The Time Leak in Your Startup (and Who Just Got Funded for Doing It Right)

👋 Hey Founder,

This week, we’re digging into:

✅ Who raised this week (and why they stood out)
✅ A viral post that might make you think differently about time
✅ The decks you're probably missing
✅ And how to get prepped to raise with clarity

Let’s dive in 👇

💸 Who Got Funded—And Why Investors Wrote the Check

🎨 Created by Humans ($5.5M Seed, March 2025) – A platform merging human creativity with AI to power modern design workflows.
✅ Why they got funded: AI-enhanced tools are transforming how creative teams collaborate and ship work.
✅ Investors: Giant Ventures, Uncommon Capital

🧱 Canvas ($10M Series A, March 2025) – 3D design software platform enabling creators and builders to bring spatial ideas to life.
✅ Why they got funded: As spatial computing grows, intuitive 3D tools are becoming foundational.
✅ Investors: Trilogy Equity Partners, Foundry Group

🔌 Staris ($5.7M Seed, March 2025) – Infrastructure platform for secure and scalable AI workloads, built for high-performance teams.
✅ Why they got funded: AI development needs modern infrastructure that’s developer-first and enterprise-secure.
✅ Investors: Freestyle VC

📡 Pseudolithic ($6M Seed, March 2025) – Advanced radio frequency chipset company building next-gen RF tech for defense and wireless applications.
✅ Why they got funded: RF innovation is vital for national security, connectivity, and space tech.
✅ Investors: Entrada Ventures, Foothill Ventures, Uncork Capital

🧬 Manas AI ($24.6M Seed, March 2025) – AI-driven drug discovery platform accelerating biomedical research and therapeutic development.
✅ Why they got funded: Investors are doubling down on AI models that can reduce R&D costs in life sciences.
✅ Investors: General Catalyst, Greylock, Reid Hoffman [+others]

⏳ You're Not Losing Time—You're Leaking It

This post lit up LinkedIn last week (667+ reposts, 145+ Comments), and for good reason:

And here's what makes it hit especially hard for founders:

It’s not about you working more hours. It’s about how your entire company is spending time—meetings, ops drag, bottlenecks, repeat manual work.

Ask yourself:

• What’s being done out of habit instead of intent?

• What are we doing that could be automated (but isn't)?

• Where are our smartest people spending time they shouldn’t?

In a market that rewards efficiency, the real growth edge is operational clarity.

📂 Your Deck Isn’t One Deck

Let’s clear this up once and for all:

You don’t need a deck. You need three:

1. Send-Ahead Deck – More context, can be read cold

2. Live Pitch Deck – Visual, story-driven, built for the room

3. Product/Sales Deck – Built for customers, not investors

If you're raising, your investor deck needs to answer:

• Is this a good investment?

• Is the market big and reachable?

• How does this make money?

• When (and how) do I get my return?

Most founders pitch the product. But smart founders pitch the opportunity.

Want to know more about this? - Attend our webinar on how to prepare yourself for a funding round: 👉 Register here

📁 Data Room = Signal

Getting investor-ready? Your data room is one of the earliest trust signals.

What to include: ✔️ Clean cap table + terms
✔️ Financials (historical + projections)
✔️ GTM plan + traction
✔️ Product roadmap
✔️ Customer pipeline + usage metrics
✔️ Founding team bios + roles
✔️ Competitive landscape

Build it early—even if you’re not raising yet.

🎤 Free Founder Webinar: Prepare for Funding

April 17th @ 10:00 AM PT
We’re hosting a tactical session to walk you through exactly how to prepare for a VC raise. No fluff. Just frameworks.

👉 Register here

Come with questions. Leave with a checklist.

Until next week,
Apryl Syed
Founder’s Edge

www.apeturecodex.com 

P.S. Time isn’t your problem. Leakage is. Start plugging holes.