The Frameworks Founders Actually Need

💸 Who Got Funded – Late June to Early July 2025

We’re back to highlighting just the most notable Seed and Series A deals—with the patterns behind them:

🎯 Ryft ($8M Seed)
Real-time search and AI-powered data infra
→ Why funded: High-performant infrastructure is hot again. AI that reduces latency and cost gets fast traction.
→ Investor: Index Ventures

🧪 Gradient Labs ($13M Series A)
ML deployment acceleration tooling
→ Why funded: AI tools that make teams faster = clear value. Everyone’s hiring fewer engineers and still chasing speed.
→ Investor: Redpoint Ventures

🧱 Sundial ($23M Series A)
AI-native infra observability
→ Why funded: As AI workloads scale, managing performance at the edge is urgent. Sundial's proactive visibility wins.
→ Investor: GreatPoint Ventures

🧬 Centivax ($45M Series A)
Broad-spectrum vaccine tech
→ Why funded: Strong IP + high-upside platform plays are still appealing—especially with a seasoned science team.
→ Investors: Undisclosed

💬 Layer ($6.6M Seed)
Collaborative team workspace
→ Why funded: Post-remote workflow innovation still draws interest. The right UX and go-to-market story win.
→ Investors: Undisclosed

🧠 Tailor ($22M Series A)
AI-generated custom development tooling
→ Why funded: Everyone wants to shrink time-to-product. Tailor is betting on code as configuration.
→ Investors: NEA, Spiral Capital, ANRI, Y Combinator

👥 Campfire ($35M Series A)
High-trust async team platform
→ Why funded: Still no gold standard for remote teams. Campfire’s wedge: create psychological safety + better onboarding.
→ Investors: Accel, Foundation Capital, Y Combinator

📐 Founder Insight: Frameworks Aren’t Fluff—They’re Your Leverage

If your team isn’t using clear frameworks, you’re not scaling your thinking—you’re bottlenecking it.

This week we’re going deep on frameworks: what they are, how they’re used, and which ones every founder should bring to their org.

Here’s why frameworks matter:

• They codify decision-making, so teams stop guessing

• They reduce chaos in fast-growth environments

• They make your team smarter without you in every meeting

Categories you should be introducing right now:

• Business strategy frameworks (e.g., OKRs, 7S, BMC)

• Decision frameworks (e.g., DACI, MECE, RAPID)

• Community-building (e.g., Get Together, 5M Pyramid)

• Capital allocation frameworks (we’ve got one for you—keep reading)

Want your team to execute like operators? Give them the mental models that great operators use.

🔎 Framework of the Week: CHESS MINDSET

Founders often get stuck playing checkers when the game has shifted to chess. Tactics alone don’t scale—you need systems, delegation, context-shifting.

💡 Want the “CHESS MINDSET” framework?
Reply with “CHESS” and we’ll send you the model to identify and break through your specific growth ceiling.

🚦 Summer Is Slow—But It’s the Best Time to Test

If you're feeling lag on sales, conversions, or engagement—you're not imagining it. Summer slows down deals. But smart founders don’t wait—they test.

Start using summer for:

• Low-stakes A/B tests across messaging, outbound, and onboarding

• Quiet launches of new positioning to see what lands

• Evaluating frameworks for scaling when September hits

👉 Small signals now = big acceleration later.

⚠️ Big Tip of the Week: Set Strategy KPIs Before You Execute

Stop saying “we tried that and it didn’t work” if you never set clear expectations in the first place.

Before you run any new initiative, ask:

• What’s the earliest indicator of success?

• What specific KPI ranges are we expecting?

• What will we adjust if we don’t hit goal by week 3?

That’s how real strategic teams behave. Everything else is spray and pray.

Need help introducing better frameworks to your leadership team?
We’re opening up a few 30-minute coaching calls for newsletter readers.
Reply “FRAMEWORKS” to grab a slot or click on the link to schedule.

Thanks for Reading,

Apryl

The Founders Edge