My guest today is Henry Ward, co-founder and CEO of Carta. Started in 2012, Carta helps companies and investors manage their cap tables, equity plans, and ownership. Last year, they launched CartaX, a platform for private companies and their employees to access secondary market liquidity. Our discussion is a detailed exploration of private market infrastructure and Henry’s views on building an enduring business. Please enjoy my conversation with Henry Ward.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you're a professional equity investor and haven't talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/Patrick.

-----

This episode is brought to you by Vanta. Vanta has built software that makes it easier to get and maintain your SOC 2, HIPAA or ISO 27001 reports at a fraction of the typical cost. Listeners can redeem a $1k off coupon at vanta.com/patrick.

-----

Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.

Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Matthew Ball, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

Stay up to date on all our podcasts by signing up to Colossus Weekly, our quick dive every Sunday highlighting the top business and investing concepts from our podcasts and the best of what we read that week. Sign up here.

Follow us on Twitter: @patrick_oshag | @JoinColossus

Show Notes
[00:02:57] - [First question] - The first key mental moment of how Carta came to him
[00:05:30] - Initial thoughts on how to position Carta as a business model
[00:06:47] - Historical divergence between private and public market infrastructure
[00:08:33] - What a price discovery process for primary shares could look like in the future
[00:11:09] - The end state Carta is trying to effect in their perfect state
[00:13:29] - Why it’s so hard for private company staff to manage their illiquid wealth
[00:15:45] - Lessons and challenges in the new market creation business
[00:17:57] - The nature and dynamics of supply and demand in this space
[00:20:16] - Restrictions that prevent retail investors from participating in private markets and why there’s more alpha in private markets
[00:22:45] - How Carta is mapped onto the success of its customers
[00...