Kara Nortman

Who they are

Kara Nortman is Managing Partner of Monarch Collective — co-founded Angel City FC with Natalie Portman and Julie Uhrman, turning it into the most valuable women's soccer franchise in the world.

Person

Kara studied Politics at Princeton (AB, 1997), then spent time in banking and private equity at Morgan Stanley and Battery Ventures before landing at IAC, where she ran M&A and then served as SVP/GM of Urbanspoon and Citysearch — an operating stretch that gave her real product-and-revenue muscle. She joined Upfront Ventures in 2014 and was promoted to Co-Managing Partner by 2020, one of the first women elevated to a leadership role at a major LA-based VC. Alongside the employed track she co-founded four named ventures: Moonfrye (a children's creativity/e-commerce company with Soleil Moon Frye), Seedling (a toy and crafting brand), Angel City FC (the NWSL club in LA, co-founded with Julie Uhrman and Natalie Portman, now the most valuable women's soccer franchise in the world), and All Raise (the VC-led nonprofit for diversity in funders and founders). She left Upfront in 2022 and launched Monarch Collective in March 2023, a fund dedicated exclusively to women's sports, raising an initial $150M. The through-line: she keeps spotting structural undervaluation — in internet local search, in early-stage LA tech, and now in women's sports — and builds the ownership vehicle before the market catches up. She writes on LinkedIn and on her Medium blog, Venture Inside, on women's sports investment, founder mentality, time management, and gender equity in VC; she also appeared on Masters of Scale and spoke at Milken Institute Global Conference 2026.

Company

Monarch Collective expanded its fund from $150 million to $250 million in March 2025, with most capital coming from existing investors including Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures and Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden — a vote of confidence from the original LP base rather than a scramble for new money. In November 2025, the firm made its first overseas investment, acquiring a 38% stake in German women's soccer club FC Viktoria Berlin, signaling a multi-club, cross-border strategy. The portfolio already includes NWSL teams Angel City FC, BOS Nation, and San Diego Wave. Kara spoke at the Milken Institute Global Conference 2026, suggesting she is actively positioning Monarch Collective as a thought-leader in the emerging women's sports asset class.

Market

Monarch Collective operates in the nascent but accelerating women's sports private equity space, where institutional capital is only now treating women's leagues as a serious asset class — driven by NWSL and WNBA expansion, rising media rights values, and growing sponsorship demand. The firm is the first investment platform dedicated exclusively to women's sports, which gives it a first-mover position but also means it is still defining the category for LPs and co-investors. Multi-club ownership models, cross-border league expansion, and the question of whether women's sports valuations can sustain momentum are the central debates Monarch Collective sits inside.

Network

Kara co-leads Monarch Collective with Jasmine Robinson, her co-founding partner. The firm's LP network includes high-profile names: Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures, Hello Sunshine CEO Sarah Harden, and former Netflix executives Cindy Holland and Annie Imhoff. She also advised the US Women's National Soccer Team Players Association during their pay equity fight, which gave her relationships deep inside the player ecosystem before she became a team owner.

Jasmine Robinson· Co-founder, Monarch Collective
Natalie Portman· Co-founder, Angel City FC
Sarah Harden· CEO, Hello Sunshine (LP, Monarch Collective)
Melinda French Gates· Founder, Pivotal Ventures (LP, Monarch Collective)
Cindy Holland· Former Netflix executive (LP, Monarch Collective)
Annie Imhoff· Former Netflix executive (LP, Monarch Collective)

How they likely show up

Co-founded Angel City FC before women's sports had institutional credibility, then launched Monarch Collective before the category had a defined LP base → she moves well ahead of consensus and builds the structure others follow into.
Ran operations at IAC (SVP/GM of Urbanspoon and Citysearch) before moving into VC → she likely evaluates portfolio companies with an operator's eye on unit economics and team execution, not just market narrative.
Hybrid role type (VC partner + active co-founder across multiple ventures simultaneously) → she is comfortable holding several active responsibilities at once; she won't respond well to meetings that treat her as a single-function stakeholder.
Active public writer on LinkedIn and Medium (Venture Inside) on topics including time management and founder mentality → she thinks in frameworks she's willing to publish, and she prepares her own point of view before walking into a room.
Promoted to Co-Managing Partner at Upfront — one of the first women in a leadership role at a major VC — then left to build her own firm → she has navigated institutional power structures and chose to exit rather than wait; she respects directness over hierarchy.
LP roster for Monarch Collective includes Melinda French Gates' Pivotal Ventures and media executives from Hello Sunshine and Netflix → she builds networks that blend capital, media, and social impact, and probably sees those as one integrated thesis, not separate lanes.

Conversation tips

→ Reference a specific Monarch Collective portfolio move — the FC Viktoria Berlin acquisition or the fund expansion to $250M — rather than speaking generically about 'women's sports investment'; she lives in the specifics.
→ Ask about the Angel City FC founding rather than just the Monarch Collective pitch — that's where her conviction was formed before the market agreed, and she'll have real stories from the pre-institutional era.
→ She writes publicly about founder mentality and time management; if you have read Venture Inside, say so and name a specific post — she will notice whether you actually read it.
→ Don't present women's sports as an emerging niche she needs convincing on — she is the one who helped build the market; come in already believing the thesis and focus the conversation on where it goes next.
→ She has advised players associations on pay equity; she brings an athlete-side perspective, not just an owner/investor lens — acknowledge that dual vantage point.

Toolbox

Openers

Open on the FC Viktoria Berlin acquisition — Monarch Collective's first European deal in November 2025 signals a multi-club, cross-border strategy; ask how she thinks about building a global portfolio when most women's leagues are still in different stages of commercialization.
She co-founded Angel City FC before the NWSL had proven its valuation ceiling, and it became the most valuable women's soccer franchise in the world — that founding moment is the origin story of the entire Monarch Collective thesis and a rich entry point.
She writes a Medium blog called Venture Inside on founder mentality and time management alongside her investment work — lead with a specific piece to signal you read beyond the headlines and to open a conversation about how she thinks about operator vs. investor identity.

Discovery questions

When you took the 38% stake in FC Viktoria Berlin, how did you think about governance and influence at that minority stake level — is that a template for overseas deals or a one-off?
You expanded the Monarch Collective fund from $150M to $250M largely from existing LPs — at what point does the category need new capital sources, and what type of LP is still missing from the women's sports table?
You advised the US Women's National Soccer Team Players Association during the pay equity fight before you became an owner — how does that player-side experience shape how you structure deals and governance rights inside the portfolio today?

Avoid

Don't frame women's sports as a charitable or impact-first bet that needs to prove its financial case — she has been making the financial argument since before the market agreed, and she'll disengage fast if you treat it as philanthropy dressed up as investing.

Make it yours