The Founder’s Next Chapter

If you’ve taken the company as far as you can—here’s what to do next (and who to do it with).

Author

Apryl Syed
May 09, 2025

👋 Hey Founder,

This week’s edition zooms in on the real profile of a founder who gets funded—and the version of you (and your team) that’s required to keep winning.

Here’s what’s inside:

✅ Who raised Pre-Seed to Series A last week
✅ Why founder age matters less than founder readiness
✅ When you’ve taken the company as far as you can go—and what to do next
✅ A gut-check on your current team and what scaling really demands

💸 Who Got Funded—May 1st–7th

Early-stage capital is still flowing—but it’s focused.
Here are the deals that stood out:

🔍 Pre-Seed

🩺 Platos Health ($1.4M, Nigeria)
AI-powered platform for managing metabolic health
✅ Why they got funded: Personalized health is a growing market—especially in underserved regions.

🎥 Wonder (€2.6M, Europe)
AI-powered creative tools for storytellers and filmmakers
✅ Why they got funded: AI meets content creation—creative ops are the new SaaS.

🧠 Actualization.AI (Undisclosed)
AI infrastructure for enterprise IT services
✅ Why they got funded: Enterprise buyers want low-friction AI enablement.

🧊 Snowfire AI (Undisclosed)
Early-stage AI tooling (details emerging)
✅ Why they got funded: AI arms race continues—especially in foundation tools.

🌱 Seed

💳 Aslan ($5M, US)
Rewards-based Mastercard and employee perks platform
✅ Why they got funded: Fintech meets culture—companies want retention tools, not just payroll.
✅ Investors: Notion Capital, Redstone

📈 Series A

🌍 Bedrock Energy ($12M, US)
Geothermal systems for heating and cooling
✅ Why they got funded: Climate tech is maturing—and infrastructure plays are now investable.
✅ Investors: Titanium Ventures, Energy Impact Partners

🧠 Who Gets Funded? Not Who You Think.

You’ve seen the myth: the hoodie-wearing 23-year-old building a unicorn from their dorm room.

Here’s the reality:
📊 The average age of a successful founder is 42.
Not a prodigy. Not the loudest on Twitter. But the most ready.

Investors back pattern recognition. And the pattern is this:

  • Lived experience > pure ambition

  • Clarity > charisma

  • Resilience > raw speed

If you’re in your 30s, 40s, 50s and building—it’s your time. Don’t let the youth obsession make you think you’re late. You’re actually right on time.

⏳ Have You Taken the Company as Far as You Can?

At some point, every founder hits this wall:

I’ve brought it this far—but now the business needs something else.

This is not failure. It’s maturity.

Maybe it’s time to:

  • Replace yourself in day-to-day operations

  • Bring in execs who’ve scaled from $10M → $50M

  • Admit that your leadership team isn’t fit for the stage you’re now entering

Not everyone is built for every phase. That includes you.
That includes them.

Be honest. What got you here might not get you there.

📋 How to Audit Your Leadership Team

Here’s a simple test:

Question

Red Flag

Is this leader solving problems before they become problems?

❌ Waiting for permission or reactive?

Are they energized by the next phase of growth?

❌ Still focused on past wins or early-stage habits?

Would you enthusiastically rehire them today?

❌ If not, why are they still here?

And the biggest one:

Are you avoiding a hard conversation because it feels “disloyal” to someone who was there early?

Loyalty is noble. But you’re building something that needs to win.
That requires people who are built for this chapter—not just the last one.

🎯 TL;DR

  • Funding is still happening—but it's going to focused, strategic early-stage bets

  • You’re not too late—you’re likely the exact founder profile that’s working

  • Be honest about what you need next—in your leadership, and in your leadership team

Until next week,
Apryl Syed
Founder’s Edge

P.S. If you’ve grown—but your team hasn’t—you don’t need to feel guilty. You need to make moves. Let me know if you want a framework to walk through it.