Authored by Nathaniel Harding, Cortado Ventures Managing Partner
Christmas decorations are back in the attic, holiday cards have given way to New Years greetings, and out-of-office messages dwindle — this marks the time of year we turn our attention towards where we’ve been and our grand plans for the next 12 months. Reflecting on 2024 for Cortado Ventures, several things rise to the top:
- Enterprise value of our investments blew past $1 billion.
- Several companies hit milestones in reaching $1M, $10M, and even $40M in ARR; those and more achieved profitability or key clinical and commercial breakthroughs.
- Closed our $80M Fund II with participation from LPs across the country, including some of the biggest names around.
- Finished the year with financial performance better than ~90% of all VC firms in America.
- Our team rose to every occasion, working on nearly 1,000 opportunities, supporting portfolio companies, and earning top honors with Mike Moradi being named a Kauffman Fellow and Susan Moring a National Venture Capital Association Rising Star.
- With friends and partners in Bentonville, AR, we hosted another stellar Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit, featuring 400 attendees from 30 states and representing nearly $2 trillion in private capital.
- Moved into our new HQ at the stunning Citizen building in downtown Oklahoma City, joining as members of the Verge entrepreneurship hub.
Few imagined we could have accomplished this in four years. The secret is our niche, recognizing that entrepreneurial talent is ripe in the Midcontinent, with the convergence of technology disruption in legacy industries. We focus on enterprise SaaS and frontier technologies in physical and life sciences. We bet big that entrepreneurs emerging from industry — recognizing that intransigent systems and sectors were ripe for digital innovation — could make it happen in the middle of the country, a region long overlooked by coastal VC.
The story goes beyond believing that these entrepreneurs deserved a chance. This third wave of innovation is happening not in spite of being different, but because of that difference. True innovation happens when an outsider connects the dots in a way nobody has before. Imagine somebody who’s been working their whole career in healthcare, an area wrought with inherited methods. They see how AI has improved workflow automation, and they have their lightbulb moment. Without permission or a tired playbook, they merge AI with healthcare systems, and leverage their decades of network and know-how to upend the status quo. That’s what we look for in the Midcontinent, and that’s what we’re finding.
We don’t find inspiration only in our backyard. We travel throughout the Midcontinent, the country, and the world to gain inspiration wherever iconoclasts are iconoclasting. That’s why you’ll find Cortadans in every part of the Midcontinent market and beyond. We gain insights from people with similar world views and adapt our modes of thinking based on inspiration from founders in Dallas, Bentonville, and Albuquerque, same as we do in Singapore, Chile, and Abu Dhabi. We connect our portfolio companies to the centers of capital in San Francisco, Austin, and New York. This is how we source and invest regionally, and connect our companies globally.
Venture capital is a marathon. Our funds have 10-year lives, and an enduring firm is built on a thousand small wins. But when you zoom in on any period of time, it looks like we’re sprinting. I am reminded of a friend and collaborator, Matt Tarver, with whom I went for a run. I had not run in 12 years; he had recently finished a grueling 100-mile ultramarathon. During our run (when my lack of preparation was becoming apparent), Matt pointed out that the best ultra-athletes are more advanced in age. Their superpower is not their youth which is now faded, but their knowledge that they can do more, that they can persist. Wise words as we consider the long game of venture capital.
The last two years have not been kind to venture capital and startups. Capital has evaporated. At Cortado Ventures, we are lucky to have closed our second fund, much larger than our first. This means we can keep investing in an environment where only the strong survive, and those who can keep investing will look even smarter. It’s too early to tell, but our progress so far gives us confidence that our vision was a smart move.
I am eager to share what’s in store for 2025. Some news I’ll have to keep vague for obvious reasons, though our LPs will get the full view at our annual meeting. A sneak peek at what’s ahead:
- Announcing a key partnership at Mar-a-Lago with VVIPs in attendance.
- Meetings at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos to advance this new partnership.
- Hosting our LPs and other guests at our new HQ at the Citizen building, and showcasing the incredible work at the Verge, which has become a hub for regional entrepreneurship.
- Revealing our brand refresh and new look. Same firm, same vision; new look and new home.
- Hosting the Midcontinent Venture Capital Summit the week of April 20 in Tulsa; this has become a market-defining event and most significant of its kind.
- Launching our next fund, building on the success of the first two.
- Announcing a big promotion years in the making, building on our culture of excellence.
- For our LPs, a significant distribution that will put us in the upper echelons of fund performance.
As we wrap up our views on Cortado and the VC market writ large, it’s impossible to ignore the transformative trends shaping our industry in 2025. Frontier technology is increasingly at the heart of venture capital, and for good reason. Energy and power, materials and advanced manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, space and aerospace, cybersecurity, and telecommunications are not only pivotal to innovation but critical to American competitiveness and security. These sectors align with the priorities of the new Trump administration, which has placed a sharp focus on maintaining technological dominance and strengthening strategic partnerships with global allies. Frontier tech is not just an investment theme — it’s a national imperative, and one that Cortado Ventures is uniquely positioned to support through our focus on the Midcontinent, where these industries intersect with legacy expertise and emerging talent.
Cortado Ventures’ commitment to frontier technology, enterprise SaaS and life sciences is central to our strategy for building enduring value. As we look ahead, we’re excited to continue identifying and supporting the visionaries who are shaping the future, whether by creating transformative technologies or unlocking hidden potential in overlooked regions. With the support of our investors, partners, and sponsors, we are ready to sprint into 2025 while keeping our focus on the long game — building a venture capital firm that stands the test of time.
Thank You
We couldn’t have accomplished this without our incredible team:
- Mike Moradi, Co-Founder and Partner, is the ultimate connector and thought leader.
- David Woods, Leader of Professional Development, continues to drive change in our organization and with his recently published book, Old-Fashioned Leadership: Lessons from the Patio.
- Susan Moring, Principal, expertly ties everything together, managing our investment process from pipeline to portfolio to exit, supported by Matt Waraich and Mansi Patel.
- Simone Sparks, Marketing, Communication, and Events Manager, leads with creativity and vision, delivering memorable experiences across our brands, with support from our newest team member, Karsyn Redinger.
- Hailey Moxley, Accounting Manager, stays ahead of the curve with her financial expertise and leadership.
- Our many interns, aka Cortaditos, who have joined us to learn, share, and make an impact — thank you Elizabeth Duncan, Kingsley Uzogor, Michael Millsap, Martha Tsaliki, and Selena Simmons.
I couldn’t be more proud and grateful for these individuals who not only lead within our organization but also make a meaningful impact on the broader ecosystem and community.
About Cortado Ventures
Founded by a team of seasoned CEOs and industry veterans in 2020, Cortado Ventures is a venture capital firm that’s working to define the Midcontinent’s success story for generations to come. Going beyond raising capital to support businesses — Cortado’s deep experience as leaders and innovators helps their portfolio companies accelerate their growth through strategic planning, training, and guidance. With focused efforts on entrepreneurs and startups who are founder-led by people with innovative, disruptive ideas in the energy, mobility and logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare technology sectors that are a natural fit for the Midcontinent region. Learn more at cortado.ventures.