#84: The Magic of Immersion for Startups and VCs with Upfront Ventures Partner Kara Nortman

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. 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 Powderkeg Podcast.