Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
In this month’s Doubleshot Newsletter, you will find:
- Builder Highlight: The Verge OKC
- Global Entrepreneurship Week: November 14-20
- Team Highlight: Deborah Moorad, Entrepreneur-in-Residence
- Join the Cortado Ventures Team
- PortCo Updates
- Ecosystem News
Builder Highlight: The Verge OKC
Centralizing our community’s entrepreneurial resources, The Verge is the hub of entrepreneurship connections in OKC.
As a nonprofit organization, The Verge exists to serve, support, and champion Oklahoma City’s diverse entrepreneurial community. The Verge offers a centralized space for education, curated events, flexible workspaces, and an invaluable network of people and resources.
Cortado Ventures is proud to be an in-house partner with The Verge OKC. Give The Verge a follow on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to keep up with the many exciting events and programs it has to offer entrepreneurs in central Oklahoma.
Global Entrepreneurship Week: November 14-20
Have you heard about Global Entrepreneurship Week in Oklahoma? The Verge OKC is one of many statewide partners hosting events this week for Global Entrepreneurship Week. This week empowers nascent entrepreneurs and those who face systemic barriers to starting and scaling their own companies.
Check out this list of events across Oklahoma including in Tulsa, OKC, Enid, Norman, Stillwater, Guthrie and more.
Team Highlight: Deborah Moorad, Entrepreneur-in-Residence
Deborah Moorad has joined Cortado Ventures as our newest Entrepreneur-in-Residence. Deborah led one of Oklahoma’s most recent and highest profile biotech success stories. She recently sold her company Nature Technology Corporation to Aldevron, notching one of the biggest transaction deals in biotech history, both scientifically and in terms of financial multiplier of value. With Cortado, Deborah will be an asset to the team by providing support and guidance to the team as a leading voice within Oklahoma’s life sciences, tech and VC ecosystems. Check out this recent feature on her with Oklahoma City Innovation District.
Join the Cortado Ventures team
Looking to gain valuable experience in the venture capital industry? Currently, Cortado Ventures is accepting applications for a Venture Associate role and 2023 Internships.
Working alongside our investment team, both roles will work with experienced entrepreneurs at Cortado and interact with high growth startups, conduct research, support investment decision-making and support day-to-day needs of the firm. The Venture Associate position is an excellent full -time opportunity to build a career in venture capital or startups, while the internship is a great opportunity for college students. Find more info here to join Cortado.
Startup jobs: With over 30 investments in tech startups across the Midcontinent and the U.S., employment opportunities are abundant with some of the country’s fastest-growing startups. We invite you to join the Cortado Ventures startup community.
PortCo Updates
PatchRx featured in Forbes
Forbes recently featured Andrew Aertker of PatchRx. The Tulsa-based company, founded by Andrew Aertker and Gavin Buchanan in 2018, is a remote therapeutic management technology startup that delivers “smart medication compliance” hardware and software solutions for healthcare providers. Read the story here.
Boddle Learning’s Edna Martinson Shares Key Advice for Black and Female Founders Who Want to Raise Capital
Co-Founder Edna Martinson of Boddle, which recently raised a $3M seed round, was featured on BlogHer, sharing key advice for Black and Female Founders who want to raise capital. As a recently new mom and leading woman in tech, Edna remains focused on building her startup with her co-founder/husband Clarence, while empowering students, educators as well as other Black and women founders. Read the interview here.
MITO Materials hold Ribbon-cutting
MITO Material Solutions celebrated a ribbon cutting at its new Indianapolis Headquarters late this past summer. The company, originally started in Oklahoma, develops additives to enhance performance of composites and plastics, including its flagship graphene oxide-based additive E-GO.
New Investment Alert: Lumata Health
Cortado Ventures is proud to lead the investment round for Lumata Health. The Oklahoma City-based, technology-driven healthcare startup is on a mission to prevent blindness and address ophthalmology staffing challenges through its human-led, intelligent eye care management platform. Read more here.
Ecosystem News
Application is Open: StitchCrew’s FemHealth Accelerator
Apply to the FemHealth Accelerator ran by StitchCrew in partnership with FemHealth Founders, an organization focused on cultivating a world-class femhealth ecosystem in the heartland. Selected participants will receive a $10,000 non-dilutive grant, and learn from Industry Executives and other thought leaders. If you know a founder that can benefit from this program, forward this newsletter and tell them to apply by January 27, 2023.
Build in Tulsa Techstars Accelerator hosts first Demo Day
Earlier this month, Build in Tulsa’s Techstars Accelerator hosted its first Demo Day for its inaugural cohort of 12 tech startups, all led by underrepresented founders. As one of the world’s leading accelerators, Techstars’ Tulsa program comes at a time with numerous partnerships in Tulsa to focus on rebuilding Tulsa’s historic Black Wall Street. Check out the inaugural Demo Day on Youtube. For those interested in participating in future cohorts, applications are open now!