Henry Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of Carta, shares his insights on revolutionizing private equity through technology. He discusses the urgent need for legacy firms to shift from financial engineering to operational strategies that add value. Henry reveals the challenges of scaling a billion-dollar business and the importance of innovation in navigating market risks. He emphasizes the role of cloud-based tools in enhancing efficiency and transparency in private equity, while advocating for a new approach that combines venture-style growth with classic private equity rigor.
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insights INSIGHT
Private Equity's Alpha Shift
Private equity (PE) shifted from financial engineering to operational value-add for alpha creation.
Many legacy PE firms still mistakenly focus on deal construction as the main source of alpha.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Carta's S-Curve Growth Story
Carta faced small market sizes sequentially, from stock certificates to LP management.
The company learned to continually build new S-curves to grow beyond saturated markets.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Innovate Within Big Companies
Big companies must protect and nurture innovative "loonshot" ideas internally.
Reading 'Loonshots' is a mandatory step for understanding how to innovate inside scaled firms.
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In 'Crossing the Chasm', Geoffrey A. Moore explores the Technology Adoption Life Cycle, which includes innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards. He highlights the significant gap or 'chasm' between early adopters and the early majority, where early adopters are willing to sacrifice for the advantage of being first, while the early majority waits for evidence of productivity improvements. The book provides strategies for narrowing this chasm, including choosing a target market, understanding the whole product concept, positioning the product, building a marketing strategy, and selecting the most appropriate distribution channels and pricing. The third edition includes new examples, strategies for digital marketing, and connections to Moore's subsequent works like 'Inside the Tornado'.
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie
First published in 1936, 'How to Win Friends and Influence People' by Dale Carnegie is a timeless guide to improving interpersonal skills. The book is divided into four main sections: Six Ways to Make People Like You, Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking, and Nine Ways to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment. Carnegie's principles emphasize the importance of genuine interest in others, active listening, and avoiding criticism and argument. The book offers practical advice on how to build strong relationships, communicate effectively, and influence others by aligning their self-interest with yours. It has been a cornerstone of personal development and business success for generations[2][3][5].
Contrarian Leadership
Contrarian Leadership
Stephen Sample
Built to Last
Successful Habits of Visionary Companies
Jerry I. Porras
James C. Collins
Jim Collins
Jim Collins and Jerry Porras's "Built to Last" examines the characteristics of visionary companies, those that have sustained exceptional performance over long periods. The authors identify key principles that contribute to long-term success, including a strong core ideology, a focus on innovation, and a commitment to continuous improvement. They analyze a range of companies across various industries, identifying common patterns and best practices. The book provides valuable insights for leaders seeking to build enduring and successful organizations. "Built to Last" has become a classic in the field of business strategy.
Loonshots
How to Nurture the Crazy Ideas That Win Wars, Cure Diseases, and Transform Industries
Safi Bahcall
Loonshots by Safi Bahcall offers a new perspective on innovation by applying the science of phase transitions to team behavior. It highlights how small structural changes can significantly impact a team's ability to innovate. The book provides practical lessons for creatives and entrepreneurs to foster groundbreaking ideas, using examples from history and industry.
In this episode, Alex Rawlings is joined by Henry Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of Carta, to explore the evolving landscape of private equity and venture capital through the lens of software, operations, and professionalization. Henry shares his journey building Carta into a multi-billion-dollar software business and how it’s transforming the infrastructure of private markets.
Henry dives into why private equity must evolve from its legacy of financial engineering to an operational value-add model—and how the next generation of firms is doing just that. He also unpacks Carta’s roadmap for building cloud-native tools for PE firms, including fund accounting, cap tables, waterfalls, and LP portals. Plus, he explains the two-speed mentality of balancing venture-style growth with private equity-level rigor—and what he’s learned along the way.
🕰️ Timestamps: 00:03 – Welcome and introduction to Henry Ward and Carta 00:29 – Carta’s mission and Henry’s background 00:58 – The outdated mindset in legacy PE firms 01:40 – Hard lessons building a multi-S-curve business 04:02 – Scaling in small markets and fast saturation 05:22 – Innovating inside a scaled company (recommendation: Loonshots) 07:18 – What Henry would do differently (spoiler: gather more info, faster) 09:41 – Grata ad spot 10:09 – Carta’s three-layer approach in venture: cap tables, fund ops, LP portals 12:54 – Applying the same playbook to private equity and private credit 13:50 – The speed of reporting in PE is accelerating—software must follow 14:48 – Why PE and VC have lagged in professionalization 16:15 – Influence of firms like Andreessen Horowitz in redefining fund operations 17:42 – Back-office vs strategic finance in PE firms 18:42 – Competition and differentiation are driving the need for change 19:37 – What should PE automate first? Fund accounting 20:36 – AI disruption in accounting and the end of manual debits and credits 22:03 – Cloud adoption in PE is still lagging—40% still on-prem! 22:31 – Balancing venture-style growth and PE-style discipline on Carta’s cap table 24:56 – Strategic value of PE investors when aligned with product growth 25:24 – Henry’s reading habits and framework (read the ends, skip the middle) 26:53 – Timeless business books and staying current with The Economist 27:23 – How to contact Henry
📌 Key Takeaways:
PE is shifting from financial engineering to operational alpha.
The professionalization of private equity firms is overdue and underway.
Carta is bringing fund accounting, cap tables, and LP ops into the cloud.
PE must adopt tech to compete, especially as investor and platform competition heats up.
Automation of accounting and reporting is the low-hanging fruit for transformation.
Balancing growth and discipline requires the right capital partners—and Carta has both.
📨 Connect with Henry Ward: 📧 Email: henry@carta.com
Raw Selection partners with Private Equity firms and their portfolio companies to secure exceptional executive talent. We focus on de-risking executive recruitment through meticulous search and selection processes, ensuring top-tier performance and long-term success.
The Private Equity Podcast, by Raw Selection 
