20VC: How To Assess Founder Psychology, Why Talking About Financial Returns In The First Meeting Is Always Wrong & How To Allocate Time Amongst A VC Portfolio with Kara Nortman, Partner @ Upfront Ventures

Kara Nortman is a Partner @ Upfront Ventures, one of LA's leading venture funds. Kara is also co-founder of Seedling where she currently serves as Chairman. Prior to starting Seedling, Kara spent close to seven years at IAC where she acted as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Urbanspoon and Citysearch. Prior to Urbanspoon/Citysearch, Kara co-headed the M&A group at IAC where she lead some of their most successful acquisitions, notably Urbanspoon, Dictionary.com and Aston Hotels. While at IAC, Kara also served as a board member to Hatch Labs, IAC's mobile technology incubator, where she recruited and advised Tinder. Kara also spent time at Morgan Stanley, Microsoft, and Battery Ventures.

In Today's Episode You Will Learn:

1.) How Kara made her way into the wonderful world of VC?

2.) Question from Greg Betinelli and Jenny Lefcourt: What is the most surprising thing about moving from an operator to a VC? What does Kara prefer more about being a VC?

3.) Having been an entrepreneur with a board, what does a good board member look like to Kara? How does Kara allocate her time amongst her portfolio?

4.) How does Kara assess founder psychology? How does Kara look to get to know the founder both post and pre-investment? What are some signs and tells for Kara of the truly successful operators?

5.) How does Kara view diversity in the VC landscape? What are prime examples of where it is going wrong? What can be done to change this? What are Kara's hopes and concerns for the future?

Items Mentioned In Today's Show:

Kara's Fave Blog: Both Sides of The Table

Kara's Fave Book: Grit by Angela Duckworth

Kara's Most Recent Investment: Stem

As always you can follow Harry, The Twenty Minute VC and Kara on Twitter here!

Likewise, you can follow Harry on Snapchat here for mojito madness and all things 20VC.

Pearl believes the latest automotive technology should be available to every driver – whether it's time for you to buy a new car or not. RearVision is our first step in driving this commitment forward. Pearl RearVision is the only wireless backup camera and alert system that installs in minutes and updates throughout its lifetime. Pearl literally takes less than 10minutes to install and is completely wireless because it's solar powered. Since RearVision is software based, we're able to push updates and new features over the Pearl App in the exact same way you receive updates for other apps on your phone. Pearl RearVision is perfect for anyone who wants to upgrade their car in minutes. Pearl RearVision is $499.99 and available at PearlAuto.com. It's also available on Amazon and through Crutchfield.

Xero is beautiful, easy-to- use online accounting software for small businesses. With Xero, you can easily manage your accounting anytime, anywhere from your computer or mobile device.When you add Xero to your small business you are able to: Send online invoices and get paid faster. Get an instant view of your cash flow. Track your payroll and keep tabs on your inventory. Partner with your accountant and bookkeeper in real time whenever you like. You can also customize your Xero experience with over five hundred business apps, including advanced solutions for point-of- sale, time tracking, ecommerce and more. Sign up for a free thirty-day trial at xero.com/20vc