The landscape of American innovation is undergoing a profound transformation, with venture capital increasingly looking beyond traditional coastal hubs to uncover untapped potential in regions historically overlooked. At the forefront of this shift is Mike Moradi, co-founder and general partner of Cortado Ventures, an Oklahoma City-based firm whose strategic vision is recalibrating the geographic map of technological advancement. Cortado Ventures, a proud member of the NVCA, champions seed-stage frontier technology companies across the U.S. Midcontinent, operating on a thesis grounded in the belief that the most impactful founders are often those who have spent years immersed in the very industries they seek to revolutionize. By strategically connecting these experienced individuals with essential capital, customer networks, and a robust support system, Cortado is actively expanding the frontiers of American innovation.
The Genesis of a Founder-Focused Firm: Mike Moradi’s Entrepreneurial Path
Mike Moradi’s journey into venture capital is not one of traditional finance but rather a rich tapestry woven from firsthand entrepreneurial experience, marked by both formidable successes and instructive failures. A six-time founder, Moradi navigated the tumultuous waters of company building across technically complex sectors such as biopharmaceuticals and nanotechnology. His initial foray into entrepreneurship began with a bold decision to depart from dental school to launch his first venture—a venture that ultimately failed. This early setback, however, did not diminish his ambition; instead, it forged an unwavering resolve to persevere through adversity. Moradi often recounts this period as a crucial learning curve, emphasizing the importance of pushing past obstacles, embracing "no" as a temporary redirection, and maintaining steadfast commitment to one’s vision. "The lesson was to keep pushing past every obstacle, to not be discouraged by hearing the word ‘no,’ and to stay the course," Moradi reflects on those formative years.
Undeterred, Moradi’s subsequent entrepreneurial endeavor experienced rapid growth, culminating in its acquisition by a Fortune 100 company. A later San Francisco Bay Area venture also achieved a successful exit, but only after enduring a precarious period following an $18 million Series B financing round that nearly led to its collapse. This experience delivered another pivotal lesson: while capital can indeed accelerate a company’s trajectory, speed alone is valuable only when a business is moving in the correct direction and possesses the foundational readiness to scale effectively. "A high valuation and a full bank account will happily let you scale the wrong thing," Moradi asserts, highlighting the critical distinction between mere funding and intelligent capital deployment. These deeply ingrained lessons from the founder’s crucible — the imperative of entrepreneurial optimism tempered by evidence, discipline, and a clear understanding of immediate strategic objectives — became the bedrock of Cortado Ventures.
In 2020, Moradi, alongside a cadre of seasoned founders, CEOs, and operators, co-founded Cortado Ventures. Their collective ambition was to construct the very firm they had wished existed during their own entrepreneurial careers: a partner deeply attuned to the multifaceted decisions founders face, capable of contributing far beyond the initial capital infusion. This "Built by Founders, for Founders" ethos permeates every aspect of Cortado’s operations, positioning them as empathetic, strategic allies rather than mere financial providers.
Unlocking the Midcontinent Advantage: A Strategic Investment Thesis
Cortado Ventures’ investment thesis is strategically anchored in the American Midcontinent, a region Moradi and his team identify not as a "flyover country" but as a competitive advantage. This area is home to foundational industries—energy, aerospace and defense, healthcare, manufacturing, mobility, and logistics—all confronting immense pressure to innovate and evolve. These sectors operate within intricate physical environments, established supply chains, and demanding customer relationships, necessitating transformative solutions that go beyond superficial software applications. True disruption in these fields demands a profound, nuanced understanding of their operational intricacies.
Cortado actively seeks out experienced technical founders who possess this intimate industry knowledge. These individuals might have dedicated years inside a hospital, factory, laboratory, energy company, aerospace program, or logistics network before identifying a critical problem and envisioning a novel solution. Their deep-seated experience provides invaluable credibility with potential customers, keen insight into implementation challenges, and a wealth of operational knowledge that would be exceptionally difficult for outsiders to cultivate.
The geographical advantage of the Midcontinent extends beyond its industrial concentration. The region offers close proximity to critical industries and potential customers, a robust and technically skilled workforce, strong research institutions, access to complementary public funding, and significantly lower company-building costs compared to traditional tech hubs. For instance, data from sources like the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) consistently show that operating costs, including labor and real estate, in cities like Oklahoma City or Tulsa are substantially lower than in Silicon Valley or New York, providing startups with a longer runway and greater capital efficiency. This economic reality translates directly into a more sustainable environment for nascent companies.
Cortado’s portfolio vividly illustrates the breadth of innovation emanating from this fertile environment. Their investments span diverse sectors, applying cutting-edge technologies to space communications, industrial safety, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and mobility. This strategy is not merely a philanthropic endeavor to correct historical underinvestment in the Midcontinent. It is predicated on a strong conviction that proximity to "hard problems"—the complex, tangible challenges inherent in these foundational industries—can uniquely produce differentiated companies and generate superior returns. As Moradi eloquently states, "Talent is not concentrated anywhere in particular. Capital and networks have just been slower to distribute than talent has." This perspective underscores a broader industry shift, where smart capital is increasingly flowing to regions where innovation is driven by necessity and deep domain expertise, rather than solely by venture capital density.
Beyond Capital: Cultivating a Robust Innovation Ecosystem
When Cortado Ventures first launched, Mike Moradi initially believed that the primary impediment facing a nascent venture ecosystem like the Midcontinent’s was a simple scarcity of capital. The firm successfully demonstrated that promising companies could indeed be identified and funded within the region. However, as Cortado expanded and matured, Moradi’s understanding of founders’ true needs evolved to encompass a far more expansive view. "Five years ago, I would have said the limiting reagent in a young ecosystem was capital. Capital turned out to be necessary, and also nowhere close to sufficient," he reflects.
This realization underscored that founders require more than just financial investment. They need a comprehensive support structure: experienced operators who can guide them away from preventable missteps, early-adopter customers willing to pilot unproven technologies, patient investors prepared to bridge gaps between critical milestones, and a vibrant community conducive to forging vital relationships. "Money can accelerate a company," Moradi emphasizes, "It cannot stand in for experience."
This expansive philosophy profoundly shaped Cortado’s role within the broader Midcontinent ecosystem. Rather than hoarding relationships exclusively for its own portfolio companies, the firm actively works to connect founders, funders, universities, corporations, policymakers, and technical experts throughout the region. This collaborative approach is exemplified by initiatives like their annual Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit, which convenes investors, limited partners, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the nation. Furthermore, Cortado collaborates with regional entrepreneurship organizations and The Verge, an Oklahoma City-based incubator and accelerator that provides crucial company-building resources, programming, and capital connections. Each interaction fostered through these networks can be the catalyst for a founder finding a pivotal customer, an indispensable adviser, a key employee, a strategic collaborator, or a follow-on investor. Collectively, these relationships meticulously construct the vital infrastructure that enables more companies to successfully launch and scale. For Moradi, this is where venture capital’s impact transcends individual investments, fostering a stronger ecosystem that provides more entrepreneurs with viable pathways to company formation and creates broader opportunities for capital, talent, and innovation to converge.
The Art of Disciplined Investing: Conviction Amidst Uncertainty
Investing in early-stage ventures is inherently characterized by incomplete information and a high degree of uncertainty. Moradi candidly acknowledges this reality, stating, "Incomplete data is my job description." Rather than attempting to eliminate uncertainty entirely, Cortado’s approach is to meticulously separate assumptions that can be immediately tested from those that will only resolve over time. This involves identifying the fundamental conditions that must hold true, rigorously considering how those conditions could be disproven, and diligently evaluating the cost required to achieve the next meaningful milestone.
Cortado’s strongest conviction typically centers on three core pillars: the strength and capability of the founding team, the clarity and urgency of the customer problem being addressed, and the company’s demonstrated rate of progress. Moradi is notably more cautious about predicting the precise timing of an emerging market or dictating the exact path a company might eventually take to an exit. This disciplined approach becomes particularly critical when a financing round is moving at a rapid pace. The allure of a compelling founder and the pressure of a competitive process can often create an impetus to rush a decision before the central investment assumptions have been thoroughly vetted. "A hard deadline is exactly when people stop asking uncomfortable questions," Moradi warns.
When circumstances demand, Cortado will deliberately slow down the investment process, bringing in independent scientific or technical experts for rigorous evaluation. This additional diligence may either solidify the firm’s conviction or, crucially, reveal a compelling reason to step away. Paradoxically, many of Cortado’s most robust founder relationships have been forged through this very scrutiny, as it sharpens strategic thinking and identifies potential risks while there remains ample time to address them proactively. However, slowing the decision-making process does not equate to a sluggish response once a commitment is made.
Moradi applies the same unwavering discipline to valuation, a notoriously contentious aspect of early-stage investing. "A sensible entry price is a form of protection for the founder, employees, and investors alike," he asserts. While an aggressive valuation might initially feel like an immediate victory for founders, if the company’s subsequent progress fails to meet the elevated expectations tethered to that number, the repercussions can be severe. Such scenarios can negatively impact founder ownership, dilute employee equity, constrain future fundraising options, and ultimately hinder the company’s crucial ability to adapt and pivot. This principle, Moradi notes, cuts both ways, as excessively low valuations from VCs can equally stifle a company’s potential. Balance, therefore, is paramount. "The right number buys you options for years. In boom times, people forget that financial crises happen," Moradi cautions, underscoring the long-term strategic value of prudent valuation. For Cortado, this discipline is not a reflection of a lack of belief in a founder’s ambition; rather, it is a strategic mechanism to afford an ambitious company the vital flexibility and extended runway it needs to ultimately succeed.
Proactive Partnership: Showing Up with Work Already Done
The Cortado Ventures team distinguishes itself through its extensive operating experience, having built, scaled, and successfully exited companies across many of the very industries in which they now invest. This profound operational background fundamentally shapes their approach to supporting founders, particularly when strategic plans inevitably shift or difficult decisions must be made. Mike Moradi encapsulates this meaningful support in two concise words: "Speed and specificity."
"Answer in hours rather than days and show up with work already done instead of advice. Better yet, pick up the phone," Moradi advises, highlighting a bias for action and tangible assistance over abstract counsel. This commitment can manifest in diverse forms: meticulously rebuilding a financial model, making a critical customer introduction, actively recruiting a senior executive, or even shouldering responsibility for navigating a challenging board conversation. Crucially, it also encompasses the willingness to articulate uncomfortable truths when a company’s runway is dwindling or its core strategy requires a fundamental re-evaluation. Moradi, having been the founder in such high-stakes meetings, deeply empathizes with the experience. "What helped was someone who lowered the temperature, told the truth to me and the board, and followed up after the meeting," he recounts.
As Cortado and the surrounding Midcontinent ecosystem have matured, the firm’s founder support has become increasingly sophisticated. Portfolio companies now have access to a rich network comprising operating executives, industry specialists, advisers, prospective customers, coaches, fellow investors, and other founders within Cortado’s extensive web. The evolving needs of founders mirror this growth. While in the region’s earlier days, Cortado’s initial investment and ability to attract additional investors were profoundly valuable, today’s founders increasingly require direct customer access, senior talent acquisition support, specialized technical expertise, and candid, honest guidance.
Crucially, Cortado’s role is never to usurp control from the entrepreneur. Sometimes, the most valuable contribution an investor can make is the judicious decision not to intervene. "Other times," Moradi thoughtfully adds, "being helpful means staying out of the way." This nuanced understanding of founder dynamics underscores Cortado’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs while providing strategic, impactful support where it matters most.
Building Enduring Legacies: Beyond a Single Fund
Mike Moradi firmly believes that a venture firm’s responsibility extends far beyond the confines of its own portfolio and the lifespan of a single fund. "We must build things that outlast a single fund," he asserts, articulating a vision for enduring, systemic impact. For Cortado, this translates into a dedicated effort to strengthen the foundational connections among founders, funders, universities, corporations, and policymakers across the Midcontinent. It also means actively fostering the formation and growth of more investment firms within the region, rather than viewing them as competitors.
"This is not a zero-sum game," Moradi explains. "We want to enable a dozen other firms in our geography, and bring in outside funds for later rounds. We need to create scalable structures where everyone can win." This collaborative ethos is vital for building a resilient ecosystem. A larger, more interconnected investment community provides founders with a broader array of potential capital sources and expertise. It simultaneously creates more opportunities for investors to collaborate, co-invest, and participate in promising companies. Over time, this collective effort can establish a more durable and efficient pathway between regional innovation and national capital markets, attracting greater institutional interest and fostering a virtuous cycle of growth.
It is imperative to note that this commitment to ecosystem building does not in any way diminish a firm’s primary responsibility to its limited partners. Moradi’s experience as a trustee and audit committee member for a state retirement system deeply reinforced the paramount importance of being transparent and direct about investment risk, duration, and potential losses. "Ecosystem building matters, and it does not excuse any of us from being disciplined fiduciaries first," he states, emphasizing the critical balance between long-term vision and immediate financial accountability.
Moradi also recognizes the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) as a crucial component of the connective infrastructure supporting firms and founders nationwide. Policy issues such as capital formation, research commercialization, immigration policies, government procurement regulations, tax treatment, and securities rules are not abstract concepts; they have tangible, real-world implications. They directly influence an emerging manager’s ability to raise a fund, a startup’s capacity to attract top talent, and a new technology’s journey to reach the customers and institutions that desperately need it. "NVCA helps each of us make policy concrete and stay on top of the issues that matter in D.C. and beyond," Moradi affirms. Furthermore, Cortado’s active participation in the NVCA provides a vital platform to inject a Midcontinent perspective into national dialogues concerning innovation, capital formation, and the future trajectory of the venture industry.
Redrawing the Map of American Innovation
Mike Moradi hopes that the story of Cortado Ventures can serve as a powerful narrative, helping to broaden public perception of the true breadth and diversity of American venture capital. While the industry’s largest, most high-profile firms often command the lion’s share of attention, a significant and increasingly vital segment of venture capital comprises smaller, specialized investors. These firms are typically writing early checks into niche markets, whether defined by industrial focus, geographic location, demographic targeting, or other specialized criteria. Moradi aptly points out, "Most of VC looks nothing like the caricature. The bulk of the industry is small firms writing early checks into some niche, be it industrial, geographic, demographic, or otherwise. And a VC firm is also a startup until fund 3 or 4."
These specialized firms play an indispensable role in identifying founders before their markets become obvious, skillfully connecting specialized knowledge with essential capital, and guiding companies through the arduous period between a promising initial idea and the establishment of a sustainable business. "The hardest work happens after the money moves," Moradi observes, underscoring the hands-on, strategic partnership these firms provide.
The advent of new technologies is rendering this foundational work even more consequential. Innovations in artificial intelligence, advanced automation, sophisticated manufacturing techniques, breakthroughs in energy innovation, advancements in biology, and the rapid expansion of space technology are collectively reducing the cost and complexity of pursuing ambitious ideas. This technological democratization means that small, agile teams can now tackle opportunities that once demanded the vast resources of large corporations or national-scale programs. Crucially, many of these groundbreaking teams are emerging in locations intimately connected to the very problems they are striving to solve.
This decentralization of innovation is the broader, profound impact of expanding venture capital across America. When investors consciously look beyond familiar networks and actively engage with founders in regions where critical industries operate, they catalyze a virtuous cycle: more ideas transform into viable companies, more groundbreaking technologies reach the market, and more communities gain meaningful participation in the nation’s innovation economy. For Mike Moradi, the unwavering optimism lies with the founders themselves—those intrepid individuals who dare to attempt what others deem impossible. "Never forget that we’re here for them. When we do this right, everyone, including humanity, wins," he concludes, encapsulating the ultimate purpose and potential of a truly distributed and inclusive venture capital ecosystem.
Cortado Ventures stands as a testament to the power of strategic regional investment and comprehensive ecosystem development. Its journey reflects a growing recognition within the venture capital community that innovation is a distributed phenomenon, and that by supporting it wherever it takes root, the entire nation stands to benefit. To learn more about Cortado Ventures and their pioneering work, visit cortado.ventures.
