Today: Oct 07, 2024

Carta’s Crisis: Henry Ward’s Nasdaq Dream for Startups Fades Away

9 months ago

TLDR:

  • Carta, a software company that manages startups’ stock issuances, saw sales of its subscription software triple in two years to $150 million in 2021.
  • The company received a total of $1 billion in investments from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, and Tiger Global Management.

Carta co-founder Henry Ward had a long-held vision to create a stock exchange for startups, which he referred to as the “Nasdaq for private markets.”

Investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, and Tiger Global Management poured a total of $1 billion into Carta, most recently at a valuation of $7.4 billion.

Carta’s subscription software sales tripled in two years to $150 million in 2021.

Carta co-founder Henry Ward wanted to create a stock exchange for startups, known as the “Nasdaq for private markets.”

Investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, and Tiger Global Management invested a total of $1 billion into Carta.

Carta’s headcount grew past 1,500 employees.

Board member Marc Andreessen predicted that “Carta will change how Wall Street and the financial world operate.”

Carta co-founder Henry Ward proved skeptics wrong with the success of the company’s subscription software, which tripled in sales to $150 million in 2021. Building on this success, Ward launched a vision to create a stock exchange for startups, which received significant investments from notable investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Silver Lake, and Tiger Global Management. The company’s valuation reached $7.4 billion, and its headcount grew to over 1,500 employees. Ward’s ambition to disrupt Wall Street and the financial world seemed within reach.