The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) frequently spotlights its members, offering insights into the diverse personalities, strategic perspectives, and driving convictions shaping the venture capital industry. A recent feature illuminated Mike Moradi, co-founder and general partner of Cortado Ventures, an Oklahoma City-based firm making significant strides in seed-stage frontier technology. Cortado’s distinctive approach, centered on the U.S. Midcontinent, embodies a growing trend in venture capital: the strategic decentralization of innovation and investment away from traditional coastal hubs. The firm’s thesis is rooted in a profound belief that the most impactful founders, those poised to revolutionize critical industries, are often individuals who have dedicated years to working within those very sectors. By strategically connecting their invaluable experience with essential capital, customer networks, and a broader ecosystem of support, Cortado Ventures is actively expanding the geographical footprint where American innovation can not only take root but flourish.
The Shifting Landscape of American Venture Capital
For decades, the narrative of American innovation was largely synonymous with Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York City. These coastal enclaves became synonymous with venture capital, attracting the lion’s share of funding, talent, and media attention. However, in recent years, a significant paradigm shift has been underway. The digital transformation, coupled with advancements in remote work capabilities and a re-evaluation of living costs, has catalyzed a movement of talent and entrepreneurial spirit to regions historically overlooked by venture capitalists. This "geographic decentralization" is not merely an anecdotal observation but a quantifiable trend, with data indicating a steady increase in venture capital deployment to areas outside the traditional "big three" hubs. The NVCA, as a leading advocate for the venture ecosystem, plays a crucial role in highlighting these emerging centers of innovation and the firms like Cortado Ventures that are driving this expansion. This broader movement is about unlocking untapped potential and recognizing that ingenuity is not confined by zip codes, but rather by access to capital and supportive networks.
Mike Moradi: A Founder’s Journey to Venture Leadership
Mike Moradi’s transition into venture capital was not a conventional one; it was forged in the crucible of his own extensive entrepreneurial journey. A six-time founder, Moradi navigated the challenging terrains of biopharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, and other technically intricate industries, accumulating a wealth of firsthand experience that now profoundly informs Cortado’s investment strategy. His entrepreneurial odyssey commenced dramatically when he opted to leave dental school, driven by an unyielding ambition to build. His inaugural venture, however, met with failure—a setback that, rather than diminishing his resolve, became a foundational lesson in persistence. Moradi often recounts this early experience, emphasizing that "the lesson was to keep pushing past every obstacle, to not be discouraged by hearing the word ‘no,’ and to stay the course." This ethos of resilience became a cornerstone of his approach to company building.
His subsequent ventures painted a more successful picture. One company experienced rapid growth and was eventually acquired by a Fortune 100 enterprise, validating his capacity for innovation and execution. Yet, it was a later San Francisco Bay Area venture that provided perhaps the most critical lessons for his future role as an investor. This company, despite securing a substantial $18 million Series B financing round, teetered on the brink of collapse before ultimately being acquired. This near-failure underscored a vital truth: capital, while a powerful accelerant, can be perilous if a company is not truly ready for scale or is moving in the wrong direction. Moradi succinctly captured this insight, stating, "A high valuation and a full bank account will happily let you scale the wrong thing." This experience ingrained in him a deep appreciation for the strategic deployment of capital, prioritizing proof points and disciplined growth over mere velocity. Today, Moradi’s personal mission is to extend Silicon Valley’s innovative dynamism to the Midcontinent, meticulously considering the sequence and timing of investment to ensure it aids founders in testing assumptions, mitigating risk, and achieving meaningful milestones, rather than fostering premature or unsustainable expansion.
Cortado Ventures: Investing in the "New Frontier" of Technology
Established in 2020 by Moradi alongside a formidable team of seasoned founders, CEOs, and operators, Cortado Ventures was purposefully built to be the kind of firm they wished had existed during their own entrepreneurial endeavors. Their investment thesis is tightly woven around the unique advantages of the U.S. Midcontinent, a region often referred to as the "new frontier" for technology innovation. This area is home to a diverse array of critical industries—energy, aerospace and defense, healthcare, manufacturing, mobility, and logistics—all grappling with immense pressure to innovate and evolve. Unlike purely software-driven ventures, transforming these sectors demands more than just a compelling application; it necessitates an intimate, granular understanding of their complex physical environments, entrenched supply chains, and demanding customer relationships.
Cortado actively seeks out experienced technical founders who possess this profound domain expertise—individuals who have spent years immersed in hospitals, factories, laboratories, energy companies, aerospace programs, or logistics networks, identifying persistent problems and envisioning innovative solutions. Their lived experience provides unparalleled credibility with customers, invaluable insight into implementation challenges, and a depth of knowledge that would be nearly impossible to cultivate from an external perspective. The geographic location itself becomes a potent competitive advantage. The Midcontinent offers unparalleled proximity to these critical industries and potential customers, a robust and technically skilled workforce, strong research institutions fostering talent and IP, complementary public funding initiatives, and significantly lower company-building costs compared to coastal markets. This confluence of factors creates a fertile ground for "deep tech" innovation. Cortado’s diverse portfolio reflects this environment, with investments spanning space communications, industrial safety, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and mobility. The firm’s strategy is not merely a philanthropic gesture to an underserved region; it is underpinned by a strong conviction that "proximity to hard problems can produce differentiated companies and strong returns." As Moradi asserts, "Talent is not concentrated anywhere in particular. Capital and networks have just been slower to distribute than talent has." This philosophy aims to unlock overlooked sources of insight and innovation, ensuring that groundbreaking ideas are discovered and nurtured, regardless of their origin.
Beyond Capital: Cultivating a Robust Ecosystem
When Cortado Ventures first launched, Mike Moradi, like many early-stage regional investors, initially perceived a shortage of capital as the primary constraint hindering the burgeoning venture ecosystem. The firm quickly demonstrated that promising companies could indeed be identified and funded within the region, attracting attention and investment. However, as Cortado expanded and matured, Moradi’s understanding of founders’ true needs evolved beyond mere financial injections. He realized that "capital turned out to be necessary, and also nowhere close to sufficient." Founders, especially those operating in nascent ecosystems, require a far more comprehensive support structure. This includes access to experienced operators who can help them circumvent preventable pitfalls, pioneering customers willing to embrace unproven technologies, supportive investors prepared to bridge the gaps between milestones, and a vibrant community where crucial relationships can organically form and thrive. "Money can accelerate a company," Moradi states, "It cannot stand in for experience."
This profound realization has profoundly shaped Cortado’s expansive role within the broader Midcontinent ecosystem. The firm proactively works to forge vital connections among founders, funders, universities, corporations, policymakers, and technical experts, extending these relationships far beyond the confines of its own portfolio companies. A flagship initiative is its annual Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit, which convenes investors, limited partners (LPs), founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the nation, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange. Cortado also actively partners with regional entrepreneurship organizations and The Verge, a prominent Oklahoma City incubator and accelerator that provides essential company-building resources, targeted programming, and crucial capital connections. Each of these interactions serves as a potential catalyst, helping a founder discover a customer, an invaluable advisor, a key employee, a strategic collaborator, or a vital investor. Collectively, these myriad relationships construct the critical infrastructure that empowers a greater number of companies to both launch and scale successfully. For Moradi, this systemic approach is where venture capital’s true impact transcends individual investments, creating a stronger, more resilient ecosystem that offers more entrepreneurs a viable pathway to company formation while simultaneously generating more opportunities for capital, talent, and innovation to intersect and flourish.
Disciplined Conviction: Cortado’s Investment Philosophy
Investing at the seed stage, particularly in frontier technologies, inherently involves operating with incomplete information. Moradi candidly acknowledges this reality, stating, "Incomplete data is my job description." Rather than attempting the impossible task of eliminating uncertainty, Cortado’s investment philosophy revolves around a disciplined approach to managing it. Moradi meticulously differentiates between assumptions that can be immediately tested and those that will only resolve over time. He rigorously identifies the critical conditions that must hold true for an investment to succeed, actively considers how those conditions could be disproven, and carefully evaluates the cost and resources required to reach the next meaningful milestone.
His strongest conviction invariably centers on the founding team’s capabilities, the authenticity and scale of the customer problem being addressed, and the company’s demonstrable rate of progress. Conversely, he maintains a healthy skepticism regarding predictions about the precise timing of an emerging market or the exact pathway a company might eventually take to an exit. This discipline becomes particularly crucial when a financing round gains rapid momentum, as a compelling founder and a competitive process can generate immense pressure to make a swift decision before central investment assumptions have been thoroughly vetted. Moradi warns, "A hard deadline is exactly when people stop asking uncomfortable questions." In such instances, Cortado is prepared to deliberately slow down the process, often engaging independent scientific or technical experts to provide an unbiased evaluation. This additional diligence may either solidify the firm’s conviction or reveal a compelling reason to step away. Interestingly, many of Cortado’s most robust founder relationships have been forged through this initial scrutiny, as it sharpens strategic thinking and identifies risks while there is still ample opportunity to address them. However, slowing the decision-making process does not equate to delaying the response once a decision is made.
Moradi applies the same rigorous discipline to valuation. He believes that "a sensible entry price is a form of protection for the founder, employees, and investors alike." An overly aggressive valuation, while initially appearing as an immediate victory, can create significant long-term liabilities. If the company’s subsequent progress fails to meet the inflated expectations attached to that number, the repercussions can severely impact founder ownership, dilute employee equity, constrain future fundraising options, and hinder the company’s crucial ability to adapt to market changes. This dynamic, Moradi notes, cuts both ways, as venture capitalists themselves can inadvertently stifle a company’s potential through overly stringent terms. The key, he emphasizes, is balance. "The right number buys you options for years. In boom times, people forget that financial crises happen," Moradi wisely observes. For Cortado, this discipline is not a reflection of a lack of belief in a founder’s ambition; rather, it is a pragmatic strategy designed to provide an ambitious company with the essential flexibility and time it needs to truly succeed amidst inevitable market fluctuations.
The Power of Operating Experience: Hands-On Support for Founders
Cortado Ventures distinguishes itself through the profound operating experience embedded within its team. Having built, scaled, and successfully exited companies across many of the very industries in which the firm now invests, this practical expertise fundamentally shapes how Cortado supports its founders, particularly when plans pivot or difficult decisions loom. Moradi distills meaningful support into two critical attributes: "Speed and specificity." He elaborates, "Answer in hours rather than days and show up with work already done instead of advice. Better yet, pick up the phone." This proactive, hands-on approach translates into tangible actions, whether it involves meticulously rebuilding a financial model, making a crucial customer introduction, assisting in the recruitment of a senior executive, or taking ownership of a challenging aspect of a board conversation. It also encompasses the difficult but necessary task of delivering uncomfortable truths when a company’s runway shortens or its strategic direction demands a radical change.
Moradi vividly recalls his own experiences as a founder navigating such high-stakes meetings. He emphasizes the invaluable support he received from "someone who lowered the temperature, told the truth to me and the board, and followed up after the meeting." This empathy, born from shared experience, underpins Cortado’s commitment to providing clear, honest, and actionable guidance. As the firm and the surrounding Midcontinent ecosystem have matured, Cortado’s founder support mechanisms have become increasingly sophisticated. Portfolio companies can now tap into a rich network of operating executives, industry specialists, expert advisors, prospective customers, experienced coaches, fellow investors, and other founders within the firm’s expansive network.
The needs of founders in the region have also evolved. In earlier days, when capital was scarce, Cortado’s investment and its ability to attract additional investors into a round were paramount. Today, while capital remains vital, founders increasingly seek customer access, senior talent, specialized technical expertise, and candid, unbiased guidance. Crucially, the firm’s role is not to usurp control from the entrepreneur. Cortado understands that sometimes, the most valuable contribution an investor can make is recognizing when not to intervene. As Moradi thoughtfully puts it, "Other times, being helpful means staying out of the way." This nuanced understanding of founder support, blending proactive engagement with respectful autonomy, is a hallmark of Cortado’s approach.
Building Enduring Structures: A Vision for Regional Growth
Mike Moradi firmly believes that a venture firm’s responsibility extends beyond the immediate success of its own portfolio companies. He advocates for a broader, more impactful vision: "We must build things that outlast a single fund." For Cortado Ventures, this philosophy translates into a steadfast commitment to fortifying the connective tissue among founders, funders, universities, corporations, and policymakers across the Midcontinent. Furthermore, it encompasses actively fostering the formation and growth of more investment firms within the region itself. Moradi challenges the conventional competitive mindset, asserting, "This is not a zero-sum game. 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."
A larger, more interconnected investment community yields numerous benefits. It provides founders with a more diverse array of potential capital sources and expertise, increases opportunities for investors to collaborate and participate in promising companies, and, over time, establishes a more robust and durable pathway between regional innovation and national capital markets. This ecosystem-building imperative, however, does not diminish a firm’s fundamental responsibility to its limited partners. Moradi’s prior experience serving as a trustee and audit committee member for a state retirement system instilled in him an acute awareness of the paramount importance of being transparent and direct about investment risk, duration, and potential losses. He underscores this duality, stating, "Ecosystem building matters, and it does not excuse any of us from being disciplined fiduciaries first."
Moradi also recognizes the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) as a vital component of the connective infrastructure supporting firms and founders nationwide. Policy issues—such as capital formation, research commercialization, immigration, government procurement, tax treatment, and securities regulations—are not abstract concepts. They directly influence an emerging manager’s ability to raise a fund, a startup’s capacity to attract talent, and a new technology’s pathway 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 explains. Cortado’s active participation in the NVCA also provides a crucial platform to inject a Midcontinent perspective into national dialogues concerning innovation, capital formation, and the future trajectory of the venture industry, ensuring that the unique challenges and opportunities of emerging regions are represented at the highest levels.
Redrawing the Map of Innovation: A National Imperative
Mike Moradi hopes that the story of Cortado Ventures can serve as a powerful testament to the true breadth and diversity of American venture capital. He argues that the industry’s largest, most publicized firms often create a caricature that belies the reality for the vast majority of VC players. "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," he observes. These smaller, specialized firms play an absolutely essential role in the innovation lifecycle: they are adept at discovering founders before their markets become obvious, skillfully connecting specialized knowledge with patient capital, and expertly guiding companies through the arduous period between a promising idea and a sustainable, scalable business. As Moradi sagely notes, "The hardest work happens after the money moves."
The current technological landscape, characterized by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, automation, advanced manufacturing, energy innovation, biotechnology, and space technology, is significantly reducing the cost and barriers to attempting ambitious ideas. This empowers small, agile teams to pursue opportunities that once demanded the colossal resources of large corporations or extensive national programs. Crucially, many of these groundbreaking teams are emerging in locations intimately connected to the complex problems they are striving to solve.
This is the profound, broader impact of strategically expanding venture capital across the American landscape. When investors consciously look beyond familiar networks and make the deliberate effort to meet founders where critical industries operate, they ignite a powerful chain reaction. More innovative ideas transform into viable companies, more groundbreaking technologies successfully reach the market, and, fundamentally, more communities across the nation are empowered to actively participate in and benefit from the country’s innovation economy. For Moradi, the unwavering optimism he holds stems primarily from these founders—those audacious 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 profound purpose behind Cortado Ventures’ mission. Cortado Ventures stands as a testament to the idea that the future of American innovation is not confined to a few established hubs but is a distributed, dynamic force ready to reshape industries and economies from the heartland outwards.
