Kara Nortman: Founder Mentality in Women’s Sports

FranklinCovey On Leadership

FranklinCovey

Business, Management

4.6 • 215 Ratings

🗓️ 24 February 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Kara Nortman built her career in traditional venture capital—then stepped away from the classic Silicon Valley model to co-found Angel City FC and later launch Monarch Collective, a $250 million fund investing in women’s sports. Her journey reveals what happens when curiosity, conviction, and community intersect. Nortman explains how applying a venture mindset to sports unlocked overlooked demand, why founder-market fit matters beyond tech, and how getting the right two or three people on a team can change everything. She also reflects on identity, risk, and the courage to leave a prestigious role to pursue deeper purpose. For leaders navigating reinvention, her message is clear: be intentional, build exceptional teams, and align impact with returns. Listen to learn how founder thinking can transform industries—and careers. FranklinCovey’s world-class learning solutions—delivered Live-Online, On Demand, or Live In-Person—are designed to build exceptional leadership skills and enrich your culture at every level of your organization. To learn more, email us at info@franklincovey.com, visit franklincovey.com, or call us at: 1-888-868-1776

Transcript

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0:00.0	I've always been really founder driven.
0:01.6	And I think when you find the right intersection of founder and market, magical things happen.
0:06.5	I think what I take probably most from venture is getting the right two or three people into each team is a huge differentiator.
0:15.2	Right.
0:15.7	Like if if I had pulled somebody out of our pickup basketball game to start Angel City with me,
0:20.9	who wasn't Julie, I don't think I'd be sitting here.
0:23.4	It's like it's a, it was who she was and our dynamic and running through walls.
0:28.9	And so like being innovative.
0:30.9	So I think like a lot of people get team building wrong, like the best things sometimes
0:34.9	we can do for teams and we scope out lots of really operational
0:37.5	projects is source talent from our network, interview that talent, give feedback. So I think exceptional
0:43.5	talent and sort of a founder mentality, even if you're in a sports team. And those people want to work
0:48.2	with people like us, right, who can have the joy, have the energy, have the inspiration, push them
0:53.9	in certain areas,
0:55.2	create a safe space when things go wrong. And that's very similar, I think, to being a founder
0:59.3	in tech and what makes certain companies work and certain companies not work.
1:07.7	Hello and welcome to Franklin Covey on leadership. I'm your host, Will Hodling. In these conversations,
1:13.6	we'll speak with great leaders about the mistakes, mindsets, and methods that help them become the
1:18.0	people they are today. We hope that their hard-durt insights accelerate you on your journey.
1:23.6	Today's guest is Karen Nortman. In 2020, Karen Nortman co-founded with Julie Irman and Natalie Portman,
1:29.8	the NWSL Expansion Club Angel City FC, which has gone on to become one of the league's leading teams.
1:36.6	More recently, she co-founded the Monarch Collective, a $250 million fund that's investing in women's
	...

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