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What to ask about equity when you get a job offer (free startup equity calculator)

Learn how to evaluate the equity portion of your job offer and download our free equity calculator to see what your options could be worth.

What is fair market value (FMV)?

Unlike public companies where value is set by the market, private companies use independent appraisers to assess their value. Fair market value is the current value of a private company’s common stock and it determines the strike price.

How small businesses can become more efficient with their time: A conversation with Jeff Lipp from Artkive

We spoke to Jeff Lipp, cofounder and COO of Artkive, to learn how he spends less time on unnecessary busywork and more time growing the business.

Announcements

Carta Launch open beta

Carta Launch is a free cap table management plan for early-stage companies, available exclusively through our law firm partners.

Improving the Carta experience for law firms

Learn more about our recent product improvements we made on Carta for our law firm partners.

Meet Carta for Venture Capital

You’ve used Carta to accept securities and access cap tables. Now we’re building fund admin tools that will change the way you run your back office.

Data & research

The state of private company financing in 2018

With increased access to capital, companies find staying private longer increasingly attractive. We decided to take a look behind these headlines and dig into the data.

Analyzing the gender equity gap

Much has been said about the gender pay gap, but most publicly available research focuses on only one part of compensation: salary. But in startups, wealth is created through equity ownership on the cap table.

The Carta 100 Index

Tracking the marketwide performance of US private companies and startups is difficult. Private companies are not required to disclose performance or valuation information to the public.

Equity education

What is a cap table?

A capitalization table (or “cap table”) is a list of all the securities your company has issued and who owns them. Learn why you need a cap table, what one looks like, how to make one, and more.

What is fair market value (FMV)?

Unlike public companies where value is set by the market, private companies use independent appraisers to assess their value. Fair market value is the current value of a private company’s common stock and it determines the strike price.

What is KYC/AML?

VC funds have an important responsibility to comply with AML laws, and KYC/AML regulations ensure that only legitimate, non-criminal investors contribute to your fund.

Product education

Find your metrics faster with our new investor design

We’ve made it easier for investors to navigate and track their portfolio.

Carta vs Shareworks

Carta makes it easier to keep your cap table up to date and stay compliant throughout your company’s lifecycle.

How to create a cap table (free cap table template)

There’s no standard cap table format, and there are multiple ways to create one. We’ll walk you through a few ways to get started and include a free cap table template you can download.

From our CEO

Fund admin is broken

With Carta, VCs can see real-time IRR instead of waiting for quarterly updates, work with our experienced team, and run capital calls and share documents with LPs.

Twenty Minute VC featuring Henry

Two years ago, Harry Stebbings invited our founder and CEO, Henry Ward, on The Twenty Minute VC podcast. We’ve grown a lot since then, and Henry recently joined Harry again to chat about a range of topics.

Work @ Carta, get liquidity

Today, Carta is at a scale where we can offer liquidity every 12–18 months. All employees with vested shares are eligible.

How we work

Closing the gender gap in equity: How to fix historical errors in equity distribution

We want to help other companies address their historical equity imbalances. Here’s how we reviewed our own equity guidelines, and how we approached extending fix-it grants to employees.

A better job offer letter

At Carta, we spend a lot of time figuring out how to better educate employees about startup equity. We realized that the job offer letter itself was a good place to do this, so in 2016, we decided to reinvent the offer letter. Check ours out and download it to use as a template.

Introducing Execute, a podcast about Carta from a former employee

Execute is a podcast documentary about the history of Carta and a blueprint for anyone who wants to build a startup. It covers the ups and downs of fundraising, the cultural challenges that result from scaling headcount, and the overall transition from a small, focused team into a legit, revenue-producing company.

Partner stories

How small businesses can become more efficient with their time: A conversation with Jeff Lipp from Artkive

We spoke to Jeff Lipp, cofounder and COO of Artkive, to learn how he spends less time on unnecessary busywork and more time growing the business.

How a clean cap table helps you with an acquisition: Interview with MapAnything’s CFO

During MapAnything’s acquisition in 2019, Carta proved to be a valuable tool that sped along the due diligence process.

How to add unique value as a small VC fund: Lessons from Sinai Ventures

Focus on your differentiator Leverage your network Partner (don’t compete) with bigger firms Be bold Find efficiencies wherever you can

Owner’s Manual