The venture capital landscape is undergoing a significant transformation, moving beyond its traditional coastal strongholds to foster innovation in previously overlooked regions. At the forefront of this shift is Cortado Ventures, an Oklahoma City-based firm co-founded by Mike Moradi, whose insights and convictions are shaping the future of seed-stage frontier technology investment in the U.S. Midcontinent. Through the NVCA’s "Meet a VC" series, Moradi’s story illuminates a strategic approach grounded in profound operational experience, a deep understanding of regional strengths, and a commitment to building robust entrepreneurial ecosystems that extend far beyond financial investment. His vision for Cortado is not merely to deploy capital, but to cultivate a resilient network where experienced founders can transform critical industries, demonstrating that talent and groundbreaking ideas are indeed ubiquitous, even if capital and networks have historically been concentrated.
The Genesis of Cortado Ventures: A Founder’s Perspective
Mike Moradi’s journey into venture capital is deeply personal, forged by the crucible of his own entrepreneurial experiences. A six-time founder, he navigated the complex terrains of biopharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, and other technically intricate sectors. His path was far from linear; it began with a bold decision to leave dental school to launch his first company, an endeavor that ultimately failed. This initial setback, however, did not deter him. Instead, it instilled a fundamental lesson in resilience and perseverance. "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, underscoring the indispensable grit required for company building.
His subsequent ventures painted a more successful picture, including one acquired by a Fortune 100 company. Yet, even success came with its own set of critical learnings. A later San Francisco Bay Area startup, despite securing an $18 million Series B financing round, teetered on the brink of failure before eventually being acquired. This experience revealed a crucial insight: while capital can accelerate a company’s trajectory, speed without proper direction can be detrimental. "A high valuation and a full bank account will happily let you scale the wrong thing," Moradi cautions, highlighting the perils of unchecked growth and the importance of validated assumptions. These hard-won lessons—from the sting of failure to the nuanced challenges of scaling with significant funding—became the bedrock of his investment philosophy. He realized that effective financing must help founders systematically test assumptions, mitigate risk, and achieve meaningful milestones, rather than enabling premature or misdirected expansion.
Driven by a mission to infuse the entrepreneurial dynamism of Silicon Valley into the Midcontinent, Moradi co-founded Cortado Ventures in 2020. He assembled a team of seasoned founders, CEOs, and operators, all sharing a common aspiration: to create the kind of venture firm they wished had existed during their own entrepreneurial endeavors. This collective experience ensures that Cortado not only provides capital but also offers invaluable strategic guidance, operational insights, and a supportive network that extends far beyond the initial check.
Unlocking Untapped Potential: The Midcontinent Advantage
Cortado Ventures’ core thesis is strategically anchored in the Midcontinent, a region often overlooked by traditional venture capital but ripe with opportunities for innovation. This geography is home to a confluence of critical industries facing immense pressure to evolve: energy, aerospace and defense, healthcare, manufacturing, mobility, and logistics. These sectors are characterized by complex physical environments, entrenched supply chains, and demanding customer relationships, requiring solutions that go beyond mere software applications. True transformation, Cortado believes, necessitates a deep, intrinsic understanding of how these industries operate.
Cortado actively seeks out technical founders who possess this profound industry insight. These are individuals who may have spent years within a hospital, factory, laboratory, energy corporation, aerospace program, or logistics network, identifying persistent problems and envisioning innovative solutions. Their insider perspective grants them unparalleled credibility with customers, practical foresight into implementation challenges, and a nuanced knowledge base that would be exceedingly difficult for outsiders to cultivate.
The Midcontinent itself provides a distinct competitive advantage. The region offers close proximity to these vital industries and potential customers, a technically proficient workforce often educated at strong regional research institutions, access to complementary public funding, and significantly lower company-building costs compared to coastal hubs. This confluence of factors creates a fertile ground for startups to develop and scale efficiently. Cortado’s diverse portfolio—spanning space communications, industrial safety, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and mobility—is a testament to the breadth of innovation emerging from this environment.
While historically attracting a smaller share of venture capital, the Midcontinent’s landscape is rapidly changing. Recent data from PitchBook and NVCA highlights a growing trend of venture capital investment decentralization. For instance, while Silicon Valley, New York, and Boston continue to dominate, secondary markets and emerging hubs saw increased activity in the past few years. In 2023, while overall VC funding dipped, the resilience of regional ecosystems and the pursuit of value-driven investments became more pronounced. This validates Cortado’s conviction that “Talent is not concentrated anywhere in particular. Capital and networks have just been slower to distribute than talent has.” By strategically investing in these regions, Cortado not only aims for strong financial returns but also contributes to diversifying American innovation, fostering economic growth, and creating high-value jobs in areas often left behind by the tech boom.
Beyond Capital: Cultivating a Thriving Ecosystem
When Cortado Ventures first launched, Moradi initially perceived a shortage of capital as the primary constraint on nascent venture ecosystems in the Midcontinent. The firm quickly demonstrated that promising companies could indeed be identified and funded within the region. However, as Cortado expanded its operations and deepened its engagement with the entrepreneurial community, Moradi’s understanding of founders’ needs evolved dramatically. He recognized that capital, while undeniably necessary, was far from sufficient. "Capital turned out to be necessary, and also nowhere close to sufficient," he observed, highlighting a critical insight for any burgeoning innovation hub.
Founders require a multifaceted support system that extends well beyond mere financial investment. This includes access to experienced operators who can help them circumvent preventable mistakes, early adopter customers willing to pilot unproven technologies, supportive investors committed to backing companies between funding milestones, and a vibrant community where crucial relationships can organically form. "Money can accelerate a company," Moradi states, "It cannot stand in for experience."
This realization profoundly shaped Cortado’s expansive role within the broader Midcontinent ecosystem. Rather than confining its network and resources solely to its portfolio companies, the firm actively works to bridge connections among founders, funders, universities, corporations, policymakers, and technical experts throughout the region. This collaborative approach fosters a stronger, more interconnected environment for all. Cortado spearheads initiatives such as its annual Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit, which convenes investors, limited partners, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the nation to facilitate dialogue and collaboration. Additionally, the firm partners with regional entrepreneurship organizations and supports local incubators and accelerators like The Verge in Oklahoma City, which provides essential company-building resources, programming, and capital connections. Each of these interactions serves as a potential catalyst for a founder to secure a customer, find an adviser, recruit an employee, identify a collaborator, or attract an investor. Collectively, these relationships construct the vital infrastructure necessary for more companies to successfully launch and scale, thereby amplifying venture capital’s impact beyond individual investments.
Disciplined Investment in an Uncertain Landscape
Investing in early-stage companies inherently involves navigating an environment of incomplete information. Moradi candidly acknowledges this reality, stating, "Incomplete data is my job description." Rather than striving for an impossible elimination of uncertainty, his approach is to systematically delineate assumptions that can be immediately tested from those that will only resolve over time. He meticulously identifies the critical conditions that must hold true, considers potential avenues for disproving them, and rigorously evaluates the cost associated with reaching the next significant milestone.
Moradi’s strongest convictions typically coalesce around the founding team’s capabilities, the authenticity and scale of the customer problem being addressed, and the company’s demonstrated rate of progress. Conversely, he exercises greater caution in predicting the precise timing of an emerging market or the exact path a company might eventually take to an exit. This disciplined approach becomes particularly vital when financing rounds accelerate. The allure of a compelling founder and the competitive pressure of a fast-moving process can often create an impetus to finalize decisions before core investment assumptions have been thoroughly vetted. "A hard deadline is exactly when people stop asking uncomfortable questions," Moradi observes, highlighting a common pitfall.
To counteract this, Cortado is prepared to deliberately slow down the investment process, bringing in independent scientific or technical experts for deeper evaluation when necessary. This additional diligence can either fortify the firm’s conviction or, critically, reveal reasons to step away from a potential investment. Moradi notes that Cortado’s most robust founder relationships have often originated from this initial scrutiny, as it sharpens strategic thinking and identifies risks early enough to be addressed. However, slowing the decision process does not imply a sluggish response once a commitment is made.
Moradi applies the same rigorous discipline to company valuations. "A sensible entry price is a form of protection for the founder, employees, and investors alike," he asserts. While an aggressive valuation might feel like an immediate triumph, if the company’s subsequent progress fails to align with the elevated expectations attached to that number, the repercussions can be severe. Such consequences can negatively impact founder ownership, dilute employee equity, constrain future fundraising options, and hinder the company’s vital ability to adapt. As Moradi sagely remarks, "The right number buys you options for years. In boom times, people forget that financial crises happen." For Cortado, this discipline is not a reflection of diminished belief in a founder’s ambition; rather, it is a strategic mechanism to afford ambitious companies the essential flexibility and time required for long-term success.
Action-Oriented Support: The Operator-Investor Model
The team at Cortado Ventures distinguishes itself through its extensive operating experience, having built, scaled, and successfully exited companies across many of the very industries in which the firm now invests. This profound hands-on experience fundamentally shapes how Cortado supports its founders, particularly when unforeseen challenges arise or difficult strategic decisions loom. Moradi encapsulates the essence of meaningful support in two concise words: "Speed and specificity."
He elaborates on this ethos: "Answer in hours rather than days and show up with work already done instead of advice. Better yet, pick up the phone." This proactive, results-oriented approach can manifest in various ways, from directly assisting with the rebuilding of a financial model, making critical customer introductions, or aiding in the recruitment of senior executives, to taking ownership of challenging aspects of a board conversation. It also entails the courage to deliver uncomfortable truths when a company’s runway shortens or its strategic direction necessitates a pivot. Moradi, having been the founder in those tense meetings, intimately understands the impact of such interventions. "What helped was someone who lowered the temperature, told the truth to me and the board, and followed up after the meeting," he recalls.
Cortado’s founder support mechanisms have become increasingly sophisticated as both the firm and the surrounding Midcontinent ecosystem have matured. Portfolio companies now have access to a rich network comprising operating executives, industry specialists, expert advisers, prospective customers, experienced coaches, follow-on investors, and a community of peer founders. The needs of founders in the region have also evolved. While in earlier stages, Cortado’s direct investment and its ability to attract additional investors were paramount, today, founders increasingly seek customer access, top-tier senior talent, specialized technical expertise, and candid, honest guidance. Crucially, the firm’s role is never to usurp control from the entrepreneur. Sometimes, Moradi notes, "being helpful means staying out of the way," recognizing the delicate balance between active support and fostering entrepreneurial autonomy.
A Vision for Lasting Impact: Beyond Fund Cycles
Moradi firmly believes that a venture firm’s responsibility extends beyond the confines of its own portfolio. "We must build things that outlast a single fund," he asserts, articulating a long-term vision for sustainable growth and impact. For Cortado, this translates into a dedicated effort to strengthen the foundational connections among founders, funders, universities, corporations, and policymakers throughout the Midcontinent. It also entails actively fostering the formation and growth of other investment firms within the region, embracing a non-zero-sum philosophy. "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 commitment to cultivating a larger, more interconnected investment community offers multiple benefits. It provides founders with a broader spectrum of potential capital sources and expertise, creates enhanced opportunities for investors to collaborate and participate in promising ventures, and, over time, establishes a more durable pathway connecting regional innovation with national capital markets.
However, Moradi is also acutely aware that ecosystem building must never overshadow a firm’s fundamental responsibility to its limited partners. His experience as a trustee and audit committee member for a state retirement system reinforced the critical importance of transparent communication regarding investment risk, duration, and potential losses. "Ecosystem building matters, and it does not excuse any of us from being disciplined fiduciaries first," he states, highlighting the dual imperative of strategic growth and prudent financial stewardship.
Moradi views the NVCA (National Venture Capital Association) as an indispensable component of the connective infrastructure that supports venture 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 its intended customers and institutions. "NVCA helps each of us make policy concrete and stay on top of the issues that matter in D.C. and beyond," Moradi affirms. Cortado’s active participation in the NVCA also provides a vital platform to inject a Midcontinent perspective into national conversations concerning innovation, capital formation, and the future trajectory of the venture industry.
Decentralizing Innovation: The Future of American Venture Capital
Moradi hopes that Cortado’s narrative will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the diverse landscape of American venture capital. While the industry’s largest firms often capture the lion’s share of public attention, he argues that the vast majority of venture activity is carried out by smaller, specialized investors. "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 explains.
These specialized firms play an absolutely essential role in the innovation economy. They are adept at identifying promising founders before their markets become obvious, skillfully connecting niche knowledge with crucial capital, and guiding companies through the challenging chasm between an ambitious idea and a sustainable business. "The hardest work happens after the money moves," Moradi emphasizes, underscoring the ongoing, intensive support required post-investment.
The advent of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, automation, advanced manufacturing, energy innovation, biology, and space technology, is further democratizing innovation by significantly reducing the cost and complexity of pursuing ambitious ideas. This empowers smaller, agile teams to tackle opportunities that historically demanded the vast resources of large corporations or national programs. Crucially, many of these groundbreaking teams will emerge in locations intimately connected to the very problems they are striving to solve.
This decentralization of venture capital, exemplified by firms like Cortado, has a profound broader impact on America. By encouraging investors to look beyond familiar networks and engage with founders in regions where critical industries operate, more innovative ideas are transformed into viable companies. More advanced technologies reach the market, and a wider array of communities actively participate in and benefit from the country’s dynamic innovation economy. For Moradi, the founders who dare to attempt what others deem impossible remain the most compelling source of optimism. "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’s ambitious mission. Cortado Ventures, a proud member of the NVCA, stands as a testament to the power of localized expertise and a human-centric approach to venture capital, actively expanding the map of American innovation.
