# Kara Nortman

> Kara Nortman is a Princeton and Stanford MBA-educated venture capitalist who spent eight years at Upfront Ventures before pivoting to become the defining force in women's sports investment. She co-founded Angel City FC — the NWSL team that became the world's most valuable women's sports franchise at $250 million — and then launched Monarch Collective, the world's largest women's sports investment fund at $250 million. She was also in the room at IAC's Hatch Labs when a restaurant-reservation app called Cardify was reborn as Tinder.

- **Role:** Founder and Managing Partner at Monarch Collective
- **Organizations:** Monarch Collective, Angel City FC, Upfront Ventures, All Raise, San Diego Wave FC, Boston Legacy FC, FC Viktoria Berlin, Cleveland WNBA expansion team, Moonfrye
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Princeton University, Master of Business Administration (MBA), Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Co-founded Angel City FC, which became the world's most valuable women's sports franchise at $250 million, Founded Monarch Collective, the world's largest women's sports investment fund at $250 million, First PE firm (Monarch Collective) approved to invest in WNBA teams

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Graduated Princeton University with BA in Politics; walked onto the women's rowing team and won Ivy League championship senior year
- **1997-2000** — Analyst at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
- **early 2000s** — Role at Microsoft in technology sector
- **mid-2000s** — Stanford GSB MBA; Senior Associate at Battery Ventures
- **2006-2013** — Joined InterActiveCorp (IAC); co-headed M&A group; SVP/GM of Urbanspoon and Citysearch; oversaw acquisitions of Urbanspoon and Dictionary.com; board member Hatch Labs; present at Tinder's founding
- **2011** — Co-founded Moonfrye with Soleil Moon Frye - children's creativity startup
- **2012** — At IAC's Hatch Labs, recruited Sean Rad and seeded what became Tinder (originally pitched as Cardify)
- **2014** — Joined Upfront Ventures as partner
- **2017** — Co-founded All Raise with 14 other women VCs to increase diversity in venture capital
- **2019** — Attended 2019 Women's World Cup; milestone in shifting focus to women's sports
- **2020** — Promoted to Co-Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures; co-founded Angel City FC with Julie Uhrman and Natalie Portman (announced July 21, 2020)
- **2021** — Angel City FC valuation crossed $100 million - highest ever for a women's sports team at the time
- **2022** — Angel City FC began NWSL play; first season: 16,000 season tickets, $35M sponsorship revenue, surpassed 7 MLS teams; stepped back from active investing at Upfront Ventures
- **2023** — Founded Monarch Collective with Jasmine Robinson - first investment platform exclusively for women's sports
- **2024** — Bob Iger and Willow Bay invested $50M in Angel City FC; club valuation reached $250M - world record for women's sports
- **2025** — Monarch Collective raised $250M - world's largest women's sports investment fund; Princeton PVC Citizen-Athlete Award; named CNBC Changemaker 2026
- **2026** — Monarch Collective became first PE firm approved to invest in WNBA teams (Cleveland expansion); FC Viktoria Berlin investment (38% stake) - first European women's sports investment

## Achievements

- Co-founded Angel City FC, which became the world's most valuable women's sports franchise at $250 million
- Founded Monarch Collective, the world's largest women's sports investment fund at $250 million
- First PE firm (Monarch Collective) approved to invest in WNBA teams
- Co-founded All Raise, the landmark organization for diversity in venture capital
- Promoted to Co-Managing Partner at Upfront Ventures in 2020
- Was present at IAC's Hatch Labs when Tinder was seeded in 2012
- Evaluated potential acquisitions of Facebook and Siri at IAC
- Angel City FC surpassed 7 MLS teams in sponsorship revenue in its debut season
- Princeton PVC Citizen-Athlete Award 2025
- Named CNBC Changemaker 2026
- Harvard Business School published case study on Angel City FC's business model
- Princeton women's rowing team Ivy League champions and NCAA qualifiers (senior year, beginning 27-year streak)

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Monarch Collective became first PE firm approved to invest in WNBA teams with Cleveland expansion team stake
- **2026-01** — Named CNBC Changemaker 2026
- **2025-12** — FC Viktoria Berlin investment announced - first European women's sports investment for Monarch Collective (38% stake)
- **2025-05** — Received Princeton PVC Citizen-Athlete Award at the Gary Walters '67 Princeton Varsity Club Awards Banquet
- **2025-03** — Monarch Collective raised fund to $250 million - world's largest women's sports investment fund
- **2024-07** — Bob Iger and Willow Bay invested $50M in Angel City FC; club valuation hit $250M - world record for a women's sports team

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karanortman/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/karanortman

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kara-nortman
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-05