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00:03 – Welcome and introduction to Henry Ward and Carta 00:29 – Carta’s mission and Henry’s background 00:58 – The outdated mindset in legacy PE firms 01:40 – Hard lessons building a multi-S-curve business 04:02 – Scaling in small markets and fast saturation 05:22 – Innovating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:<ul><li>PE is shifting from financial engineering to operational alpha.</li><li>The professionalization of private equity firms is overdue and underway.</li><li>Carta is bringing fund accounting, cap tables, and LP ops into the cloud.</li><li>PE must adopt tech to compete, especially as investor and platform competition heats up.</li><li>Automation of accounting and reporting is the low-hanging fruit for transformation.</li><li>Balancing growth and discipline requires the right capital partners—and Carta has both.</li></ul>📨 Connect with Henry Ward: 📧 Email: henry@carta.comRaw 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.🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn: <a href='https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/'>https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/</a> 🌐 Visit Raw Selection: <a href='http://www.raw-selection.com'>www.raw-selection.com</a>

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