Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF)
Read about Oklahoma Entrepreneur Mentor Program’s third cohort in our Builders Highlight. Cortado is co-hosting the OVRC on the Road Event TODAY at Skyline. We introduce Boddle, an edtech company with a math-based computer game for students. Drov Technologies is debuting their AirBoxOne Product this month at the TMC exhibition in Ohio. Respond Flow and Recuro Health announced their next funding rounds. Mansi Patel, an MBA student at the University of Oklahoma, joins Cortado as an intern. This month’s blog post featured Cortado’s new funding application form that allows for quick responses and feedback. To close this month, we share the summer events Cortado spoke at across Oklahoma.
What Lies Ahead:
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Builder Highlight: Oklahoma Entrepreneur Mentor Program (OKEMP)
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Cortado To Co-Host OVRC Event @ Skyline TODAY
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Cortado Invests In Boddle
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Drov Debuts AirBoxOne Product
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Respond Flow Announced Next Funding Round
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Recuro Announced Next Funding Round
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Mansi Patel Joins As Intern
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Blog: The Fundraising Experience That Changed How We Do Business
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Cortado In The Community
Builder Highlight: Oklahoma Entrepreneur Mentor Program (OKEMP)
OKEMP is a locally-operated program licensed from MIT’s Venture Mentoring Service that matches both prospective and experienced entrepreneurs with skilled volunteer mentors. They just announced their third cohort Oklahoma entrepreneurs with candidates from mainly the Oklahoma City area, but also Tulsa and Langston. OKEMP uses a team mentoring approach with groups of 3 to 4 mentors sitting with the entrepreneur(s) in sessions that provide practical, day-to-day professional advice and coaching. Entrepreneurs meet with their designated mentor team 3-6 times per year on a long-term basis. Read more about the selected entrepreneurs here.
Cortado To Co-Host OVRC Event @ Skyline TODAY
OVRC on the Road is designed with one goal in mind – make Oklahoma a better place for entrepreneurs. This event was started to help facilitate meaningful connections between founders, funders, and others in the ecosystem. The event is an opportunity for you to speak candidly about how you’d like to see the state improve. You’ll hear from a few speakers, including Cortado Ventures, and get a chance to spend the afternoon networking and enjoying a beverage. OVRC aims to level the playing field between founders and funders to allow open dialogue about what each side needs to see. Click here to RSVP.
Cortado Invests In Boddle
Cortado is excited to announce our investment in Boddle. Tulsa-based Boddle is an edtech company with a math-based computer game for students, with a long-term goal of developing a curriculum agnostic and marketplace platform. In recent months, they have continually hit milestones and have seen tremendous user growth with over 400,000 registered users on the platform. With this investment, Cortado is capitalizing on the global move to online education. We have been very impressed with the founding team with their background in gaming and their ability to earn publicity within the education community. Cortado is poised to help with our team and network’s connections in the largest school districts in the state.
Drov Debuts AirBoxOne Product
Drov Technologies debuted their AirBoxOne product, the most comprehensive smart trailer on the market, at the TMC 2021 Fall Meeting & Transportation Technology Exhibition in Cleveland OH on September 13-15. TMC is home to trucking’s leading fleet professionals, vehicle manufacturers, and component suppliers. It is the industry’s leading forum for getting things done collaboratively. From brakes to bearings, from scanners to software, ATA’s Technology & Maintenance Council’s (TMC) Study Groups and Task Forces cover it all.
Respond Flow Announced Next Funding Round
Cortado Ventures is pleased to congratulate portfolio company Respond Flow on their $2.5 million seed round led by Mercury, with participation from Atento Capital and Cortado Ventures. Respond Flow has achieved tremendous growth since it started in 2019. The software startup helps steer organizations through the complexities of mass text message compliance. Respond Flow recently relocated from Oklahoma City to Tulsa, and is rapidly expanding its footprint in the 36 Degrees North co-working space at Tulsa City Hall. The company will use the funds to expand its Tulsa-based operations, building out its development and sales teams. Read more about it here.
Recuro Announced Next Funding Round
Cortado Ventures is pleased to congratulate portfolio company Recuro Health on their $15 million Series A led by ARCH Venture Partners, with follow-on support from existing Seed Round-investors including Oklahoma Life Science Fund (OLSF), 1843 Capital, Sage Ventures, and Cortado Ventures. Recuro has grown its virtual health platform to include its May acquisition of SupDoc, an AI-enabled telehealth startup with a holistic, cost-effective model for care delivery. With these funds, Recuro will continue its ongoing acquisition strategy and market expansion, as well as to further build upon growth. Read more about it here.
Mansi Patel Joins As Intern
Mansi Patel is currently a second year MBA student at the University of Oklahoma focusing on entrepreneurship and finance. Mansi completed an impressive summer internship with a London-based fintech startup in partnership with the London School of Economics, and we’re thrilled to have her interning with us this Fall. She is a Norman, OK native with a passion for traveling and exploring different cultures. Welcome, Mansi!
Blog: The Fundraising Experience That Changed How We Do Business
Raising capital is a process that starts with thoughtfully contacting hundreds of potential investors. From that, you hope to hear back from most and land dozens of productive meetings. Most likely though, you never hear back. We always strive to respond quickly. We even developed our own smart form for entrepreneurs to tell us about their company in less than 3 minutes, after which the entrepreneur can usually get an answer that same day. This form also helps us quickly understand more about the company, so we can provide meaningful feedback and referrals. Read the full article here.
Cortado In The Community
Over the summer, Nathaniel Harding and Susan Moring spoke at several events across Oklahoma. These events included: OU MBA, Oklahoma Venture Forum, OKC Innovation District, Oklahoma Business Roundtable, Stillwater Region Banker’s Breakfast for Small Business. At Cortado Ventures, we believe in investing knowledge back into the community and sharing our experiences.
“I’m always energized when I get to talk about my passion for what I do, and share what I’ve learned (and more importantly what I’ve unlearned and failed at) with students,” said Harding.