Masters in Business Carta CEO Henry Ward on Private Credit & Private Markets
42 snips
Oct 17, 2025 
Henry Ward, the founder and CEO of Carta, shares his journey from a failed startup to revolutionizing private market access. He discusses the transformation of cap table management from paper to digital and highlights the challenges of scaling a startup. Ward emphasizes the growing importance of private companies and the need for retail investors to tap into private capital. He also reveals his unique criteria for expanding Carta’s services and offers insights on navigating entrepreneurship, blending skill, luck, and perseverance.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Know Why You’re A Founder
- Decide whether you love the problem or love being a founder, because each approach shapes strategy and resilience differently.
- If you love being a founder, pursue multiple problems to keep momentum but beware lack of coherent focus.
From Emailed Certificates To Cap Tables
- Henry Ward recounts the original product idea was a PayPal-for-equity to email stock certificates instead of FedExing paper ones.
- Startups instead asked Carta to display all issued securities, which created product-market fit and led to cap table as the core system of record.
Dematerializing Private Equity
- Carta 'dematerialized' private equity by moving paper stock certificates into the cloud, enabling seamless transfers and workflows.
- Convincing lawyers and venture firms to accept digital records was the hardest part of adoption.
