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00:03 – Welcome and introduction to Henry Ward and Carta 00:29 – Carta’s mission and Henry’s background 00:58 – The outdated mindset in legacy PE firms 01:40 – Hard lessons building a multi-S-curve business 04:02 – Scaling in small markets and fast saturation 05:22 – Innovating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:
[email protected] 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. 🔗 Connect with Alex Rawlings on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexrawlings/ 🌐 Visit Raw Selection: www.raw-selection.com Looking to grow your team? Check out our Hiring Guides for proven strategies, templates, and best practices to make smarter hires.
