Honors Fund

Honors Fund Research Overview Honors Fund is a $25 million venture fund operated as a dedicated sub-fund within CEAS Investments, a Delray Beach, Florida-based single-family office with the capital base and risk appetite of a top-tier venture firm. Launched in August 2023 under the leadership of Junior Partner Blake Hatten, Honors Fund was created on the thesis that university-based founders are systematically underestimated and underfunded by the traditional venture ecosystem. The fund targets exclusively student and faculty-founded software startups, typically writing the first significant institutional check — $250,000 — into companies at the earliest conceivable stage. Investment Thesis The fund's core belief is contrarian by design: some of the most promising software companies emerge from student and faculty entrepreneurs who are overlooked because they lack the pedigrees and networks that traditional institutional investors favor. Honors Fund explicitly positions itself as the first institutional investor for these founders, writing $250,000 SAFEs on a $2 million post-money valuation with unlimited follow-on capacity. The fund's philosophy: "there's no such thing as too early" — the fund will invest from pre-incorporation through early revenue, as long as the founding team is university-affiliated and the product is software-based. Stage Focus Honors Fund operates exclusively at the pre-seed and early seed stage. They are frequently the first check into companies that have no revenue, limited product development, and may still be in school. CEAS's long-term, patient capital structure (family office rather than LP-funded vehicle) means they are not constrained by typical fund life pressure, allowing them to hold positions for 7–15+ years. Check Size Typical first check: $250,000 SAFE at a $2M post-money valuation cap. Competition prizes are structured as $150,000 SAFEs on identical terms. CEAS retains pro-rata rights with unlimited follow-on potential — meaning the fund can re-invest aggressively in breakout companies across subsequent rounds. Total committed: $25M targeted across 100 investments. Lead Tendency Honors Fund always leads its investments. As the first institutional investor writing the initial check and setting valuation terms, the fund establishes the cap table structure from the ground up. They do not co-lead with other early-stage investors at the point of initial investment, though they welcome syndication in follow-on rounds. Investment Approach The fund sources deals through two primary channels: (1) rolling inbound applications reviewed on a two-week turnaround, and (2) in-person and virtual pitch competitions hosted in major innovation hubs (Los Angeles, Austin, San Francisco, New York City, London) and virtually. Competition events offer $150,000 SAFEs to winners selected from cohorts of university-founded startups. This dual-channel approach gives the fund both national geographic reach and real-time access to the best emerging university founders. Portfolio Highlights With $10M+ deployed across 25+ portfolio companies as of their current reporting, Honors Fund's portfolio spans diverse software categories: Neru Health (SF, 2024) — AI-powered patient operations for DME (durable medical equipment) providers and specialty clinics. Uses clinician-trained voice and AI to automate patient support, adherence coaching, and supply management. Harvard Innovation Labs alum. Pharmovo AI (London, 2024) — AI for pharmaceutical demand forecasting and drug shortage prevention, combining neural networks with pharmaceutical supply chain expertise. Switchpoint AI (Virtual, 2025) — Enterprise LLM routing platform that optimizes AI model selection for cost, performance, and data privacy. AgentPhone (Virtual, 2025) — AI phone agent platform for businesses. Valley AI (Virtual, 2025) — AI-native software product in the enterprise space. Bond Health (Virtual, 2025) — Health technology startup focused on patient monitoring and care. Vovy (Virtual, 2025) — Software startup, sector not publicly confirmed. BuildSync (Austin, 2024) — Enterprise workflow software, construction/project management focus. AI Merch (SF, 2024) — AI-powered merchandise creation and management platform. Biomonadic (NYC, 2024) — Biotech or health informatics software. Truth Systems (LA, 2023) — First Honors Fund competition winner; enterprise software. Probat (Virtual, 2025) — Software startup, sector not publicly confirmed. Team Blake Hatten (Junior Partner, Lead Investor — Honors Fund): Blake joined CEAS Investments in 2022 as a VC Analyst and was promoted to VC Associate in 2024 and Junior Partner in 2025. Prior to CEAS, she worked at Goldman Sachs on Investment Grade Credit. She holds a BA in Economics from Middlebury College (Class of 2020). Blake leads all Honors Fund deal sourcing, diligence, and portfolio support. She serves as board member for Neru Health and Hark, and as board observer for PeakMetrics, Signapse, and Brij. Noah Isserman, PhD (Founding Advisor): A Gates Cambridge Scholar, award-winning researcher, professor, and entrepreneur focused on the financing of social goods. His PhD dissertation from Cambridge won the Outstanding Dissertation Award from ARNOVA. He served as a Founding Advisor to Honors Fund, contributing academic expertise on the university entrepreneurship ecosystem. Mike Wohl (Chief Investment Officer, CEAS Investments): Joined CEAS in 2013, promoted to CIO in 2017. Manages early and growth-stage tech investing across the broader CEAS portfolio. Board member for SqlDBM; board observer for Fivetran, FourKites, ONRAMP, and One Model. Holds an MBA from MIT Sloan and a BA from Amherst College. Ronnie Martinez (Junior Partner, CEAS Investments): Joined CEAS in 2018, reached Junior Partner in 2024. Featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 (2025) and 2022 EVC List. Board member for Marqii; board observer for Shabodi, Prescient AI, Basetwo AI, and others. Geographic Focus Primarily US and Canada, with competition events in LA, Austin, San Francisco, New York City, and London. The fund invests in talent regardless of geography, with no stated regional exclusions. Parent Organization: CEAS Investments Honors Fund is a dedicated sub-fund within CEAS Investments, which has deployed over $400M into American startups since 2014. CEAS operates as a single-family office with venture-firm-scale capital, complete flexibility on check size and stage, and a majority-female investment team. CEAS's broader portfolio includes notable exits and growth-stage companies: Fivetran, FourKites, Marqii, Hello Divorce, Prescient AI, Fetch Robotics, and Apartment List. CEAS portfolio companies have collectively raised $1B+ in subsequent funding from top-tier venture firms. Decision Process Given Blake Hatten's leading role managing Honors Fund and the family-office ownership structure, investment decisions appear to follow a small-team or solo model with Blake as primary decision-maker and oversight from CEAS CIO Mike Wohl. Application turnaround is approximately two weeks. Anti-Thesis Honors Fund explicitly does not invest in: hardware companies, consumer physical products, non-software business models, or companies where no founder is a current/recent student or faculty member. The fund is software-only and university-affiliation is a hard requirement. Founder Preferences Honors Fund specifically seeks: current undergraduate or graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty members, or founders within 12 months of graduation. The fund is comfortable with first-time founders and actively prefers them. Technical co-founders with an in-house development capability are required.