Authored by Joy Akande | 03/03/2026
Read the article here.
In honor of Women’s History Month, Cortado Ventures is highlighting some of the female founders within our portfolio companies. Since 2020, women have heavily contributed to the rise of entrepreneurism in the United States. Women made up 47% of new business owners in 2022. Oklahoma City even saw an increase in its share of female entrepreneurs, going from 24% in 2019 to 30% in 2023. These increases show us that women here, in the region, and nationwide are making big moves, and doing everything to prove why they deserve the attention they’re getting.
We interviewed 6 women, innovating in sectors from future of work to healthcare to mobility & logistics.
These are the Women Leading the Build.
In this Feature
Listed In Order of Appearance
Robin Roberson — Agentech
Allison L. Watkins — Watkins-Conti Products, Inc.
Dr. Carol Curtis — Cadenza Bio
Dr. Elaine Hamm — Cadenza Bio
Dr. Pinkey Patel — Myri Health
Katie Graumann — NUVIEW
Future of Work
Robin Roberson — Agentech
Robin Roberson is the President and Co-Founder of Agentech, a company dedicated to building AI-powered tools that simplify and streamline the work of claims adjusters. Cortado Ventures invested in Agentech in December of 2024. A serial entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience in solution development, she specializes in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and digital strategy. A mother and breast cancer survivor, Robin brings resilience and purpose to her leadership, combining technical expertise with a passion for building technology that solves real-world problems.
Q&A with Robin Roberson
What leadership muscle have you had to build the most as your company has grown?
“The leadership skill I have had to strengthen the most as our company has grown is continuous learning, especially when it comes to artificial intelligence and its rapid evolution. The pace of change in this field is extraordinary, requiring constant focus as new models and features emerge. Balancing that ongoing learning with the fast-moving demands of a startup environment keeps my mind sharp and constantly challenged. #MoreCoffeePlease”
What feedback was hardest to hear but most useful?
“The feedback that was hardest to hear, but ultimately the most valuable, was the importance of maintaining focus on one area and truly perfecting it. I have a natural tendency to want to solve every problem at once, rather than concentrating on becoming exceptionally strong in one or two key areas. Learning to resist that impulse has been an important lesson. If you spread yourself too thin, you are unlikely to excel at anything. By identifying a few core areas and committing to them, you give yourself the opportunity to become truly outstanding.”
What milestone are you most proud of that didn’t make a headline?
“A milestone that I am most proud of, and that did not make any headlines, is reaching my five year cancer free mark. I was diagnosed with two types of breast cancer in 2020, and having lost my grandmother, two aunts, and an uncle to cancer made that diagnosis especially difficult. Yet I am still here, and I recently celebrated another meaningful milestone by welcoming my first grandchild, who is now four months old. My favorite milestones are always the ones that happen outside of work, and they remind me to truly live my life.”
What are you most excited to build next?
“I am focused on building on Agentech’s strong foundation and helping the company grow into one of the leading artificial intelligence software providers in the insurance industry over the next several years. At the same time, what excites me most is building my legacy as a grandmother, both alongside this work and in the years that follow.”
Is there a quote or book that has resonated with you in your career?
“I highly recommend The Innovator’s Dilemma by Clayton Christensen. It offers powerful insight into how even successful companies can miss transformational opportunities, and it has strongly influenced the way I think about innovation and growth.”
Robin shared this message in regards to her journey, which can serve as inspiration to many:
“Life is too short not to bring your ideas to life. I have failed, and I have been successful, but I have always stayed true to myself. Because of that, I will never have to wonder whether something might have worked if I had only tried.”
Connect with Robin Roberson here.
Healthcare
Allison Watkins — Watkins-Conti Products, Inc.
Allison Watkins is the Founder and CEO of Watkins-Conti Products, Inc., a healthcare company advancing innovative solutions for women’s pelvic health. Cortado Ventures invested in Watkins-Conti Products, Inc. in August of 2021. A multi-patent inventor, she has successfully guided the company through FDA clearance while earning recognition for her leadership in women-led healthcare innovation. Allison is committed to improving women’s health outcomes through science-driven product development and entrepreneurial vision.
Q&A with Allison Watkins
What’s one thing people often misunderstand about your industry or market?
“People often misunderstand that surgical solutions may be the “gold standard” –- but that is according to surgeons! It is not necessarily the consumer’s preference. For women who still intend to become pregnant, surgery is not an option. Sometimes the ideal solutions are less invasive and less expensive.”
Where do you spend your time now vs. at the beginning?
“Previously I was focused on clinical trials and proving to the FDA that our product is safe and efficacious. In the last year, post FDA clearance, I have pivoted to ensuring revenue-generation. This is a whole new animal that requires a different focus and resources.”
What feedback was hardest to hear but most useful?
“I have two advisors that always tell me the speed bumps I am going to run into. We have bi-weekly meetings, and honestly, I hate them — but they are necessary. I cannot say that one piece of advice is easier or harder. When you are so emotionally attached to your business, hearing the walls you are about to run into is never easy. Learning to focus on one thing at a time is difficult when I have so many ideas I want to implement.”
What are you most excited to build next?
“Harnessing the power of what we’ve built so far and exploring what else is possible.”
How do you typically unwind?
“I like to unwind by practicing hot yoga. It positively impacts both my mind and my body.”
What is your go-to karaoke song?
“Dreams by Fleetwood Mac.”
Connect with Allison Watkins here.
Dr. Carol Curtis — Cadenza Bio
Dr. Carol Curtis is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cadenza Bio, a biotechnology company developing orally administered small-molecule therapies to treat demyelinating and inflammatory diseases. Cortado Ventures invested in Cadenza Bio in January of 2024. She brings deep expertise in company building, early-stage venture capital, R&D leadership, and FDA engagement. She is motivated by work that brings together scientific rigor and patient impact. Dr. Curtis believes the key to building something meaningful depends on time, trust, and the shared commitment. In addition to leading Cadenza Bio, she also supports early-stage life science ventures and investors through select consulting engagements, helping translate scientific innovation into viable companies.
Q&A with Dr. Carol Curtis
What leadership muscle have you had to build the most as your company has grown?
“As the company has grown, I’ve learned that it’s neither possible nor productive to do everything myself, and that working with others is essential to moving the work forward.”
What advice would you give to an early-stage female founder?
“Be confident — no one is ever fully prepared to launch a company, and it’s impossible to anticipate or plan for everything that will happen. Lean on your network and don’t be afraid to reach out to key opinion leaders; many people are genuinely willing to share their expertise and perspective.”
What leadership characteristic do you think women founders bring to the table that’s often undervalued?
“I think female founders often have a unique ability to integrate scientific, clinical, operational, and human perspectives simultaneously, and to make decisions that balance thoughtful discipline with a clear focus on patient impact.”
What are you most excited to build next?
“I’m excited by both the work we’re doing now and what lies ahead — advancing programs with the potential to meaningfully change patient outcomes while continuing to build an organization grounded in scientific integrity, thoughtful leadership, and a long-term view of impact.”
How do you typically unwind?
“I typically unwind by taking my dog for a walk, spending time with my kids, and binge-watching a good TV series with my husband. I also enjoy catching up with friends over lunch or happy hour, and I’m currently learning Mahjong!”
Connect with Dr. Carol Curtis here.
Dr. Elaine Hamm — Cadenza Bio
Dr. Elaine Hamm is the Co-Founder and COO of Cadenza Bio, where she leads operational strategy and execution. She brings extensive experience in drug development, technology transfer, company formation, and investment. In addition to her work at Cadenza Bio, she serves as CEO of Ascend BioVentures, a pharmaceutical accelerator focused on advancing high-potential therapeutics. Dr. Hamm is dedicated to building and scaling life sciences companies that deliver meaningful clinical impact.
Q&A with Dr. Elaine Hamm
What leadership muscle have you had to build the most as your company has grown?
“My salesmanship. Being a scientist, we always think that science should speak for itself…but when you are raising capital or looking for partners, she who communicates best, gets the deal.”
What’s a hard decision you had to make that changed the trajectory of the company?
“Leaving the bench and academia. I thought going to the business side would cause me to lose my scientist card. But really it has allowed me to think about science differently and better reach the goal of all scientists….to perpetuate knowledge.”
What advice would you give to an early-stage female founder?
“STOP UNDERESTIMATING YOURSELF. People with less skill and knowledge than you are able to succeed…so why not you?”
What leadership characteristic do you think women founders bring to the table that’s often undervalued?
“I find that most women leaders I admire are do-ers. They talk the talk, but they also walk the walk. While others are out there marketing promises, they are making good on theirs. And they also help promote other women who are do-ers too. I have received more help and support from other female founders than some board members!”
Do you have any hobbies?
“I am too analytical so I have been trying to get out of my head by focusing on my creative side. I usually have a small watercolor set on hand. I like to do that when I am stuck on a problem as it forces me to get out of my head and engage different neurons. Watercolor also doesn’t require perfection so I don’t have to be perfect either.
I also like to play the piano, cross-stitch, and build miniatures. My husband and I also like to antique, foster dogs, and of course, we also run a wine bar in OKC called The Study.”
What is your go-to karaoke song?
“Celebrity Skin by Hole”
Dr. Hamm left us with a message of leaning into whatever passion one might have and fully embracing it. “Passion is always key for entrepreneurs and I worry so much about “selling” that I can forget why I found it cool in the first place,” she said. She emphasized the importance of always bringing herself back to why she chose this life in the first place, her love of science.
Connect with Dr. Elaine Hamm here.
Dr. Pinkey Patel — Myri Health
Dr. Pinkey Patel is the Founder and CEO of Myri Health, a company she created while pregnant with her second child after recognizing critical gaps in maternal healthcare. Cortado Ventures invested in Myri Health in January of 2023. Motivated by both personal experience and professional insight, she set out to build a better solution for mothers. A Clinical Pharmacist and Pre/Postnatal Corrective Exercise Specialist, Dr. Patel combines medical expertise with firsthand understanding to develop practical, evidence-based solutions that support women throughout their maternal journey.
Q&A with Dr. Pinkey Patel
What’s one thing people often misunderstand about your industry or market?
“Women’s health gets mislabeled as a “niche,” and that tells me people don’t understand either math or markets. Women are ~50% of the population, and maternal health impacts 100% of families, because every human being is born. And women drive the buying behavior: women make about 80% of healthcare decisions in the U.S.
What’s actually “niche” is the amount of funding and infrastructure women’s health has historically received. Even in modern venture, women’s health companies captured only a small slice of VC funding, for example, one analysis cited ~2.3% in 2024.
And zoom out historically: women weren’t even legally required to be included in NIH-funded clinical research until the NIH Revitalization Act of 1993. That’s not ancient history…that’s our lifetime. Which means it requires even more attention. So when people say “niche,” what they really mean is: the system wasn’t built for women.. and now we’re building the infrastructure it should’ve had all along.
If you think women’s health is niche, you’re basically saying the majority of healthcare purchasing power is niche. Which is… a bold strategy.”
What’s a hard decision you had to make that changed the trajectory of the company?
“A hard decision that changed our trajectory was choosing to expand beyond the U.S. and pursue select international markets, not as a “nice-to-have,” but as a strategic growth lane supported by demand signal, relationships, and timing.
A lot of people told us we were thinking too big… and others told us we weren’t thinking big enough. That’s the entrepreneur soundtrack on repeat, am I right? Especially if you are a woman.
But, markets and data don’t lie. And, that’s how I lead. When you see the same maternal gaps show up across geographies, fragmentation, lack of postpartum support, preventable complications, you either keep playing small, or you build for scale. With interoperability and responsibility, of course.
So we made the call to build a platform that can operate as maternal infrastructure, not just a point solution, and that decision has shaped everything: partnerships, integration strategy, and how we think about long-term enterprise value.”
What feedback was hardest to hear but most useful?
“The hardest and most useful feedback wasn’t from random VCs. It came from the people closest to the work: moms and providers. Those who are are impacting and the core of the mission. When we expanded our platform to engage care teams, we learned fast that a “great product” doesn’t matter if it doesn’t fit workflow reality. Adoption isn’t about features, it’s about friction. You can build something flashy and gold, but if no one uses it or finds value in it, it does not matter. The beauty of Myri is that community is at the core of our mission and is embedded into our DNA. Our community trusts us, and we built that brick by brick. When you earn trust, you get access to stories and real user feedback. Nail that, first. Especially when you’re bootstrapped and extremely capital efficient.
At the same time, moms were crystal clear: some features are emotionally comforting, but not all of them drive outcomes. So we had to get ruthless about what was truly a must-have, what drove behavior change, and what created measurable impact versus what was simply “nice.” That feedback forced us to build with more precision, and honestly, it made the company better.”
What advice would you give to an early-stage female founder?
“Your success is tied to the velocity of your pivots and the quality of your mindset. Period.
You need to learn how to suffer well, meaning: build strength without building so much scar tissue that you can adapt.
Markets change. People change. Opinions fly in from every angle like the cars that get thrown at me from my toddler at 8 AM. But founders who win are the ones who can keep it moving with imperfect information and still execute.
Remember, imperfect action beats perfect inaction every single day. And one more thing: how you do anything is how you do everything, so protect your standards, even when you’re tired.”
What are you most excited to build next?
“I’m most excited to expand Myri beyond pregnancy/postpartum into the full continuum of women’s health, building a platform that supports women across life stages with the same philosophy: prevention-first, personalized, outcomes-driven.
Maternal health is the wedge, but the long-term vision is broader infrastructure, because women don’t stop needing care when the 6-week postpartum visit ends.”
How do you typically unwind?
“Dance parties with my kids, cooking with them, a walk, or a workout. If I’m being honest… sometimes it’s just sitting in silence like it’s a luxury resort in Bali.”
Dr. Patel left us with this message, stressing the power of owning your voice:
“I’m a first-generation immigrant kid, my parents came to America with $7, and I grew up watching what grit looks like when there’s no safety net. That shaped how I build: I’m data-driven, resilient, and allergic to excuses. I don’t romanticize the grind, but I do believe this: no one else has your combination of lived experience, skill, and perspective. So own your voice, and build like it matters.”
Connect with Dr. Pinkey Patel here.’
Mobility & Logistics
Katie Graumann — NUVIEW
Katie Graumann is the COO and Co-Founder of NUVIEW, a commercial space company building the world’s first commercial LiDAR satellite constellation to map the Earth in high-resolution 3D. Cortado Ventures invested in NUVIEW in December of 2021. She leads operations, organizational design, and brand execution as the company advances from concept to contracted government programs and commercial deployment. Katie brings competitive discipline and structured execution to advancing next-generation space infrastructure.
Q&A with Katie Graumann
What’s one thing people often misunderstand about your industry or market?
“The biggest misunderstanding is that the space industry is just about ‘reaching’ space; the launch, the rockets, and the hardware. In reality, the most significant part of our industry happens after the launch: it’s about the intelligence we bring back down.
People often view a satellite as the end goal, but for us, the satellite is just the delivery mechanism. The real value, and the part that is often undervalued, is the accuracy of the date itself. We aren’t just building space systems; we are building the high-fidelity ‘truth’ that allows leaders on Earth to make better decisions. This is vital for everything from delivering the critical climate intelligence needed to accurately measure forest carbon or predict coastal risk, and enabling rapid, quantifiable damage assessment for disaster response, to providing the non-negotiable foundation for defense and security applications. It’s not a race to a destination, but an ongoing mission to provide clarity and absolute certainty for our own planet.”
What advice would you give to an early-stage female founder?
“Be your biggest cheerleader. In business, professional wins are often evaluated in isolation. But, many women are building companies while also carrying significant responsibility at home. That added load is real, even if it rarely shows up in how success is measured. Do not wait for recognition to validate your effort. Be precise about your results. Speak about what you have built without minimizing it. If you are operating across multiple arenas, acknowledge that it takes stamina. Give yourself credit for both the company you are building and the life you are sustaining, because no one else will track the full picture for you.”
Who is another woman in your industry that you admire?
“While there are many notable women in the space industry, the person I truly admire is Jean Ashby on our operations team. In an industry that often celebrates individual technical headlines, Jean represents the quiet, essential work that actually makes stuff happen. She is the person who has everyone’s back and ensures no one gets left behind. She brings a level of consistency and selfless dedication to our team every single day. To me, that kind of sustained commitment to the collective is far more inspiring than any public recognition.”
What milestone are you most proud of that didn’t make a headline?
“Successfully validating our tech at Kennedy Space Center in a long-range test was a proud moment, because it moved our company from vision to reality. It wasn’t a public headline, but it was our ‘moment of truth.’ In an industry where everything starts as a theoretical model, seeing that system perform in a real-world environment was amazing. It was the moment we proved that our bold ideas were achievable.”
What are you most excited to build next?
“Seeing commercial LiDAR operate beyond Earth orbit. Advancing from terrestrial data to lunar applications with our Moonraker mission is not just symbolic. It expands how we think about terrain mapping, landing safety, and long-term infrastructure in space. It represents the next practical step, not just a headline moment.”
How do you typically unwind?
“I make a conscious effort to pause. Unwinding doesn’t happen automatically just because work stops. You have to decide to let go, even if it’s just for a moment. It can be as simple as standing in the shower and actually noticing the water, or feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin when you are outside instead of running through the next task in your head.
The harder part though is quieting the guilt. There is always more that could be done. Letting yourself step away, without negotiating with that voice, takes practice. So for me, unwinding is less about doing something else, but more about being intentional with the pause and being present in the moment.”
This final statement from Katie can serve as a reminder for any founder:
“Building a company is not glamorous day-to-day. It’s a process of careful planning, technical humility, and sustained commitment. I am incredibly proud to work alongside a team that is willing to do the quiet, uncelebrated work required to turn our ambitious vision into physical reality. From the engineers to the operations team, everyone plays an integral part in moving this mission forward.”
Connect with Katie Graumann here.
We are proud to build alongside these founders and support them as they continue to pave ways in Oklahoma and the entire Midcontinent region.
Happy Women’s History Month to every woman — the individuals, mothers, sisters, daughters, and friends who continuously show up for themselves and those around them. We use this month to honor the progress that has been achieved thus far, and the progress yet to come. We’re pleased to honor those achievements, big or small.
About Cortado Ventures
Cortado Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in ambitious, growth-driven companies, backing a new generation of economic prosperity for the Midcontinent region, defined as Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado, Kansas and New Mexico. As one of the largest VC funds in Oklahoma, Cortado’s focus is on tech companies bringing innovative solutions to the energy and logistics, life sciences, and the future of work sectors. For more information, visit cortado.ventures.