Cortado’s Investment Thesis — a 5-minute explainer
Thinking about pitching your startup to our team at Cortado? Read on to gain a better understanding of the type of companies we’re most likely to invest in.
Since Cortado’s inception in 2020, we’ve invested in 27 companies, each one of which has helped us to further refine our investment thesis. While we are a generalist fund, there are specific things we look for beyond the basics of a good venture investment. We’ve synthesized our investments into three archetypes to help determine whether your startup is the right fit for our investment portfolio.
The Basics of VC Funding
Before we dive in, there are a few basics of a venture-backable startup that all VC firms will look for:
- technology forward
- highly scalable
- operating in large markets
- capable of providing 10x+ returns in 3–5 years, typically via an IPO or M&A event
Check out these resources to get a better feel for what startups may be a good fit for venture funding.
Startups that don’t meet the criteria for VC funding might consider other funding options such as revenue-based financing, SBA loans, or SBIR/STTR grants.
Archetype #1 — Our Sweet Spot
More than 50% of our portfolio is made of startups that meet our core thesis, or our “sweet spot”. These are Oklahoma-based companies building innovative products in legacy sectors. This is our sweet spot for a few key reasons: 1) we bring expertise in these sectors through our extensive LP base of current and former operators , 2) we believe legacy sectors are often the most ripe for innovation, 3) we want to play a role in connecting companies with customers in our region.
Criteria
- Oklahoma-based companies — our goal is for roughly 2/3 of our portfolio to be companies based in OK.
- B2B business models that solve real problems
- Midcontinent legacy sectors in which we have expertise or connections — these include energy, aerospace, manufacturing, logistics, life sciences, and healthcare
- Pre-Seed through Series A — these labels can be somewhat arbitrary, but the earliest we will invest is once there’s a functioning MVP in pilot with at least one customer, or in vivo proof-of-principle for life sciences.
Our Investment Strategy
- For startups in this category, we’re more likely to lead deals
- Larger checks: Likely in the $1–3M range depending on deal stage.
Examples
- Drov — Drov is an Oklahoma-City based technology company innovating the transportation industry with smart technology for tractor trailers and tankers.
Other portfolio companies in our sweet spot:
- Sway (healthcare, Tulsa)
- Sensulin (biotech, OKC)
- Senslytics (energy tech, OKC)
Archetype #2 — Investing Outside of Oklahoma
While we have a preference for investing in Oklahoma-based companies, we invest 30–40% of our fund in companies across the U.S. If you’re a startup looking for funding and not based in Oklahoma, here’s how we’ll likely think about investing in you.
Criteria
- We will invest across the U.S. with a stronger preference for companies in the Midcontinent (states that touch Oklahoma). At this time, we don’t invest internationally.
- Out-of-state investments must be B2B and in our target sectors, including energy, aerospace, manufacturing, logistics, life sciences, and healthcare.
- Pre-Seed through Series A
- Bonus points if you have ties to Oklahoma via a key employee, partner, large customer here, or local accelerator
Our Investment Strategy
- We are less likely to lead out-of-state deals, but it’s still a possibility
- Part of our investment is an expectation that we’ll help you access the Oklahoma and Midcontinent markets as you grow. If there’s no market for you here, it’s probably not a fit for us.
Examples
- AI Driller — AI Driller is a Houston-based company with a unique automation and intelligence platform that helps optimize production for oil & gas companies.
Other portfolio companies in this category:
- Nuview (aerospace, Florida)
- Recuro (healthcare, Texas)
- Ox (supply chain/logistic, Arkansas)
Archetype #3 — Catalyzing Oklahoma Entrepreneurs Outside of our Typical Thesis
Our final archetype, making up less than 10% of our portfolio, is for early-stage companies that are based in Oklahoma but don’t fit our sweet spot in terms of sector or business model. With only a handful of venture funds in the state of Oklahoma, we want to help make sure that the best Oklahoma companies get funded, even if they’re not in our specific thesis or expertise. The bar is high for these companies since they’ll only make up a small portion of our portfolio.
Criteria/Description
- Based in Oklahoma
- Very early stage (probably pre-seed)
- Outside of our target sectors or models, which may includeB2C, web3, edtech, or media/entertainment.
Our Investment Strategy
- We likely won’t lead, and may look for other investors in the round who have expertise in the sector to come in first.
- Smaller checks: $300k or less
- We’ll help be a catalyst to your next round and will work to connect you with other investors.
Examples
- Boddle — Boddle is an early stage EdTech company based in Tulsa that’s building educational video games to help students learn math skills.
Other companies in our portfolio from this category:
- Fansub (media/entertainment, Tulsa)
Next Steps
If you think you might be a fit, head to www.cortado.ventures/contact-us and complete our intake form. We review all applications that come in through our intake form and guarantee a timely response. And don’t hesitate to reach out before you’re ready to raise funds. We love meeting entrepreneurs where they are and being a thought partner in your fundraising strategy. We can’t wait to hear from you!
About Cortado Ventures| Cortado Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that invests in ambitious, growth-driven companies, defining a new generation of economic prosperity for the Midcontinent region.
As one of the largest VC funds in Oklahoma, Cortado’s focus is on tech companies bringing innovative solutions to the energy, logistics, life sciences, aerospace, and the future of work sectors. For more information, visit cortado.ventures.
