Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
Read about OU I-HUB in our Builders Highlight. Our next investment is in stealth mode…for now. MITO, a portfolio company, announced its first official commercial application with Folsom. We introduce our venture scouts for 2021 and new research fellow from Harvard University. Cortado is hosting a Founder Hour on the 29th to meet the team and learn more about VC. Also, we share information on two upcoming events in Oklahoma: Rise of the Rest Event and Innovation District Panel Event. Lastly, Harding was highlighted by the Oklahoma Innovative Technology Alliance in a short video.
What Lies Ahead:
- Builder Highlight: OU I-HUB
- Upcoming New Investment
- MITO News on Flagship Product, E-GO
- Meet Our Scouts
- Meet Our Research Fellow
- July 29th Founder Hour
- Rise of the Rest Event
- Innovation District Panel Event
- Harding Featured in OITA Video
Builders Highlight: OU I-HUB
OU I-Hub was selected as this month’s Builder Highlight. The I-HUB is a space dedicated to increasing innovation and entrepreneurship across OU and the Oklahoma community. They offer a variety of classes and programs for a wide audience ranging from students to entrepreneurs to startups. The Innovation Hub previously launched the OU Startup Programs, which consists of a series of programs designed to foster and grow entrepreneurial development at the University of Oklahoma. The Innovation Hub offers several resources to community members seeking to launch a technology-focused venture or prototype the next great innovation, including a fabrication lab, catalyst programs, and a prototyping center.
Upcoming New Investment
Cortado Ventures is gearing up to announce its latest investment. While we can’t share about the company now while in stealth mode, we are very excited about the potential and partners. Keep an eye out for the big announcement on Cortado’s social media pages and website!
MITO News on Flagship Product, E-GO
MITO Materials Solution’s, Cortado portfolio company, announces flagship product, E-GO, will appear in Folsom Custom Ski’s next generation 2021 line. E-GO is a functionalized graphene additive used in fiber-reinforced materials to increase mechanical performance, durability, and product longevity. E-GO is designed for any composite material application, whether its sporting goods, automotive, or aerospace and consistently delivers the promise of graphene: lighter, tougher, more durable products.
“After putting E-GO to the test, skiing throughout the season, our Folsom team was convinced that MITO added a ‘muscularity’ to the ski that wasn’t there before. There were notable improvements in the flex, dampening, and structural properties that you could quantify in the lab and on the slopes. Simply put, MITO enabled us to build lighter, longer-lasting and more powerful skis”, Mike McCabe, CEO of Folsom.
Read more about it here.
Meet Our Scouts
Cortado is excited to announce its inaugural cohort of Venture Scouts! Scouts are founders and ecosystem builders from Oklahoma and across the U.S., and they’ll work with Cortado to refer early stage deals in our target sectors. We’re excited to have them on board and to increase our top-of-the-funnel deal flow through their networks and connections. Welcome to the team!
Meet Our Research Fellow
In our ongoing efforts to understand and capitalize on “what’s next” in innovation, Cortado has developed a new part-time position: Research Fellow. We welcome Patrick Sweeney as Research Fellow to Cortado Ventures. Patrick helps develop our research, insight, and narrative supporting our investment thesis behind the companies in which we invest. He is a research associate at Harvard Business School, where he researches venture capitalism, private equity, innovation, entrepreneurship, and diversity.
You can read Patrick’s first work here.
July 29th Founder Hour
Join the Cortado team for happy hour on July 29th and bring your questions about VC and startups! Attendees will have the opportunity to meet team members from Cortado and Cortado portfolio companies and learn more about venture capital and Cortado’s funding process. The event will take place Thursday, 7/29, from 4-6pm at Skyline, an event venue in the same building as Cortado’s offices. Founder Hour will be a recurring event and is open to the first 20 founders that RSVP.
Register to attend here!
Rise of the Rest Event
Revolution’s Rise of the Rest® Road Trip with Steve Case is coming to Oklahoma. Applications are now open for their $100,000 pitch competitions at each stop. The road trip series is a nationwide effort to work closely with entrepreneurs in emerging startup ecosystems all across the country. Rise of the Rest also invests in the most promising high-growth startups located anywhere in the U.S. outside of Silicon Valley, New York City, and Boston through the Rise of the Rest Seed Fund. The fund is backed by an iconic group of investors, executives and entrepreneurs including Jeff Bezos, Eric Schmidt, John Doerr, Sara Blakely, and Ray Dalio, and has invested in more than 150 companies across 70+ cities.
Founders can apply until August 22nd. Apply here.
Innovation District Panel Event
Join Cortado at the “Get Funded” event hosted by the Oklahoma City Innovation District! Attendees will hear from expert panelists from venture capital firms, angel funds, and government funding sources from across Oklahoma. Come prepared to learn how to gauge the appropriate amount of funding for your entrepreneurial venture, what type of funding you should apply for, and what materials you need to prepare for meeting with funders.
Register here.
Harding Featured in OITA Video
The Oklahoma Innovative Technology Alliance (“OITA”) created a short video to highlight Nathaniel Harding. OITA was created to give Oklahoma IT companies a voice in the public policy process. OITA is committed to investing in Oklahoma as they create jobs while diversifying and growing the economy. To learn more about OITA, visit their website.
Watch the video here.