Oklahoma is fertile ground for entrepreneurs

By Nathaniel Harding

In the past, quitting your day job and starting a new technology company was terrifying and perilous. Fail, and you have to start over. But with the proper support, failing can be a step in the right direction.

The past two years have seen an unmatched explosion of innovations, from the first mRNA vaccine brought to market in late 2020 to the increasing promise of the metaverse to AI becoming a new part of our reality.

Oklahoma is fertile ground for this entrepreneurship, innovation, and acceleration. Gradually, Oklahoma has established critical support for the growing entrepreneurial and tech ecosystem with new legislation that provided more funding for startups, a new tax deduction for Oklahoma venture capital fund investments, and tax credits for software and cybersecurity engineers. In addition, through the Oklahoma Accelerator Program, the state invested $15 million for accelerator programs in OKC, Tulsa and rural Oklahoma, with each geographical area receiving $5 million.

Through public-private partnerships like the match Cortado Ventures and Boyd Street Ventures provided, the Oklahoma City accelerator awardee, gener8tor, is transforming the tech and arts startups in emerging markets like Oklahoma City. Earlier this year brought the beginning of an innovative entrepreneurship hub in Oklahoma City, The Verge OKC.

The Midcontinent market is seeing an inflection point, and this investment and support couldn’t have come at a better time. This is why we’re seeing an unparalleled era of technological disruption. But with a recession looming, we must stay focused.

In 2023, we’ll see many changes in venture capital and entrepreneurship, But as we’ve seen in past cycles, recessions are when companies with excellent fundamentals, whose products generate value for their customers, can take off and shine.

Oklahoma business leaders and investors must continue to move the needle on this wave of entrepreneurship by supporting the startup ecosystem and the innovators solving today’s real problems.

Nathaniel Harding is the managing partner for Cortado Ventures in Oklahoma City.