From Idea to Impact: Creating a $20 Million Fund During Crisis w/ Mike Moradi, Cortado Ventures

𝐎𝐤𝐥𝐚𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐚-𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐝𝐨 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 $𝟐𝟎𝐌 𝐝𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 - how did this happen? This week’s episode features Mike Moradi, one of the GPs of Cortado Ventures, also the co-founder and also a portfolio company CEO, the CEO of Sensulin, where the company Sensulin is developing a glucose responsive insulin which will drastically reduce the number of injections diabetes patients will have to take. Our conversation is wide ranging from how he first got the entrepreneurial bug, which landed him a $10 million exit at 25 years old, to then leading $10 million in six weeks for Cortado’s fund one, and what's broken in America's health care system. TIMESTAMPS / KEY TAKEAWAYS 0:00 - Intro 2:17 - Growing up with diversity and the entrepreneurial bug 5:26 - The culture and diversity scene in mid-continent America; Oklahoma VS Bay Area 8:52 - From dentistry to failing first company, then landed a $10 million exit at 25 years old 11:35 - The key to successful exit and ‘superpower’ as a serial entrepreneur 13:14 - Addressing diabetes and insulin: building Sensulin 18:23 - Challenges as the CEO of Sensulin 20:52 - Where life sciences is today: innovation and it’s consequences; AI and healthcare 24:24 - Why is healthcare broken in America? 25:40 - James Rogers; incentive structures between different stakeholders  28:19 - Advice to entrepreneurs building B2B SaaS company; be the clock maker 29:34 - Cortado Ventures: raising $10 million in six weeks during pandamic 32:05 - Reason behind Cortado fund I success; the room for innovation In times of great disruption 34:29 - What makes a good fund? Common mistakes made by fund managers 39:24 - Takeaways from both sides of the table: GP for Cortado Ventures and CEO of Sensulin 41:56 - Billion Dollar Questions  About Mike Moradi Mike Moradi is an American biochemist, entrepreneur and diabetes advocate. Mike is a co-founder / CEO of Sensulin, a company that strives to provide a once-a-day solution for type I/II diabetics. He has founded or helped establish more than a dozen nanotechnology and biotechnology companies. MORE ABOUT MIKE: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemoradi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Moradi - PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://billiondollarmoves.com Watch on Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/sarahchenglobal Join the community: https://sarah-chen.ck.page/billiondollarmoves FOLLOW SARAH: LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/sarahchenglobal Instagram: https://instagram.com/sarahchenglobal Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahchenglobal