Built on Intention, Not Accident
Your Monday VC Breakfast Rundown
Most companies start with energy, but not all start with intention. Will Guidara’s Working with Purpose on Purpose reminds us that excellence isn’t the byproduct of talent alone, it’s built, day by day, in the small, deliberate choices leaders make.
The founders in today’s rundown understand that purpose doesn’t just live in mission statements. It lives in the way you answer a customer’s email, the clarity of a product roadmap, and the tone of a 10-minute stand-up. They know that culture isn’t an accident, it’s a constant act of reinforcement.
These are leaders who put meaning into motion. They’re not chasing productivity for its own sake, they’re aligning output with impact, ensuring that every action pushes in the direction they’ve already chosen. It’s leadership that’s intentional from the ground up.
Because in startups, as in life, you can’t outsource purpose. You either work with it, or you drift without it.
Orbital Operations raises $8.8M Seed (Initialized Capital, Harpoon Ventures) to build high-thrust orbital vehicles with reusable cryogenic propulsion. Founders Benjamin Schleuniger & Ross Doherty are already engaging U.S. Space Force and NASA for 2026 deployment.
Casap scores $25M Series A (Emergence Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Primary Venture Partners) to automate dispute and fraud ops. Founders Shanthi Shanmugam & Saisi are delivering 51% fraud loss reduction and 90% cost cuts for 15+ financial institutions.
PodUp secures $5.8M Series A (North Texas Angel Network, HBS Alumni Angels Association) to unify 50+ AI-powered podcast tools into one platform. Founder Nathan Gwilliam, who built Adoption.com into a global leader, is eliminating the “Frankenstack” podcasters hate and building the control center for the next era of audio storytelling.
Qdoba Mexican Eats locks $527M single-asset continuation fund (Apollo Sponsor and Secondary Solutions, Painswick Capital) to double system sales in five years. CEO John Cywinski and Butterfly Equity co-CEOs Adam Waglay & Dustin Beck are scaling a franchise-first model with 500+ units in the pipeline and tech-driven ordering driving 15% higher tickets.
Painswick Capital Management raises $1.5B debut fund (Painswick Capital, AEA Investors) for single-asset continuation vehicles. Founder John L. Garcia, ex-CEO of AEA Investors, is leveraging $18B in assets to back proven portfolio winners in North America and Europe with an eye on doubling the $26B market by 2028.
DISA Technologies closes $30M Series A2 (Evok Innovations, Constellation Technology Ventures) to commercialize its uranium mine cleanup and mineral recovery tech. Founders Greyson Buckingham & John Lee are deploying globally while securing NRC licensing to own U.S. remediation.
PreFix lands multi-million debt financing (Decathlon Capital Partners) to scale its home maintenance OS across Texas. Founder James Bilodeau is turning unsexy preventive repairs into a subscription moat for homeowners and contractors.
OneSkin raises $20M Series A (Prelude Growth Partners, Selva Ventures, Unilever Ventures) to expand its OS-01 peptide anti-aging line. Founders Carolina Reis Oliveira, Alessandra Zonari, Mariana Boroni & Juliana Carvalho are fusing longevity science with consumer beauty at 150% YoY growth.
WiseBee secures $2.5M Pre-Seed (Frontline Ventures, BrightCap Ventures) to bring autonomous AI defense to the mid-market. CEO Stoyan Stoyanov and CDO Taha Kazi are cutting cyber incident response from days to hours for regulated industries.
Perle lands $9M Seed (Framework Ventures, CoinFund) for blockchain-verified AI training data. Founder Ahmed Rashad and team are fusing domain experts with Web3 incentives to deliver high-accuracy multimodal data for model training.
Ostra Security adds $5.5M Series A extension (General Catalyst, Rally Ventures) to protect SMBs with managed cybersecurity. Founder Michael Kennedy is tripling clients and scaling a 24/7 SOC with SOC2 Type II compliance.
August Health raises $29M Series B (Base10 Partners, General Catalyst, Matrix Partners) to scale its AI-powered EHR for senior living. Founders Dr. Justin Schram & Erez Cohen are cutting incidents 23% while boosting revenue capture 20%.
Celera Semiconductor pulls in $20M Series A (Maverick Silicon, Vanguard International Semiconductor, ASE Group) to compress analog IC design cycles from months to days. Founder Calum MacRae, CEO Patrick Brockett & COO Alberto Viviani are targeting a $100B market with fully automated AI design flows.
Translucent AI secures $7M Seed (New Enterprise Associates, Virtue VC, FPV Ventures) to bring real-time financial clarity to healthcare. Founders Jack O’Hara & Max Jones are replacing months-late spreadsheets with AI-powered insights for operators managing $5B+ revenue.
Dfinitiv Inc. gets strategic investment (United Airlines Ventures) to power commerce media in loyalty programs. CEO Joseph Fitzgerald’s SmartCXP™ platform is turning loyalty touchpoints into monetized, trackable engagement for airlines, banks, and travel brands.
Let’s connect and keep the momentum going across the tech ecosystem. Whether you’re a founder shaping the future, a leader driving change, a VC backing bold ideas, or an investor spotting the next big thing—together, we’re pushing boundaries. Proud to be building the future with you.
Let’s connect on LinkedIn and Twitter (X), and keep the conversation going.
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