In a strategic move to broaden the landscape of American innovation, Mike Moradi, co-founder and General Partner of Cortado Ventures, is spearheading an investment philosophy deeply rooted in industry experience and regional potential. Featured in the NVCA’s ‘Meet a VC’ series, Moradi’s Oklahoma City-based firm is carving a distinct path by investing in seed-stage frontier technology companies across the U.S. Midcontinent, challenging traditional venture capital paradigms and demonstrating the power of localized expertise. Cortado’s core thesis posits that the most effective founders for transforming critical industries are often those who have spent years immersed within them. By bridging their invaluable experience with essential capital, customer networks, and comprehensive support, the firm is actively cultivating new centers of innovation, proving that groundbreaking ideas are not confined to established tech hubs.
A Founder’s Journey Forges a VC’s Vision
Moradi’s transition into venture capital was a direct consequence of his extensive and often challenging entrepreneurial journey. A six-time founder, he navigated the complex terrains of biopharmaceuticals, nanotechnology, and other technically intricate industries. His path began unconventionally, leaving dental school to launch his first company—an endeavor that ultimately failed. This initial setback, rather than dampening his ambition, served as a foundational lesson. "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 resilience that would become a hallmark of his career. This early experience instilled in him a deep understanding of the perseverance required to build and sustain a company.
His subsequent ventures proved more successful. One company experienced rapid growth and was eventually acquired by a Fortune 100 corporation, a testament to his evolving business acumen. Another, a San Francisco Bay Area startup, also achieved an acquisition, but only after teetering on the brink of collapse following an $18 million Series B financing round. This near-failure delivered a different, equally critical insight: capital, while vital for acceleration, is only beneficial if a company is moving in the correct strategic direction and is genuinely prepared for scale. "A high valuation and a full bank account will happily let you scale the wrong thing," Moradi cautions, highlighting the perils of unchecked growth. This experience profoundly shaped his current approach to investment, emphasizing the critical interplay between entrepreneurial optimism and robust evidence, disciplined execution, and a clear roadmap of essential milestones.
With these hard-won lessons, Moradi co-founded Cortado Ventures in 2020 alongside a team of seasoned founders, CEOs, and operators. Their collective aim was to construct the kind of venture firm they had wished for during their own entrepreneurial phases: one that deeply understood the multifaceted decisions founders face and could offer contributions far beyond mere financial investment. Their mission today is to infuse the entrepreneurial "spark" often associated with Silicon Valley into the burgeoning Midcontinent ecosystem, meticulously considering the sequence and timing of capital deployment as much as a company’s technological promise. For Moradi, financing should empower founders to rigorously test assumptions, mitigate risks, and achieve substantive milestones, rather than enabling growth that outpaces proven capabilities.
The Strategic Advantage of the Midcontinent
Cortado Ventures’ investment strategy is intrinsically linked to the unique characteristics and opportunities presented by the U.S. Midcontinent. This expansive region is not merely a geographic area but a dynamic hub for industries undergoing significant transformation. Sectors such as energy, aerospace and defense, healthcare, manufacturing, mobility, and logistics operate within intricate physical environments, established supply chains, and demanding customer relationships. Transforming these bedrock industries necessitates more than innovative software; it requires a profound, nuanced understanding of their operational intricacies.
Cortado specifically targets experienced technical founders who possess this deep institutional knowledge. These are individuals who may have dedicated years within hospitals, factories, laboratories, energy corporations, aerospace programs, or complex logistics networks, identifying persistent problems and conceiving novel solutions. Their firsthand experience grants them unparalleled credibility with potential customers, critical insights into implementation challenges, and a wealth of knowledge that would be exceedingly difficult for outsiders to acquire.
The Midcontinent itself provides a significant competitive advantage. The region offers strategic proximity to these critical industries and their potential customers, a robust technically skilled workforce, strong academic and research institutions, complementary public funding initiatives, and notably lower company-building costs compared to coastal tech hubs. This combination creates a fertile ground for innovation that is both cost-effective and deeply connected to real-world industrial needs. Cortado’s diverse portfolio vividly reflects this dynamic environment, featuring companies leveraging advanced technologies across space communications, industrial safety, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and mobility.
Crucially, Cortado’s strategy is not predicated on the notion that Midcontinent founders deserve investment simply because they have historically received less venture capital. Instead, it is built on the firm conviction that direct proximity to "hard problems" — the complex challenges inherent in these foundational industries — inherently fosters the development of differentiated companies and generates 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." For Moradi, expanding the geographic reach of venture capital is not just about identifying more founders; it is about uncovering untapped sources of insight and innovation that traditional networks have historically overlooked. Recent data from industry reports confirms this trend, with venture capital activity in the Midcontinent seeing a steady increase, demonstrating investor confidence in these emerging ecosystems. While still lagging behind the coastal giants, states like Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri have collectively witnessed a significant uptick in deal volume and total capital deployed over the last five years, validating Cortado’s early thesis.
Capital: A Necessary, But Insufficient, Ingredient
When Cortado Ventures first launched, Moradi initially believed that the primary impediment facing a nascent venture ecosystem was a scarcity of capital. The firm quickly demonstrated that promising companies could indeed be identified and successfully funded within the region. However, as Cortado expanded and matured, Moradi’s understanding of founders’ true needs evolved significantly. "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, encapsulating a profound shift in perspective.
Founders require a multifaceted support system that extends far beyond financial injections. This includes access to experienced operators who can guide them in circumventing preventable pitfalls, customers willing to embrace and pilot unproven technologies, investors prepared to offer sustained support between critical milestones, and a vibrant community conducive to forming vital relationships. "Money can accelerate a company," Moradi emphasizes, "It cannot stand in for experience."
This realization fundamentally shaped Cortado’s role within the broader Midcontinent ecosystem. The firm actively works to bridge connections among founders, funders, universities, corporations, policymakers, and technical experts, consciously avoiding the reservation of these relationships exclusively for its own portfolio companies. Cortado’s annual Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit serves as a pivotal platform, drawing investors, limited partners, founders, and ecosystem leaders from across the nation to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange. Furthermore, the firm collaborates extensively with regional entrepreneurship organizations and The Verge, an Oklahoma City-based incubator and accelerator that provides crucial company-building resources, specialized programming, and essential capital connections. Each of these interactions has the potential to help a founder secure a customer, find a crucial adviser, recruit a senior employee, forge a collaborative partnership, or attract further investment. Collectively, these relationships meticulously construct the foundational infrastructure that empowers more companies to successfully launch and scale. For Moradi, this is precisely where venture capital’s impact transcends individual investments, culminating in a stronger ecosystem that provides a more viable pathway for entrepreneurs and amplifies opportunities for capital, talent, and innovation to converge.
Conviction Tempered by Realism: The Art of Disciplined Investing
Early-stage venture investing is inherently characterized by incomplete information, a reality Moradi fully embraces. "Incomplete data is my job description," he quips, underscoring the constant challenge. Rather than attempting to eliminate uncertainty, his approach involves strategically segmenting assumptions: those that can be immediately tested versus those that will only resolve over time. He rigorously identifies the precise conditions that must hold true, considers all potential ways these assumptions could be disproven, and meticulously evaluates the cost associated with achieving the next meaningful milestone.
Moradi’s strongest convictions typically coalesce around the founding team’s capabilities, the veracity of the customer problem being addressed, and the company’s demonstrable rate of progress. He exercises greater caution when predicting the exact timing of an emergent market or the specific trajectory a company might take towards a future exit. This disciplined methodology becomes particularly crucial during rapidly moving financing rounds. The combination of a compelling founder and a competitive investment process can generate immense pressure to make a swift decision before the central investment assumptions have been thoroughly vetted. "A hard deadline is exactly when people stop asking uncomfortable questions," Moradi warns, highlighting a common pitfall.
When necessary, Cortado is prepared to deliberately slow down the investment process, bringing in independent scientific or technical experts for a deeper evaluation. This additional diligence either solidifies the firm’s conviction or uncovers reasons to step away from the deal. Interestingly, Cortado’s most robust founder relationships have often originated from this very scrutiny, as it sharpens strategic thinking and identifies potential risks while there remains ample time to address them. However, slowing the decision-making process does not equate to a delayed response once a decision is made.
Moradi applies the same rigorous discipline to valuation. "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 a triumphant victory, if the company’s subsequent progress fails to meet the inflated expectations attached to that number, the repercussions can be severe, impacting founder ownership, employee equity, future fundraising options, and the company’s crucial ability to adapt. This dynamic, Moradi notes, cuts both ways, as overly stringent VCs can equally stifle a company’s potential. Maintaining a delicate balance is paramount. "The right number buys you options for years. In boom times, people forget that financial crises happen," Moradi reminds, advocating for prudence. 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 ambitious companies the necessary flexibility and time required for long-term success.
Beyond the Check: Actionable Support and Empathy
Cortado Ventures distinguishes itself through its team’s profound operational experience, having built, scaled, and successfully exited companies across many of the very industries in which the firm now invests. This hands-on background profoundly shapes how Cortado supports its founders, particularly when unforeseen challenges emerge or difficult strategic decisions must be made. Moradi distills meaningful support into two critical 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," he advises, advocating for proactive, tangible assistance. This could entail anything from meticulously rebuilding a financial model, making a critical customer introduction, actively recruiting a senior executive, or taking ownership of a challenging aspect of a board conversation. It also means having the courage to articulate uncomfortable truths when a company’s runway is shrinking or its fundamental strategy requires a drastic pivot. Moradi vividly recalls being the founder in such high-stakes meetings, noting, "What helped was someone who lowered the temperature, told the truth to me and the board, and followed up after the meeting."
Cortado’s founder support system has 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 evolving needs of founders mirror this growth. While capital scarcity once made Cortado’s investment and its ability to attract additional investors particularly valuable, today’s founders increasingly require customer access, senior talent acquisition support, specialized technical expertise, and candid, honest guidance. Crucially, the firm’s role is never to usurp control from the entrepreneur. Sometimes, the most valuable contribution an investor can make is discerning when not to intervene. "Other times," Moradi acknowledges, "being helpful means staying out of the way."
Building Legacies Beyond a Single Fund
Mike Moradi champions a vision for venture capital that extends beyond the finite lifespan of any single fund. "We must build things that outlast a single fund," he asserts, articulating a commitment to long-term ecosystem development. For Cortado, this translates into actively strengthening the connective tissue among founders, funders, universities, corporations, and policymakers within the region. It also involves fostering the formation and growth of other investment firms across the Midcontinent. "This is not a zero-sum game," Moradi insists. "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 offers founders a greater diversity of capital sources and expertise. It simultaneously creates more opportunities for investors to collaborate and participate in promising ventures. Over time, this collective effort can establish a more robust and durable pathway between regional innovation and national capital markets. This ecosystem-building imperative, however, does not supersede 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 unequivocally.
Moradi also recognizes the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) as a crucial part of the connective infrastructure supporting firms and founders nationwide. Policy issues such as capital formation, research commercialization, immigration policies, 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 potential 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 confirms. 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 itself.
Expanding the Map of American Innovation
Mike Moradi hopes Cortado’s narrative can help reshape public perception of the breadth and diversity of American venture capital. While the industry’s largest and most prominent firms often capture the most media attention, a substantial portion of venture capital comprises smaller, specialized investors writing early checks into niche industries, specific technologies, underserved communities, and emerging regions. "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," Moradi explains, demystifying the industry.
These specialized firms play an indispensable role in identifying visionary founders before their markets become obvious, skillfully connecting specialized knowledge with crucial capital, and guiding companies through the challenging chasm between a promising idea and a sustainable business model. "The hardest work happens after the money moves," Moradi stresses.
The advent of new technologies is rendering this work even more consequential. Artificial intelligence, advanced automation, innovative manufacturing processes, transformative energy solutions, breakthroughs in biology, and sophisticated space technology are dramatically lowering the cost and complexity of pursuing ambitious ideas. Consequently, small, agile teams can now tackle opportunities that once demanded the vast resources of a large corporation or a national program. Many of these groundbreaking teams are emerging in locations intimately connected to the very problems they are striving to solve.
This geographical expansion of venture capital holds a profound broader impact for America. When investors consciously look beyond familiar networks and actively meet founders in regions where critical industries operate, they facilitate the transformation of more ideas into viable companies, enable more technologies to reach the market, and empower more communities to participate fully in the nation’s dynamic innovation economy. For Moradi, the unwavering optimism lies with the 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."
Cortado Ventures, through its disciplined investment approach, deep founder empathy, and unwavering commitment to ecosystem building, exemplifies the evolving landscape of American venture capital. As a proud member of the NVCA, Cortado continues to demonstrate that talent and innovation are ubiquitous, and with the right capital and support, the Midcontinent is poised to become an increasingly vital engine of national technological advancement. To explore Cortado Ventures further, visit cortado.ventures.
