Flexport's CEO On The Suez Ship | VC In Oklahoma! | Millions For Food Allergies

The backdrop: Momentum has bubbled in the region over the past few years as needed infrastructure has moved in. Entrepreneurship centers like StarSpace46, based in Oklahoma City, and 36 Degrees North, based in Tulsa, now offer coworking spaces, workshops and events for founders. State universities like Oklahoma State and the University of Oklahoma both have nationally ranked entrepreneurship programs, neither of which existed 20 years ago. “It’s all happened pretty quickly,” Harding says. “A lot of infrastructure and a lot of programs in place really focusing on the early stages and helping entrepreneurs. We want to be at the end of that pipeline.”

The fund: Cortado raised $20 million to focus on pre-seed and seed companies based in Oklahoma. The emerging VC grabbed capital from high net-worth individuals and family offices, most of which are based in Oklahoma and have never invested in the asset class before. The firm plans to invest in about one company per month over the next few years and is saving half of the fund for follow-on rounds. Harding says they are finding great opportunities focused on some of the legacy industries in the state, like energy, supply chain and business services. 

The bottom line: VC opportunities are growing in the state. Oklahoma just minted its first unicorn in 2020, fintech company Alkami Technologies, which hit a $1.27 billion valuation after raising a $140 million round last year (though the company moved some years ago to Plano, Texas). The state also recently passed legislation that will let Sooners deduct up to 60% of an equity investment into a tech company or startup as a way to help promote the diversification of the state’s economy. “This part of the country is often overlooked and underfunded,” says Harding. “There are some legacy industries here ripe for innovation and a lot of talent here to do it.”

The opportunity: Food allergies impact more than 32 million people in the U.S. and the percentage of children and adults with such ailments has been growing, according to research from the Center of Disease Control. Other startups have popped up like Partake Foods, which specializes in allergen-free cookies and counts Jay Z’s venture firm, Marcy Venture Partners, as a backer. It’s telling that AllerFund’s dedicated a fund thesis to the market. So whether it’s Allergy Amulet or another, expect such startups to go mainstream soon.

Sakara Life may be the slow-and-steady tortoise that wins the meal-kit race — at least among U.S. holdouts against Europe’s public leader in the category, Hello Fresh. Profitable and with $150 million in revenue, Sakara Life has raised just $20 million of venture capital. (Forbes) — AK

Online notary startup Notarize helped keep the auto and real estate industries running last year when everything moved online. The company topped off a year of 600% growth with some fresh funding. (Forbes) — BS

In this week’s edition of “Maybe I actually don’t understand venture capital,” Robinhood has filed to go public after a quarter of regulatory turmoil. Will retail investors be able to game the Robinhood stock on the Robinhood app? Asking for a friend. (TechCrunch) — BS

Majority Black-run VC firm MaC Venture Capital has a new $100 million-plus fund. (Fast Company) — AK 

Spark Capital may have set a new venture ethics precedent this week. When the firm backed out of its investment into retro camera startup Dispo, it became the first VC to do so based on the action of an individual who already stepped down.  (Axios) — BS