Kara Nortman is the co-founder of Seedling and partner at Upfront Ventures. In this interview she recounts her evolution as a creative child from an adventurous family, to her role as a partner in the largest and most tenured venture capital fund in Los Angeles.
Armed with an AB in Politics and an MBA from Stanford, Kara Nortman found herself the only person from business school attending a C++ class when she interned at Microsoft more than a decade ago. Before that, she delved deep into esoteric stuff, sailing across uncharted waters (talk DSL and IP switches) just to make her job as telecoms industry analyst at Morgan Stanley more fulfilling and meaningful.
To Kara, so much lies beyond our comfort zones. For her, true entrepreneurs need to “dig past their limitations” to make the impossible possible. But for this to happen, entrepreneurs must have resilience, self-awareness, and passion for what they do.
You can follow Kara (@KaraNortman) on Twitter and read her thoughtful writing on her blog, Venture Inside.
Join Kara as she walks us through her formative years, from family trips that gave her a broader perspective, to her role as a VC evaluating the business viability of startups. Find out what makes a good pitch, and which traits differentiate successful entrepreneurs from those who won’t make the cut.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- How Kara’s upbringing influenced her evolution as a top-tier entrepreneur.
- The important role love of learning and discovery plays in achieving entrepreneurial success.
- The importance of finding mentors even at the point where you can mentor budding entrepreneurs and leaders yourself.
- Why being passionate also matters in the art of investing.
- Which entrepreneurial traits venture capitalists commonly look for.
- Why entrepreneurs should also conduct due diligence on the particular investors they are pitching to as much as the other way around.
- The factors making Los Angeles a highly attractive venue for innovation, entrepreneurship and business growth.
Please enjoy!
- Listen to it on iTunes.
- Stream by clicking here.
- Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”
This episode of Powderkeg is brought to you by DeveloperTown. If you’re a business leader trying to turn a great idea into a product with traction, this is for you.
DeveloperTown works with clients ranging from entrepreneurs to Fortune 100 companies who want to build and launch an app or digital product. They’re able to take the process they use with early stage companies to help big companies move like a startup.
So if you have an idea for a web or mobile app, or need help identifying the great ideas within your company, go to developertown.com/powderkeg.
If you like this episode, please subscribe and leave us a review on iTunes. You can also follow us on Soundcloud or Stitcher. We have an incredible lineup of interviews we’ll be releasing every Tuesday here on the Powder Keg Podcast.
Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode:
People:
- Featured Entrepreneur: Kara Nortman, Upfront Ventures partner, Seedling USA Chairman. Kara Nortman in Venture Inside, @karanortman
- Mentioned Personalities
- Scott Jones: Inventor, voice mail pioneer, and serial entrepreneur. Scott A. Jones, @chachaman
- Mark Suster: Entrepreneur, angel investor and Upfront partner. @msuster, Both Sides of the Table, Mark Suster @ Medium
- Ted Meisel: Entrepreneur and investor. WiserCare, @tedmeisel
- Vint Cerf, Internet pioneer, TCP/IP co-inventor. On “Reinventing the Internet”, Vint Cert @ TED, Vint Cerf @ Google
Did you enjoy this conversation? Thank Kara on Twitter!
If you enjoyed this session and have 3 seconds to spare, let Kara know via Twitter by clicking on the link below:
Click here to say hi and thank Kara on twitter!
COMMENTS?
What stood out most to you about what Kara shares in this podcast?
For me, it’s the importance of love of learning and discovery in achieving entrepreneurial success.
You? Leave a comment below.
WANT MORE?
To subscribe to the podcast, please use the links below:
Click Here to Subscribe via iTunes
Click Here to Subscribe via RSS (non-iTunes feed)
If you have a chance, please leave me an honest rating and review on iTunes by clicking here. It will help the show and its ranking in iTunes incredibly! Thank you so much!
CATEGORY: Podcast