Oklahoma City, OK – In a strategic pivot that underscores the evolving landscape of American innovation, Cortado Ventures, an Oklahoma City-based venture capital firm, is making significant strides in identifying and nurturing seed-stage frontier technology companies across the U.S. Midcontinent. Co-founded and led by General Partner Mike Moradi, the firm operates with a distinctive thesis: that the most potent disruptors of critical industries are often those who have intimately navigated their complexities for years. This conviction, coupled with a deep understanding of founder needs, positions Cortado Ventures as a vital catalyst in expanding the geographic footprint of venture capital and fostering innovation beyond traditional tech hubs.
A Founder’s Journey Shapes a Visionary Investor
Mike Moradi’s journey into venture capital is deeply rooted in firsthand entrepreneurial experience, a narrative rich with both triumphs and profound lessons. A six-time founder, Moradi has traversed diverse, technically intricate sectors, including biopharmaceuticals and nanotechnology. His initial foray into company building, spurred by a departure from dental school, famously ended in failure. This early setback, however, did not temper his ambition but rather forged an unyielding resilience. As Moradi himself attests, "The lesson was to keep pushing past every obstacle, to not be discouraged by hearing the word ‘no,’ and to stay the course." This foundational experience instilled in him an appreciation for persistence that now informs Cortado’s approach to backing tenacious entrepreneurs.
His subsequent ventures painted a more nuanced picture of success and its challenges. One company experienced rapid growth, culminating in an acquisition by a Fortune 100 enterprise, validating his entrepreneurial spirit. A later Bay Area venture, despite securing an $18 million Series B financing, teetered on the brink of collapse before ultimately being acquired. This near-miss delivered another critical insight: capital, while a powerful accelerant, can also propel a company in the wrong direction if not judiciously applied. "A high valuation and a full bank account will happily let you scale the wrong thing," Moradi reflects, highlighting the peril of growth without a proven market fit or operational readiness. This experience solidified his belief that financial backing must be strategically sequenced to validate assumptions, mitigate risk, and achieve verifiable milestones, rather than merely fueling premature expansion. Today, Moradi’s investment philosophy marries entrepreneurial optimism with rigorous evidence, disciplined execution, and a clear understanding of the next crucial proofs required for a company’s advancement.
In 2020, Moradi, alongside a cadre of seasoned founders, CEOs, and operators, co-launched Cortado Ventures. Their collective aim was to construct the very kind of firm they wished had existed during their own entrepreneurial endeavors: one that genuinely understood the intricate decisions founders face and could offer contributions extending far beyond initial capital injection. This "built by founders, for founders" ethos permeates every aspect of Cortado’s operations, distinguishing it as a partner that offers empathetic, experience-driven guidance.
The Midcontinent Advantage: A Nexus of Industry and Innovation
Cortado Ventures’ investment thesis is predicated on the strategic advantage offered by the U.S. Midcontinent. This expansive region, often overlooked by traditional venture capital flows, is a crucible of industries grappling with immense pressure to evolve and innovate. Sectors such as energy, aerospace and defense, healthcare, advanced manufacturing, mobility, and logistics are deeply entrenched in complex physical environments, established supply chains, and demanding customer ecosystems. Transforming these foundational industries demands more than superficial software solutions; it necessitates a profound, granular understanding of their operational intricacies.
Cortado actively seeks out technical founders who possess this invaluable domain expertise. These individuals typically have spent years immersed within hospitals, factories, laboratories, energy corporations, aerospace programs, or intricate logistics networks. Their intimate experience allows them to identify persistent problems and envision novel solutions from an insider’s perspective. This deep understanding confers immediate credibility with potential customers, offers crucial insights into implementation challenges, and provides a knowledge base that would be exceedingly difficult to cultivate from an external vantage point.
Beyond the human capital, the Midcontinent itself presents a compelling competitive advantage. The region boasts proximity to these critical industries and their potential customer bases, offering unparalleled access for pilot programs and early adoption. It also features a growing technically skilled workforce, often benefiting from robust local universities and community colleges, alongside strong research institutions that foster innovation. Furthermore, the Midcontinent typically offers significantly lower company-building costs compared to coastal tech hubs, encompassing everything from commercial real estate to talent acquisition and operational expenses. This cost-efficiency allows startups to extend their runway and achieve more milestones with less capital, a critical factor for early-stage ventures. Complementary public funding initiatives and regional economic development programs further enhance the attractiveness of the area for burgeoning tech companies.
Cortado’s diverse portfolio vividly reflects the breadth of innovation emerging from this environment. The firm has invested in companies applying cutting-edge technologies across areas such as space communications, industrial safety, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare technology, renewable energy solutions, and intelligent mobility systems. This broad spectrum underscores the rich vein of opportunity present in the Midcontinent.
Crucially, Cortado’s strategy is not merely a philanthropic endeavor to correct historical imbalances in venture capital distribution. It is firmly rooted in the conviction that direct proximity to "hard problems" — those deeply embedded challenges within essential industries — inherently produces differentiated companies and, consequently, robust financial returns. Moradi succinctly captures this belief: "Talent is not concentrated anywhere in particular. Capital and networks have just been slower to distribute than talent has." By actively seeking out and supporting these regionally-rooted innovators, Cortado Ventures is not only fostering economic growth in the Midcontinent but also uncovering valuable sources of insight and innovation that traditional, geographically constrained networks may have historically overlooked. This approach challenges the prevailing narrative that innovation is solely the purview of a select few coastal cities, asserting that excellence is ubiquitous, merely awaiting connection to capital and supportive networks.
Beyond Capital: Cultivating a Thriving Ecosystem
When Cortado Ventures was established, Mike Moradi initially believed that the primary impediment to a nascent venture ecosystem was a dearth of capital. The firm quickly demonstrated its capacity to identify and fund promising companies within the region, proving that investable opportunities existed. However, as Cortado expanded its operations and deepened its engagement with the entrepreneurial community, Moradi’s understanding of founders’ needs evolved significantly, revealing a more intricate ecosystem requirement. "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 observed, highlighting a critical shift in perspective.
Founders, particularly those navigating complex frontier technologies, require a multifaceted support structure that extends far beyond monetary investment. They need seasoned operators who can offer practical guidance, helping them sidestep common, preventable mistakes that can derail early-stage ventures. They require customers willing to embrace and pilot unproven technologies, providing crucial feedback and validation. A network of investors prepared to provide follow-on support between significant milestones is also essential to ensure continuous development. Perhaps most importantly, they need a vibrant community where vital relationships can naturally form—connections with mentors, advisors, potential employees, and peer founders. As Moradi succinctly states, "Money can accelerate a company. It cannot stand in for experience."
This profound realization has profoundly shaped Cortado’s broader role within the Midcontinent ecosystem. The firm actively works to bridge connections among founders, funders, academic institutions, large corporations, policymakers, and technical experts. This collaborative approach ensures that these critical relationships are not exclusively reserved for Cortado’s portfolio companies but are instead woven into the fabric of the wider regional innovation community.
A cornerstone of this ecosystem-building effort is Cortado’s annual Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit, an event that convenes investors, limited partners, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the nation. This summit serves as a vital platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and capital attraction. Additionally, Cortado collaborates extensively with regional entrepreneurship organizations and The Verge, a prominent Oklahoma City-based incubator and accelerator. Through these partnerships, The Verge provides critical company-building resources, specialized programming, and invaluable capital connections to startups. Each interaction, whether at a summit, a workshop, or an informal gathering, has the potential to connect a founder with a crucial customer, an experienced advisor, a key employee, a strategic collaborator, or a future investor. Collectively, these relationships form the robust infrastructure necessary for a greater number of companies to successfully launch, scale, and thrive within the Midcontinent. For Moradi, this expansive vision is where venture capital’s true impact begins to transcend individual investment returns, fostering a stronger ecosystem that provides more entrepreneurs with a viable path to company formation and creates broader opportunities for capital, talent, and innovation to converge.
Discipline in Investment: Conviction Without False Certainty
Investing in early-stage companies inherently involves navigating a landscape of incomplete information. Mike Moradi candidly acknowledges this reality, stating, "Incomplete data is my job description." Rather than attempting to eradicate uncertainty, Cortado Ventures employs a disciplined approach to manage it. This involves a meticulous process of distinguishing assumptions that can be immediately tested from those that will only be resolved over time. The firm rigorously identifies the core conditions that must hold true for an investment to succeed, actively considers how these conditions could be disproven, and meticulously evaluates the cost associated with achieving the next meaningful milestone.
Moradi’s strongest convictions typically coalesce around three fundamental pillars: the strength and capability of the founding team, the clarity and urgency of the customer problem being addressed, and the company’s demonstrable rate of progress. He exercises greater caution when it comes to predicting the precise timing of an emerging market or dictating the exact path a company may ultimately take to an exit. This pragmatic approach safeguards against premature optimism and maintains focus on tangible, near-term indicators of success.
This discipline becomes particularly vital when a financing round gains rapid momentum. A compelling founder, coupled with a competitive investment process, can generate significant pressure to make a swift decision before the central investment assumptions have been adequately scrutinized. Moradi warns against this trap, noting, "A hard deadline is exactly when people stop asking uncomfortable questions." To counteract this, Cortado is prepared to deliberately slow down the process when necessary, often engaging independent scientific or technical experts to conduct additional, in-depth diligence. This thorough evaluation can either strengthen the firm’s conviction, providing a more robust basis for investment, or, critically, reveal reasons to step away from a potentially risky deal.
Intriguingly, Cortado’s most enduring founder relationships often originate from this very scrutiny. The rigorous diligence process, while demanding, serves to sharpen strategic thinking, identify potential risks early, and establish a foundation of trust and transparency. It allows for the proactive addressal of challenges while there is still ample time to pivot or adjust. However, slowing the decision-making process does not equate to a delayed response once a commitment is made; rather, it ensures that when Cortado invests, it does so with informed conviction.
Moradi applies a similar discipline to valuation, viewing it not as a simple negotiation point but as a strategic protection. "A sensible entry price is a form of protection for the founder, employees, and investors alike," he asserts. While an aggressive valuation can feel like an immediate triumph for a startup, if the company’s subsequent progress fails to meet the elevated expectations tied to that number, the repercussions can be severe. Such consequences can negatively impact founder ownership, dilute employee equity pools, constrain future fundraising options, and limit the company’s crucial ability to adapt to market changes. This cuts both ways, as Moradi points out, acknowledging that excessively low valuations from VCs can also "strangle the life out of a company." The key, therefore, lies in striking a balance. "The right number buys you options for years. In boom times, people forget that financial crises happen," Moradi reminds, underscoring the long-term strategic advantage of prudent valuation in an inherently cyclical market. For Cortado Ventures, this discipline is not a reflection of a lack of belief in a founder’s ambition; rather, it is a calculated strategy to provide ambitious companies with the financial flexibility and time required to truly succeed.
Founder Support: Speed, Specificity, and Empathetic Engagement
Cortado Ventures’ team is uniquely positioned to offer meaningful support to its portfolio companies, having collectively built, scaled, and successfully exited businesses across many of the same industries in which the firm now invests. This profound operating experience directly informs how Cortado engages with founders when strategic plans inevitably shift or difficult decisions emerge. Mike Moradi encapsulates the essence of effective support in two 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 contributions. This proactive engagement can manifest in various critical ways: rebuilding a complex financial model during a pivot, facilitating a crucial customer introduction, spearheading the recruitment of a senior executive, or taking ownership of a challenging aspect of a board conversation. It also encompasses the difficult but necessary act of delivering unvarnished truth, particularly when a company’s runway is shortening or a fundamental strategy requires a drastic change.
Moradi’s own experiences as a founder deeply inform this empathetic approach. He vividly recalls being in those challenging board meetings, recognizing the immense pressure and uncertainty. "What helped was someone who lowered the temperature, told the truth to me and the board, and followed up after the meeting," he recounts. This commitment to candor, coupled with post-meeting support, builds trust and ensures that founders feel supported, even when confronting harsh realities.
As Cortado and the broader Midcontinent ecosystem have matured, the firm’s founder support mechanisms have become increasingly sophisticated. Portfolio companies now have access to a comprehensive network encompassing operating executives, industry specialists, expert advisors, prospective customers, dedicated coaches, fellow investors, and a community of peer founders. This extensive network provides a rich tapestry of resources tailored to address a wide array of entrepreneurial challenges.
The evolving needs of founders in the region have also shaped Cortado’s approach. In the early days, when capital was scarce, Cortado’s investment and its ability to attract additional investors into a round were exceptionally valuable. Today, while capital remains important, founders increasingly seek customer access, senior talent recruitment, specialized technical expertise, and, perhaps most critically, individuals willing to offer honest, experience-backed guidance. The firm’s role is not to usurp control from the entrepreneur but to empower them. Sometimes, the most valuable contribution an investor can make is discerning precisely when not to intervene. "Other times," Moradi concludes, "being helpful means staying out of the way." This nuanced understanding of founder dynamics underscores Cortado’s commitment to truly partnership-driven support.
Building What Outlasts a Fund: A Legacy Beyond Returns
Mike Moradi firmly believes that a venture firm’s responsibility transcends the confines of its own portfolio and the lifecycle of a single fund. "We must build things that outlast a single fund," he asserts, articulating a vision for enduring impact. For Cortado Ventures, this philosophy translates into a concerted 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 other investment firms within the region, rather than viewing them as competitors.
"This is not a zero-sum game," Moradi emphasizes. "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 approach is designed to cultivate a larger, more interconnected investment community, which in turn provides founders with a broader spectrum of potential capital sources and expertise. It also creates more opportunities for investors to co-invest and participate in promising companies, thereby diversifying risk and amplifying success. Over time, such an expansive and collaborative ecosystem can establish a more durable pathway, effectively connecting regional innovation with national and even international capital markets.
It is important to note that this commitment to ecosystem building does not in any way diminish a firm’s fundamental 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, underscoring the dual imperative of fostering community growth while upholding rigorous financial stewardship.
Moradi also recognizes the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) as a critical component of the connective infrastructure that supports firms and founders nationwide. Policy issues such as capital formation, research commercialization, immigration policies affecting talent acquisition, government procurement processes, tax treatment of investments, and securities regulations are not abstract concepts. They directly influence the ability of an emerging manager to raise a fund, a startup to attract top talent, and a new technology 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. Participation in the NVCA also affords Cortado Ventures a crucial platform to bring a Midcontinent perspective into national dialogues concerning innovation, capital formation, and the future trajectory of the broader venture industry, ensuring that diverse regional voices are heard.
Expanding the Map of American Innovation
Mike Moradi aspires for the story of Cortado Ventures to illuminate the true breadth and diversity of American venture capital. While the industry’s largest, most visible firms often command the lion’s share of attention, the vast majority of venture capital activity is conducted by smaller, specialized investors. These firms write early checks into niche sectors, specific technologies, underserved communities, and emerging regions. As Moradi 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 groundbreaking founders before their markets become overtly obvious, bridging specialized knowledge with essential capital, and guiding companies through the arduous period between a promising idea and a sustainable, thriving business. "The hardest work happens after the money moves," Moradi reminds us, emphasizing the intensive, hands-on support required for early-stage success.
The advent of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, advanced automation, sophisticated manufacturing techniques, groundbreaking energy innovations, transformative biotechnologies, and burgeoning space technologies, is dramatically reducing the cost and complexity of pursuing ambitious ideas. This technological democratization empowers small teams to tackle opportunities that once demanded the vast resources of large corporations or national programs. Many of these pioneering teams, Moradi predicts, will emerge from locations intimately connected to the very problems they are striving to solve.
This is the profound, broader impact of strategically expanding venture capital across America. When investors consciously look beyond their familiar networks and engage with founders directly where critical industries operate, they facilitate the transformation of more ideas into viable companies, enable more innovative technologies to reach the market, and empower a greater number of communities to actively participate in and benefit from the country’s innovation economy. For Mike Moradi, the enduring optimism stems from the relentless spirit of founders 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 behind Cortado Ventures’ mission. The NVCA proudly acknowledges Cortado Ventures as a valued member, a testament to its pivotal role in shaping the future of venture capital and American innovation.
