Building skills and
partnerships in an ever
changing world
Our mission is to educate and empower students through hands-on experience in investment analysis, due diligence, and collaborative decision-making across real asset classes.
Inspired by precedent, built at Cornell
Gorges Ventures draws inspiration from successful student-led venture funds at top business schools. In 2020, Stanford students launched Stanford 2020, a venture fund that grew to $1.5M across 175 MBA investors. In 2025, Harvard Business School launched Twenty25 Ventures, reaching $1.0M across approximately 250 MBA investors.
The Class of 2025 at Cornell SC Johnson launched the first-ever Gorges Ventures investment fund, building the playbook and precedent for student-led investing at Johnson. HBS later adopted Cornell's model for their own fund.
- Launched the 1st-ever Gorges Ventures fund for Cornell SC Johnson
- $400K raised across 60 investment members (MBA '25 and EMBA '25)
- Invested in 3 companies across healthcare tech, supply chain tech, and fintech
Taughannock Falls
215 feet of unyielding force
An investment club structured as an LLC
Capital flows from investor members into the LLC, which invests in Cornell startups. Returns are distributed back via IPO or M&A. Advisors provide portfolio support from early-stage to exit.
Investor Members
MBA students who invest capital into Gorges Ventures and assist with strategic advising post-investment. All members actively participate in investment decisions.
Gorges Ventures Fund LLC
The legal entity that manages liabilities, distributes returns to investor members, and deploys capital into portfolio companies.
Cornell Startups
Target of 20 to 30 startups in the portfolio for the strongest odds of generating returns. Investments at $25K average check size across pre-seed and Series A.
Fund Advisors
Provide operational and strategic support to assist portfolio companies to achieve an exit. Corporate networks, know-how, and expertise from early-stage to exit event.
Verticals that drive our thesis
Student investors organize by industry focus, enabling deep domain expertise and targeted deal sourcing across eight core verticals.
More than capital. A commitment to growth.
Like the gorges that carved through millions of years of stone to reveal something extraordinary, we believe the most transformative outcomes are forged through persistence, collaboration, and an unwavering commitment to education.
- Deep commitment to learning, research, and education
- Strong belief in developing others while continuously improving
- Broad, diverse network across medicine, technology, and finance
- Relentless work ethic and high standards
- A genuine desire to see people and teams succeed
Led by operators who build
Our fund managers bring direct experience in venture capital, startup operations, healthcare technology, and scaling companies from pre-seed to exit.
- Secured $4M in committed capital at ViviHealth
- CMO/COO across defense, health, and technology startups
- Johns Hopkins Research Lab — startup sustainability
- Hedge Fund Global Advisory Board Member
Campaign design, outreach collateral, investor pipeline management
Startup evaluation, founder meetings, market research and due diligence
Investor onboarding, fund admin, governance structures
Secretary role and social media management
Financial oversight and accounting
Guided by those who have built before
Our advisors have pledged to lend their corporate networks, operational know-how, and strategic expertise to our future founders from early-stage to exit event.
Senior Manager at LinkedIn
Board Member at Red Bear Angels
SVP, Office of the CEO at Salesforce
Managing Director at Accenture
Partner at Rebar Advisors
Associate Director at Cornell Tech Runway
Tech Strategy at Microsoft
Co-Founder & CSO, Endpoint Health
Co-founder & COO of RevTrax
Founder and CEO of Susie Cakes
Entrepreneurship Fellow at Yale Tsai CITY
Founder, Sotori Skin & Y-Combinator '22
A ten-year arc of patient capital
LLCs created, leadership elected
Structure, workflow, bank account established
Capital collection, first educational session
Sourcing, fundraising, monthly meetings begin
Finish fundraising
Finish sourcing and deploying capital
Target exit, no later than this date
Ready to invest in the next generation?
Whether you are a Cornell MBA student interested in joining as an investor member, a founder building at the frontier, or an alumnus willing to advise — we want to hear from you.
Reach out