Midcon Markup

Midcon Markup Ep. 19: Bringing Canadian Founder Energy to Oklahoma VC with Matt Waraich

Moving from Vancouver, British Colombia to Oklahoma City, OK is rare enough, let alone for venture capital. According to Matt Waraich, the geographic arbitrage thesis of non-coastal venture firms is resonating in coastal markets more than Oklahomans realize. Tune in to hear what attracted him to Cortado Ventures, why he made such a large career bet transitioning from Canadian founder to Oklahoma venture capitalist, and how founders can best communicate with him and other VCs.

Midcon Markup Ep. 18: Dedicating Your Life to Social Impact with Ed Long

New research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) demonstrates an overwhelming negative correlation between the severity/frequency of childhood trauma and lifetime well-being outcomes. Ed Long overcame childhood trauma to pursue a Master's of Public Administration and completed all coursework for a Ph.D. in Political Science. However, instead of following the direct government path, he set his sights on driving broader change. Tune in to hear how Ed leverages his research background to become a social impact pioneer, optimizing sustainable solutions for social problems with economic models that attract public, private, and philanthropic capital.

Midcon Markup Ep. 17: How Mike Beckham Sought Competiton and Won Big on Amazon

Tech exit to selling "commoditized" waterbottles on Amazon? Mike Beckham must be crazy! After 9 years of rapid growth with his company Simple Modern, Mike has proved his doubters wrong by leaning in to competion to eliminate market risk. Tune in to hear how Mike leveraged Amazon's customer pipeline, outcompeted 3rd party sellers for water Bottles, created a category for "Drinkware as a Fashion Accessory," and has built a sustainable empire with community contribution at the core.

Midcon Markup Ep. 16: Championship-pedigreed founder Trent Smith Scores with AI for Nurses

Trent Smith succeeds at every major endeavor he pursues. He was a Junior Olympic Taekwondo Champion, an All-American national champion football player in college, and a tight-end for numerous NFL franchises. Tune in to learn how he is now leveraging 8 years of experience owning and operating a home health company and a curiosity about LLMs to revolutionize the home healthcare nursing profession.

Midcon Markup Ep. 15: Love at First Sight with Oklahoma City with Selena Skorman

Most people would move away the second a relationship ends that brought them to a new market. Most people also don't have the resilience, charm, and big heart of Selena Skorman who fell mutually in love with her new home Oklahoma City. Cultivated via nonprofit arts and innovation leadership positions, Selena's community icon status positioned her to be the Oklahoma face of gener8tor, a top national startup accelerator.

Midcon Markup Ep. 14: Operational Excellence Transfers Everywhere with Brad Richardson

At face value, owning and operating car dealerships couldn't be more different than serving as a lead executive of a high-growth tech company. Brad Richardson's incredible career journey proves that relationships and operational excellence translate to any other professional endeavor. From the family car business to overseeing Paycom's the high-growth phase, Brad shares the method to his madness in this insight-packed episode! 

Midcon Markup Ep. 13: Obsessed with Expanding Access to Car Ownership with Brandon Stokes

In most U.S. cities, a car is vital to maintaining employment and supporting a family. Unfortunately, millions of Americans are locked out of car ownership because legacy credit data tells an incomplete picture of personal finances. Tune in to hear how serial founder, former banker, and current car dealership owner Brandon Stokes de-risking lending to thin-credit car buyers with his startup is Buyable!

Midcon Markup Ep. 12: Dropped out of College to Found a Startup

A lifelong passion for cars and entrepreneurship has guided John Habeck's career. He masterfully stacked freelance auto industry experiences, starting with photographing dealership inventory and then providing basic website services. Tune in to hear how he learned his customer's pain points and built a venture-backed product to help them sell more cars.

Midcon Markup Ep. 11: AI Arm's Race for for Geopolitical Dominance

With expertise in AI, nuclear power, cybersecurity efforts, and risk mitigation, Hart Brown offers a unique perspective on geopolitics. Informed by 20 years of experience in both government and private sectors, Hart now consults with top global entities to future proof their operations and security. You won't want to miss his insight on incorporating AI on personal and organizational levels!

Midcon Markup Ep. 10: Governing for All Oklahomans with Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell

Born, raised, and educated in Tulsa, Oklahoma Lt. Governor Matt Pinnell had a limited perspective but a strong passion for broadening his perspective. In his college years and early career, he learned to prioritize discussion with people of diverse perspectives and life experiences. This habit led him to a career in politics where he is now tasked with maximizing our local resources and governing equally on behalf of all Oklahomans, whether old or young, rural or urban, rich or poor.