The roar of the crowd might not have been chanting victory songs for Angel City FC this season, but for venture capitalists and sports industry insiders, the Los Angeles-based soccer franchise has been orchestrating a far more significant win. Despite finishing 11th out of 13 teams in their league, Angel City’s journey since its 2020 co-founding by venture capitalist Kara Nortman is becoming a masterclass in building a thriving women’s sports property. It’s a story that’s not just about goals on the field, but about building value off it, and it’s fundamentally reshaping how investors view the future of women’s athletics.
From Underdogs to Unicorns: The Angel City Phenomenon
Angel City’s early season struggles are a mere footnote in a much larger narrative. What has captured the industry’s attention is the franchise’s remarkable commercial prowess. Co-founded with a vision that extended beyond trophies, the team quickly amassed a powerhouse ownership group, including Hollywood heavyweights Natalie Portman and tennis icon Serena Williams. This star-studded backing generated an unprecedented level of buzz, translating into record-breaking sponsorship deals even before the first whistle blew.
"We went from zero to $30 million in revenue. We sold out games. We built something people didn’t think was possible," Kara Nortman reflected in a recent interview, her voice echoing the audacious ambition that fueled Angel City’s inception. This commercial triumph, rather than on-field accolades, laid the crucial groundwork for what came next.
Monarch Collective: A New Era of Investment
Nortman’s success with Angel City became the blueprint for Monarch Collective, a groundbreaking $250 million fund launched in 2023. This isn’t just another investment vehicle; it’s the first fund exclusively dedicated to the burgeoning world of women’s sports. While its genesis is tied to a team still chasing its first playoff victory, Monarch’s influence and portfolio have rapidly expanded, reaching far beyond the sunny training grounds of Thousand Oaks, California.
Monarch now holds stakes in multiple National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) clubs, including the San Diego Wave and the soon-to-debut Boston Legacy FC. Its most recent acquisition, announced this past month, marks a significant international stride: a 38% stake in Germany’s FC Viktoria Berlin, making Monarch the first foreign investor in a German women’s soccer team. This diverse investment strategy underscores Nortman’s conviction: women’s sports have reached a pivotal inflection point, irrespective of any single team’s on-field performance.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: A Market on the Rise
Nortman’s optimism is firmly rooted in data. "The overall men’s sports market globally is estimated to be about half a trillion dollars," she explained. "The women’s sports market, when we started Monarch in 2023, was thought to be about half a billion dollars. It’s now closer to $3 billion." This exponential growth is not a fleeting trend but a fundamental market shift, and Monarch is positioned to capitalize on it.
A Different Playbook: Innovation Over Imitation
Tapping into this growth, however, requires a departure from the traditional playbook of men’s sports. "It’s not a simple rinse-and-repeat," Nortman emphasizes. She points to the unique marketing strategies that have defined women’s sports properties, asking rhetorically, "How many men’s team owners are thinking about parachuting Sephora boxes from rafters? Or having at [a New York] Liberty [WNBA game] a Fenty cam for putting on your [Fenty] lipstick, or Angel City having a Hello Kitty collab night where people can’t figure out how to get their hands on the merch before it sells out?"
These innovative approaches to marketing and partnerships are precisely what generated the excitement around Angel City. Last fall, this momentum culminated in power couple Bob Iger and Willow Bay acquiring a majority stake for $250 million, solidifying Angel City’s position as the most valuable women’s sports franchise globally.
Lessons from History: Building for Longevity
For Nortman, who transitioned from traditional venture capital to dedicate herself fully to women’s sports, Angel City’s commercial achievements serve as a constant validation of Monarch’s investment thesis. While the sports press might highlight the perceived tension between Angel City’s business success and its on-field results, the franchise has undeniably proven that women’s sports can be a lucrative venture with the right foundational elements.
The crucial question now is whether this momentum can be sustained. Nortman is acutely aware of the historical precedents where promising moments in women’s sports have faded. She often cites the example of 1920, when 60,000 spectators packed Liverpool to watch the Dick, Kerr Ladies play football – a crowd size that still rivals many modern-day Premier League games. Yet, the English Football Association subsequently banned women from playing, effectively erasing the sport for decades.
"Everyone gets to wake up and become the discoverer of women’s sports when they do," Nortman notes, a hint of frustration in her voice. "But it takes consistent, hard work to get that to play out into consistency."
This sustained effort, she argues, demands more than just capitalizing on the fleeting attention drawn by breakout stars like Caitlin Clark or Angel Reese. It requires a systematic investment in infrastructure, robust governance, and efficient operations – the often-unseen, unglamorous work that underpins any sustainable business.
Monarch’s Differentiated Approach: Beyond Passive Investment
This is where Monarch’s strategy diverges from conventional venture capital. Instead of making numerous small, passive bets on a wide array of startups, Monarch is making concentrated investments in a select group of teams and leagues. Crucially, the fund isn’t just providing capital; it’s actively participating in the operational side of these businesses.
Nortman describes their strategy as "venture-like markets" combined with "growth equity or private equity-like" risk management. "We show up alongside control owners and add a lot of operational value," she explains. The overarching goal is to help these teams achieve profitability through their core operations, positioning them to benefit significantly as higher-margin media revenue streams continue to grow.
Expanding Horizons: Beyond Soccer
Monarch’s investment interests are not confined to the soccer pitch. The fund is broadly targeting sports with what Nortman terms "no product-market risk" – established formats with proven audience appeal. "Is this a sport people like to watch on their computer or television?" she poses. "There are participatory sports, like pickleball, but are people going to sit home and create an event out of watching it?"
While Monarch currently holds stakes in four football clubs, its appetite extends to women’s basketball, golf, and tennis. These are sports with substantial media revenue potential and existing infrastructure that can be leveraged for growth.
The fund’s limited partners are a testament to its growing influence, including luminaries like Melinda French Gates and former executives from Netflix, alongside other high-net-worth individuals. The initial fundraising target of $100 million was significantly surpassed, reaching $250 million – a clear indicator of the market’s rapid maturation and the increasing investor confidence in women’s sports.
From Skepticism to Superstar: The Caitlin Clark Effect
Nortman recalls the early days of fundraising, where "nine out of 10 conversations were, ‘Yeah, we don’t think [women’s] basketball is really a thing,’" accompanied by considerable skepticism. Then came Caitlin Clark’s meteoric rise, the WNBA’s record-shattering viewership, and suddenly, basketball emerged as the hottest sector in women’s sports.
This shift validates Nortman’s core thesis: success in women’s sports investment isn’t about pinpointing one perfect team. It’s about fostering a robust ecosystem where multiple franchises can flourish. Some will win championships, others might struggle competitively but achieve commercial success, and the key lies in distributing adequate capital and operational expertise across the market to absorb individual setbacks.
A Ripple Effect: Inspiring New Ownership
Angel City’s pioneering approach has clearly inspired other ownership groups. "You started having other teams – Kansas City, Bay FC, Washington D.C. Spirit – with female-led ownership groups come in and show they could build a real P&L," Nortman observes.
Whether by design or serendipity, Angel City has become a template for success. As women’s sports navigates what appears to be a sustained boom period – with the upcoming launch of the Golden State Valkyries in the WNBA, NWSL expansion, and growing media rights deals – Nortman remains cautiously optimistic about this moment’s potential to be different from past surges in interest.
The linchpin, she argues, lies in the fundamentals: strong league governance, unwavering owner commitment, strategic infrastructure investment, and the cultivation of genuine community connections. Media attention can create opportunities, but it’s operational excellence that transforms those opportunities into lasting success.
"Every spike is an opportunity to create a consistent experience around it," Nortman concludes. "You have to look at all the underlying criteria to see where it’s likely to stick around." The revolution in women’s sports investment is well underway, and Angel City FC, despite its season-ending record, is a shining example of its power and potential.