When its season ended early this month, Angel City FC finished 11th out of 13 teams, a disappointing result for the Los Angeles soccer franchise that venture capitalist Kara Nortman co-founded in 2020. But the season's struggles tell only part of a much larger story that's reshaping how investors think about women's sports. Despite its lackluster on-field performance, Angel City itself has become a case study (including literally, inside Harvard Business School) in how to best construct a women's sports property. The team's celebrity ownership group, including Natalie Portman and Serena Williams, has helped generate nearly unprecedented buzz. The franchise has also been savvy about sponsorships, breaking records before players kicked a ball. 'We went from zero to $30 million in revenue. We sold out games. We built something people didn't think was possible,' Nortman reflected in an interview last month, pointing to Angel City's commercial success from the very outset of the team's...
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