etc.
How it works
Fund length and size
We are raising ~$1M for 10 years of operation.
Deployment period
The deployment period is set for 5 years. If we finish deploying prior to that (the GSB fund finished within 3), we will continue to the next phase without waiting.
LP check size
$3,000 - $100,000 (max 10% of total fund size). Historical average from Stanford’s class funds is ~$10,000.
Investment check size
$10,000 - $50,000 (max 5% of total fund size).
I’m ready! What’s next?
Investor FAQs
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Historical data demonstrates on average 80+ HBS students from our class will launch a company within 3 months of graduation. HBS outpaces any other business school (yes, even Stanford) in the number of founders produced within 3 months of graduation.
A subset of these startups will raise qualified funding rounds of $500K+ from top tier venture capital firms, thus qualifying for our investment.
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We have a closed list of VCs developed closely with the help of experts from our advisory board. We will share the list with LPs once we fundraise.
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We do not plan to invest in non-profits, academic research, grant proposals, search funds, etc.
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Since we’re an “Investment Club”, we require voting from LPs on investments we present to them. Once registered, members will have the option to automatically Opt-In to all future investments. Historically, at GSB and other similar funds, no one has ever voted “No”.
How it works:
LPs will receive emails and text reminders to vote on individual investments.
LPs must vote on at least 2/3 of investments or may be at risk of forfeiting their investment.
Voting is not proportional to funds invested, all LPs have one equal vote.
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We will allocate funds for one follow-up investment. We are allocating 50-100% of the initial investments that provide us with pro-rata rights.
We will participate in a follow up round as long as it meets these criteria:
The round is led by an institutional investor
We have pro-rata rights from our initial investment
Follow-on will be capped at 2.5% of the fund size
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We plan to follow the funds we co-invest with. Proceeds will not be recycled and distribution will occur pro rata to all LPs.
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Undeployed funds will be returned pro rata to LPs.
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The Twenty25 Ventures team will not receive management fees or carried interest.
While we are doing this for the benefit of our class and to support the Class of ‘25 entrepreneurial ecosystem, we also have some more “selfish” reasons - to get VC experience and build a strong network with our classmates, entrepreneurs and other investors.
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We will have only one capital call, upfront when you commit to the fund.
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LPs will receive regular updates through our entrepreneur newsletter as well as annual reports detailing updates on the fund.
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Anyone from the HBS Class of 2025 can invest in the fund - no visa or accreditation limitation.
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No.
Founder FAQs
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Please email us at twenty25ventures@gmail.com.
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Think of us like your most valuable family and friends’ check.
We ask for very little equity in exchange for offering our commitment to helping you with a variety of your goals:Direct introductions to partners from top tier firms from our advisory board
Automatic $10-$50K commitment from us signals investment interest and helps you get an oversubscribed round quickly
Get term sheet advice
Share your startup updates with the entire class and maintain opportunities for customer contacts or future hires
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We do not lead rounds. A typical check size ranges from $10K-$50K.
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Short answer, no. (We even have a U.S. defense tech startup in our portfolio)
The LP list will be kept private and not shared publicly and we are closing the fund upon graduation so all investments are considered U.S.-based.
Twenty25 does intend on investing in qualifying non-U.S. companies by the same rules-based approach but will review them on a case-by-case basis and match the strategy of the broader investing community.
Advisory Board
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Bryan Kim
Partner at a16z
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Alex Kayyal
Partner at Lightspeed
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Andy Chen
General Partner at Coatue
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Matt McIlwain
Managing Director at Madrona
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Arjun Chopra
Partner at Floodgate
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Sara Choi
Partner at Wing VC
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Brian Truong
General Partner at Graph Ventures
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Derick En’Wezoh
Partner at Susa Ventures
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Sanjay Rao
Founding Partner at Tau Ventures
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Kyle Lui
General Partner at Bling Capital
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Kristie Han
Principal at Canapi Ventures
Meet the Twenty25 Team
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Yuval Efrat
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Yoav Anaki
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Lisa Yan
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Insoo Chang
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Madison McIlwain
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Lindsay Atkeson
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Rob Muldowney