Cortado Ventures Doubleshot Newsletter: January 2024

by | Jan 23, 2024 | Newsletters

Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)

In this month’s Doubleshot Newsletter, you will find:

  • Message from our Managing Partner
  • Annual General Meeting 2023
  • Investment News: CorriXR
  • Portco News: Glycologix
  • Midcon Markup Podcast: New Episode with Blake Bixler
  • Portco Job Opportunities
  • Ecosystem Events

 

What transpired in 2023? We were promised a recession that didn’t materialize but still looms. Everyone experienced the impact of rising interest rates, whether they were aware of it or not. The S&P gained 24% last year and, as of this writing, reached a new record, recovering 2022 losses. Private markets, typically a lagging indicator that doesn’t grab headlines, gained attention when Silicon Valley Brank cratered. Fortune writer Jessica Mathews summarized 2023 for venture well in “How the venture crash played out in 2023, in 4 charts.” Consumer and AI optimism buoyed the public markets, but ventures suffered in the major coastal hubs.

Even more challenging to ascertain is how early-stage investing fared in non-traditional regions, such as the Midcontinent where Cortado Ventures invests in frontier technology startups. Our corner of the market was less affected by the exuberance and value inflation of major coastal hubs, and our companies doubled down on margin and profitability. While 2020-21 was defined by the distribution of venture opportunities, 2022-23 is defined by a dislocation of value. To be clear: we are not immune to market movements, but we are vaccinated against its harshest effects.

What does 2024 have in store for the venture market? I’ll make three predictions, in order of how obvious they appear. First, raising private capital will remain challenging. With high-interest rates and pessimism, raising money for any fund, company, or project will continue to be a grind. Second, AI will continue to dominate (and confuse) public interest in investments. Hundreds of startups will claim to use AI in a novel way, and most of it will be a waste. We are at the top of the hype cycle, but you will not see an FTX/crypto-style collapse since AI is now so well distributed across every subsector and use case (no single failure point). Lastly, and most arcane, you will see early-stage investors find liquidity in secondary markets. As seed investors, we can realize meaningful returns through partial recapitalizations (selling part of our interest in a company) while also not sending a negative signal. The expectation that a seed investor will hang on through IPO is gone. The secondary market is the most active it’s ever been, and investors in private markets are taking notice.

Annual General Meeting 2023

In November, we hosted our Annual General Meeting with over 100+ LPs, founders, and special guests in attendance. We’re so appreciative to all attendees for joining, as well as our sponsors: Hogan Taylor, FPOV, Regent Bank, Weaver, Carta, and Magellan Executive Partners. Thank you all for being a part of our community!

Investment News

Cortado Invests in CorriXR

Cortado Ventures proudly announces our investment in CorriXR Therapeutics, a cutting-edge oncology-focused biotherapeutics development company positioned to revolutionize cancer treatment. Thrilled to support our former Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Deborah Moorad, now the CEO of CorriXR. Read more on this exciting new investment! Catch up on the details of this exciting new investment with CorriXR!

Portco News

Glycologix Treats the First Patient in Highlight Study

Glycologix, a clinical-stage company, focused on biopolymer advancements, has treated the first patient in a pilot clinical study for Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS) using GLX-100. Read more on this announcement.

New Episode with Blake Bixler

It’s not every day that you get to hear from a core management team member behind a $2B transaction. Tune in to hear how Senslytics Corporation (Cortado Ventures Portco) CEO Blake Bixler helped drive meteoric growth in midstream energy and why he chose to invest and become the CEO of an AI analytics company poised to disrupt the energy industry and numerous other legacy sectors with a footprint in the Midcontinent. Watch more of the podcast here!

Portco Job Opportunities

Drov – Quality Assurance Engineer

Senslytics – Data Scientist

Senslytics – Senior Data Scientist

Senslytics – Senior Full Stack Developer

Senslytics – QA Engineer

 

Ecosystem Events