Kara Nortman

Board Partner (formerly Co-Managing Partner) at Upfront Ventures

Reviewed Updated Mar 28, 2026

This profile is AI-generated. If you spot an error, please help us fix it by sharing a URL to the correct information.

Board Partner at Upfront Ventures and founder of Monarch Collective, a $250M women's sports investment platform. At Upfront, focused on cybersecurity and enterprise security; portfolio includes Fleetsmith (acquired by Apple), Open Raven, and Britive. Co-founded All Raise and Angel City FC; known for championing women in VC and viewing women's sports as "arbitrage on sexism."

Location Los Angeles, CA
Check Size $750K-$5M
Last Verified Investment Open Raven (Series B) — Sep 8, 2022
Social @karanortman LinkedIn
Stage Focus
seed series-a
Sector Focus
cybersecurity enterprise-software marketplaces consumer women-in-sports

Background

Kara Nortman is an American venture capitalist, currently a Board Partner at Upfront Ventures and founder and Managing Partner of Monarch Collective, the first investment platform exclusively dedicated to women’s sports 12. She holds an AB in politics from Princeton University (class of 1997) and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business 34.

Nortman began her career at Morgan Stanley in private equity, followed by an internship at Microsoft 4. In 1999, she joined Battery Ventures as an associate focused on technology investments 15. She then spent nearly seven years at InterActiveCorp (IAC), where she co-headed the mergers and acquisitions group and served as SVP and General Manager of Urbanspoon and Citysearch 14. While at IAC, she sat on the board of Hatch Labs, the company’s mobile technology incubator, where she oversaw the initial investment in Tinder 1.

After IAC, Nortman co-founded Moonfrye, a children’s e-commerce company, which she ran as CEO from 2013 to 2014 16. She joined Upfront Ventures as a Partner in November 2014 6. In October 2020, Upfront promoted Nortman to Co-Managing Partner alongside Mark Suster, making her one of the first women promoted to a leadership role at a major venture capital firm 78. In July 2022, she transitioned to a Board Partner role at Upfront to focus on Angel City FC and later Monarch Collective 1.

Nortman co-founded All Raise in 2017, a nonprofit dedicated to increasing funding and leadership opportunities for women and nonbinary founders and investors in venture capital 77. In 2020, she co-founded Angel City Football Club, an NWSL expansion team, alongside Julie Uhrman, Natalie Portman, and Alexis Ohanian 19. In March 2023, she launched Monarch Collective with Jasmine Robinson, which has grown to a $250 million fund focused on women’s sports 210.

Stated Thesis

At Upfront Ventures, Nortman publicly described her investment focus as spanning enterprise software, cybersecurity, and consumer marketplaces 511. She has written extensively about cybersecurity, arguing that security should be viewed as foundational infrastructure rather than an application layer, stating: “What set of opportunities can emerge if we view security at the bottom of the stack — foundational — rather than as an application at the top or to the side?” 11.

In cybersecurity specifically, Nortman identified three priority areas for investment: data security, zero-trust architecture, and supply chain security 11. She has stated that “the size of the cybersecurity market, in particular, has gotten infinitely larger as software eats the world” and that “the problems and opportunities have stayed quite similar, but the markets and opportunities have gotten much larger” 11.

On the consumer side, Nortman has expressed interest in marketplace models and platforms that serve underserved communities. She has stated she looks for founders who demonstrate resilience, self-awareness, and genuine passion 4.

More recently at Monarch Collective, Nortman’s thesis centers on women’s sports as what she has called an “arbitrage on sexism” — the idea that women’s sports franchises are undervalued relative to their growth potential 110.

Inferred Thesis

Based on 13 verified Upfront Ventures investments, Nortman’s actual portfolio reveals a few clear patterns:

Sector breakdown: Cybersecurity and enterprise security represent the largest cluster, with 5 of 13 investments (38%): Fleetsmith, Endgame, Open Raven, Britive, and Laurel (which automates time tracking for professional services). Consumer and marketplace companies account for 5 of 13 (38%): Parachute Home, The Wing, Territory Foods, Stem Disintermedia, and Moonfrye (pre-Upfront). Enterprise AI/SaaS represents 2 of 13 (15%): Qordoba/Writer and Strive Talent. The remaining 1 of 13 (8%) is uncategorized.

Stage focus: Nortman primarily invested at Seed and Series A, with Upfront leading Series A rounds for Fleetsmith ($7.7M), Qordoba ($5M), and Laurel ($15.2M) 121314. She also led Open Raven’s seed round ($4.1M) 15.

Exit track record: Two notable acquisitions — Endgame was acquired by Elastic for $234 million in October 2019 16, and Fleetsmith was acquired by Apple in June 2020 17. Strive Talent was acquired by FranklinCovey for approximately $20 million in April 2021 18. The Wing shut down in 2022.

Geographic concentration: Investments are concentrated in Los Angeles (Open Raven, Stem, Territory Foods, Parachute Home) and San Francisco (Fleetsmith, Laurel, Strive Talent), consistent with Upfront’s LA base and Bay Area reach.

Founder profile patterns: Nortman has shown a pattern of backing founders with deep operational experience, including former security leaders from Dropbox and Fandom (Fleetsmith), CrowdStrike and Microsoft alumni (Open Raven), and experienced operators transitioning into entrepreneurship 1215.

Notable gap between stated and actual thesis: While Nortman describes marketplaces and fintech as focus areas, her verified portfolio skews heavily toward cybersecurity/enterprise security (38%), which appears to be her strongest area of conviction at Upfront. Consumer marketplace investments (The Wing, Parachute Home) had more mixed outcomes.

Portfolio

Company Year Stage Sector Status Source
Fleetsmith 2018 Series A Device Management / Security Acquired by Apple (2020) 12
Endgame ~2017 Undisclosed Cybersecurity / Endpoint Protection Acquired by Elastic ($234M, 2019) 16
Open Raven 2019 Seed Cloud Data Security Active 15
Open Raven 2022 Series B Cloud Data Security Active 19
Britive 2020 Seed Cloud Security / Zero-Trust Active 20
Qordoba (now Writer) 2017 Series A AI Writing / Localization Active 13
Laurel (fka Time by Ping) 2019 Series A AI Time Tracking Active 14
Parachute Home 2015 Series A DTC Home Goods Active 21
The Wing ~2018 Series C Co-working / Community Shut down (2022) 1
Stem Disintermedia ~2019 Growth Music / Creator Economy Active 22
Territory Foods 2019 Series A Meal Delivery / Marketplace Active 23
Strive Talent ~2018 Seed EdTech / HR Acquired by FranklinCovey (~$20M, 2021) 18

This table represents Nortman’s verified Upfront Ventures portfolio. It does not include her Monarch Collective sports investments or personal angel investments.

In Their Own Words

On evaluating founders at the Fleetsmith Series A: “This is a truly unique leadership team focusing world-class security and DevOps expertise on solving real-world pain points for IT and HR professionals.” — Kara Nortman, Upfront Ventures partner, Fleetsmith Series A announcement, April 2018 12.

On the cybersecurity opportunity: “The problems and opportunities have stayed quite similar, but the markets and opportunities have gotten much larger.” — Kara Nortman, TechCrunch guest column, June 2021 11.

On the scale of the cybersecurity market: “The size of the cybersecurity market, in particular, has gotten infinitely larger as software eats the world.” — Kara Nortman, TechCrunch guest column, June 2021 11.

On knowing when to invest: “I always say I know I’m very excited about a company only when I’m driving my husband crazy. If I can’t stop talking about this like, ‘Did you make an investment already?’” — Kara Nortman, Upfront Summit 2019 24.

On women’s sports as an investment thesis: Nortman has described the opportunity in women’s sports as an “arbitrage on sexism,” referring to lower valuations relative to growth potential 1.

On Territory Foods: “Territory has a unique approach to producing food, supporting local chefs and is positioned to distribute meals in a way the end user wants it.” — Kara Nortman, TechCrunch, April 2019 23.

What Founders Say

No independently sourced founder testimonials found. Nortman’s portfolio founders have not been widely quoted in public sources about their experience working with her specifically. Firm website testimonials were not available for extraction.

Connections

  • Board member, Qordoba/Writer — alongside Jim Andelman of Rincon Venture Partners 13
  • Board member, Britive — joined board in conjunction with seed investment 20
  • Board member, Territory Foods 23
  • Board member, Stem Disintermedia 22
  • Co-founder, All Raise (2017-present) — nonprofit for women in VC 7
  • Co-founder, Angel City FC (2020) — alongside Julie Uhrman, Natalie Portman, Alexis Ohanian 9
  • Co-founder and Managing Partner, Monarch Collective (2023-present) — alongside Jasmine Robinson 10
  • Board member, Time’s Up — gender equity nonprofit 7
  • Advisor, USWNT Players Association — on pay equity 1
  • Former Associate, Battery Ventures (1999) 5
  • Former SVP/GM, IAC — Urbanspoon, Citysearch; board of Hatch Labs (incubated Tinder) 1

Sources

  1. Grokipedia, “Kara Nortman,” accessed March 2026. https://grokipedia.com/page/Kara_Nortman↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩

  2. CNBC, “Women’s sports firm Monarch Collective ups fund size to $250 million,” March 13, 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/13/womens-sports-firm-monarch-collective-ups-fund-size.html↩↩

  3. Princeton University New Ventures, “Kara Nortman, ‘97,” accessed March 2026. https://entrepreneurs.princeton.edu/people/kara-nortman-97↩

  4. Powderkeg, “The Magic of Immersion for Startups and VCs with Upfront Ventures Partner Kara Nortman,” accessed March 2026. https://powderkeg.com/kara-nortman-seedling-upfront-ventures/↩↩↩↩

  5. Security Voices, “Security from the Outside In: Dialogue with Kara Nortman,” May 2019. https://www.securityvoices.org/episode/kara-nortman↩↩↩

  6. Signal NFX, “Kara Nortman’s Investing Profile,” accessed March 2026. https://signal.nfx.com/investors/kara-nortman↩↩

  7. TechCrunch, “Now a co-managing partner, Upfront’s Kara Nortman is one of the first women promoted to a leadership role in VC,” October 26, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/10/26/now-a-co-managing-partner-upfronts-kara-nortman-is-one-of-the-first-women-promoted-to-a-leadership-role-in-vc/↩↩↩↩↩

  8. dot.LA, “Kara Nortman Named Upfront Ventures’ Co-Managing Partner,” October 26, 2020. https://dot.la/moving-from-the-passenger-seat-to-the-drivers-seat-upfronts-kara-nortman-named-managing-partner-2648493740.html↩

  9. Fast Company, “How Natalie Portman and her Angel City FC cofounders are changing the game for women’s soccer,” accessed March 2026. https://www.fastcompany.com/90739855/how-natalie-portman-and-her-angel-city-fc-cofounders-are-changing-the-game-for-womens-soccer↩↩

  10. Sportico, “Monarch Collective Launched By Kara Nortman, Jasmine Robinson,” March 2023. https://www.sportico.com/business/finance/2023/monarch-collective-nortman-robinson-1234717318/↩↩↩

  11. TechCrunch, “Want in on the next $100B in cybersecurity?” June 23, 2021. https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/23/want-in-on-the-next-100b-in-cybersecurity/↩↩↩↩↩↩

  12. PR Newswire, “Fleetsmith Scores Series A from Upfront Ventures, Index Ventures, and Harrison Metal to Tackle Apple Device Management and Security,” April 10, 2018. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fleetsmith-scores-series-a-from-upfront-ventures-index-ventures-and-harrison-metal-to-tackle-apple-device-management-and-security-300627048.html↩↩↩↩

  13. Talent4Boards, “Qordoba announces Kara Nortman and Jim Andelman to Board along with raising $5m Series A funding led by Upfront Ventures and Rincon Venture Partners,” 2017. https://talent4boards.com/qordoba-announces-kara-nortman-jim-andelman-board-along-raising-5m-series-funding-led-upfront-ventures-rincon-venture-partners/↩↩↩

  14. Laurel, “Laurel Raises $36.5M Series B To Return Time To The World,” accessed March 2026. https://www.laurel.ai/resources-post/laurel-raises-36-5m-series-b-to-return-time-to-the-world↩↩

  15. TechCrunch, “Los Angeles-based Open Raven raises $15 million from KPCB for its security tech to secure hybrid clouds,” June 16, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/16/los-angeles-based-open-raven-raises-15-million-from-kpcb-for-its-security-tech-to-secure-hybrid-clouds/↩↩↩

  16. Elastic, “Elastic Completes the Acquisition of Endgame, a Leader in Endpoint Protection,” October 8, 2019. https://www.elastic.co/about/press/elastic-completes-the-acquisition-of-endgame-a-leader-in-endpoint-protection↩↩

  17. TechCrunch, “Apple has acquired Fleetsmith, a startup that helps IT manage Apple devices remotely,” June 24, 2020. https://techcrunch.com/2020/06/24/apple-has-acquired-fleetsmith-a-startup-that-helps-it-manage-apple-devices-remotely/↩

  18. Crunchbase News, “Exclusive: FranklinCovey Buys Management Training Platform Strive For $20M,” 2021. https://news.crunchbase.com/ma/exclusive-franklincovey-buys-management-training-platform-strive-for-20m/↩↩

  19. Business Wire, “Open Raven Raises $20M in Series B from Pelion Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, and Upfront Ventures,” September 8, 2022. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220908005314/en/Open-Raven-Raises-$20M-in-Series-B-from-Pelion-Ventures-Kleiner-Perkins-and-Upfront-Ventures↩

  20. PR Newswire, “Britive raises $5.4m to reinvent security for multi-cloud enterprise environments,” 2020. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/britive-raises-5-4m-to-reinvent-security-for-multi-cloud-enterprise-environments-301127587.html↩↩

  21. Tracxn, “Parachute Home — Funding and Investors,” accessed March 2026. https://tracxn.com/d/companies/parachute-home/__D3NQ6W8EJpnwUhtFfXsQwCN-1sX_QWZTSvgfyMBLoFU/funding-and-investors↩

  22. dot.LA, “Stem Music Rights Management Software Raises $10 Million,” 2020. https://dot.la/stem-help-musicians-get-paid-2647089338.html↩↩

  23. TechCrunch, “With a new CEO and fresh funding from Upfront, healthy prepared food delivery service Territory looks to grow,” April 12, 2019. https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/12/with-a-new-ceo-and-fresh-funding-from-upfront-healthy-prepared-food-delivery-service-territory-looks-to-grow/↩↩↩

  24. Sonix, “FULL TRANSCRIPT: David Sacks Interview with Kara Nortman, Upfront Summit 2019,” accessed March 2026. https://sonix.ai/resources/full-transcript-david-sacks-interview-with-kara-nortman-upfront-summit-2019/↩

Similar Investors

Part of

Mark Suster Upfront Ventures
Santa Monica, CA
Troy Carter
Los Angeles, CA
Omar Hamoui Mucker Capital
Santa Monica, CA
Travis Kalanick 10100
Los Angeles, CA
Scott Stanford Sherpa Capital
Los Angeles, CA