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From issuing early equity to IPO, build and scale your business on one platform
Cap Table Management
Issue, track, and process payments for your company's equity securely
409A Valuations
Enter audits with confidence with tailored, cost-effective valuations
SAFE Financings
Issue SAFEs, collect signatures, and move money securely on one platform
Financial Reporting
Generate your latest stock-based compensation reports in a few clicks
Equity Advisory
Empower your team with actionable tax and equity knowledge
Total Compensation
Get reliable salary and equity benchmarks
Liquidity
Execute secondary transactions that fully integrate with your cap table
QSBS Attestation
Optimize your equity tax benefit with the QSBS tax exemption
Launch
For early-stage founders to manage equity and build their cap table
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Fund Management
All Fund Management
Leverage a suite of products and services to support your firm at every stage
Fund Administration
Automate your back office with solutions from scenario modeling to closings
Fund Formations
Form your fund, administer the first close, and execute capital calls in six weeks
Fund Tax
Unlock a seamless tax season with your fund accounting and taxes in one place
SPVs
Form, close, and administer your SPV in just a few clicks
Forecasting & Planning
Guide your fund’s strategy with data-driven precision
ASC 820
Get audit-ready valuations for consistent financial reporting
Capital Call Line of Credit
Access capital outside your regular call cadence
Carta Carry
App
Track tasks, message fund admins, and make approvals-from anywhere
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Find the solutions you need to drive your business forward at any stage
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Providing VCs with an automated back office to help them run funds of any size
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Built for PE funds and portcos (LLC or C-Corp) to manage ownership
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For early-stage founders to manage equity and build their cap table
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Early-Stage Founder
Our curated collection for early-stage founders
Get inspired and level-up with articles, guides, and tools to help you go from pre-seed to Series B—and everything in between.
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Getting started
Author:
The Carta Team
Date:
June 2023
featured article
How to start a startup
Founders have several considerations when starting a startup. Here’s what you need to know to take your company from idea to IPO.
Founder Education
February 2024
Building your founding team
In this article, we’ll cover the various startup positions, when to bring on which type of founding team member, and general guidelines to help you build your founding team.
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Founder Education
January 2024
Startup metrics and KPIs
This glossary covers the basic startup metrics and startup KPIs to know and when to use them to help grow your business.
View
Founder Education
September 2024
Startup accelerators
Joining an accelerator can be a game-changer, providing startups with mentorship, resources, and funding at a key moment in their development.
View
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Popular tools
Cap table template
View tool
Option pool calculator
View tool
QSBS calculator
View tool
Pitch deck template
View tool
Building a team
How to find a co-founder for your startup
A founder’s guide to selecting a startup law firm
How to find a startup advisor
Board of directors (BoD): What founders need to know
Video courses
VIDEO COURSE
Startup Fundraising 101
Learn about the ins and outs of startup fundraising.
VIDEO COURSE
Cap Table 101
Understand cap tables from the founder’s chair—from incorporation to the exit of a fictional company.
VIDEO COURSE
The seed round
Ready to create your first cap table? Begin the journey of a fictional company as we build a cap table from scratch, bring in an advisor, raise early funding rounds, and hire our first employees.
VIDEO COURSE
Startup Fundraising 101
Learn about the ins and outs of startup fundraising.
Cap Table 101
Understand cap tables from the founder’s chair—from incorporation to the exit of a fictional company.
The seed round
Ready to create your first cap table? Begin the journey of a fictional company as we build a cap table from scratch, bring in an advisor, raise early funding rounds, and hire our first employees.
Fundraising
Stock warrants
Learn everything you need to know about warrants, including what they are, their key components, and when to issue them.
Venture debt financing
Learn how venture debt financing works for startups and how venture debt compares to alternatives like traditional loans, equity financing, and private credit.
For startups seeking early-stage funding, ‘requirements have definitely gone up’
Compared to two years ago, valuation step-up multiples have declined while the typical time between priced rounds has risen. How are founders navigating the market’s ebbs and flows?
Simple agreement for future equity (SAFE)
In this article, we’ll break down the potential advantages and disadvantages of fundraising with SAFE agreements and cover everything you need to know before issuing SAFEs.
Stock warrants
Learn everything you need to know about warrants, including what they are, their key components, and when to issue them.
Venture debt financing
For startups seeking early-stage funding, ‘requirements have definitely gone up’
Simple agreement for future equity (SAFE)
Explore the Fundraising Collection
The easiest way to issue SAFEs
Create agreements, collect signatures, and receive funding—all through one connected platform.
Learn more
Equity management
Author:
The Carta Team
Date:
February 2025
featured article
Cap tables
In this article, we explain everything early-stage founders need to know about cap tables, including how to build a cap table, manage company ownership, and prepare for fundraising.
Educational Essentials
August 2024
409A valuation
Learn everything you need to know about 409A valuations including what they are, when you need a valuation, valuation methodologies, and the full process.
View
Founder Education
March 2025
Equity management
As your company grows, equity management can get complex. This comprehensive guide explains the basics of equity management and why it is essential for startup success.
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Equity Education
March 2025
Fair market value (FMV)
Learn about fair market value, what it means for stock, how to determine a stock’s fair market value, and why 409A valuations are so crucial for private companies.
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Founder Education
August 2023
Co-founder equity split
Finding an equity split that all co-founders are comfortable with is complicated. Learn how to split equity with our free co-founder equity calculator.
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Equity Education
January 2024
Equity glossary
Carta's ever-growing glossary of financial and private equity terms will help you understand the jargon that frequently comes up in the industry.
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Equity Education
April 2023
Equity in business
Equity is the portion of a company that is owned by shareholders. We'll guide you through the basics of business equity ownership.
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Taxes
Form 1099-B
83(b) elections
Form 3921
Section 1045: QSBS Rollovers
Explore the Taxes Collection
Product-market fit and go-to-market: Insights from an early-stage VC
Rebecca Lynn, co-founder and general partner at Canvas Ventures, shares strategies for early-stage companies looking to grow their customer base.
Read her story
Founder stories
Mivien Labs
Learn more
Dapple Security
Learn more
Coffee Resurrect
Learn more
Heylist
Learn more
Try Carta Launch
Issue equity and SAFEs, track ownership, and manage your cap table with Carta's free platform for early-stage founders.
Learn more
Valuations
Fair market value (FMV)
Recent VC vintages struggle with a dip in TVPI—and with how to value their investments
Black-Scholes Model (BSM)
409A valuation
View more
Compensation planning
Author:
Josh Steinfeld
Date:
July 2022
featured article
Compensation philosophy
A good compensation philosophy outlines your strategy to hire, retain, and reward talent. It can help you hire affordably, competitively, and fairly.
Compensation
March 2024
Salary benchmarking
Salary benchmarking is the process of comparing internal roles and salaries against the market. Learn how to conduct salary benchmarking for your company.
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Compensation
February 2024
Salary bands
Creating a structure for how much a company pays employees within a job level is a big part of compensation strategy and plays an important role in attracting and retaining top talent.
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Educational Essentials
April 2024
Stock options
Learn about the different types of stock options companies use to compensate employees: incentive stock options (ISO) and non-qualified stock options (NSO).
View
Explore the Compensation Collection
Latest articles
Equity Education
March 2025
Stock warrants
Learn everything you need to know about warrants, including what they are, their key components, and when to issue them.
View
Equity Education
March 2025
Incentive stock options (ISO)
Learn everything you need to know about incentive stock options, including how ISOs work, tax benefits, and how ISOs differ from other types of equity.
View
Equity Education
March 2025
Warrants vs. options
As your company grows and scales, you may have to issue both stock options and warrants at one point or another. What's the difference between the two?
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Equity Education
March 2025
Form 1099-B
Did you receive Form 1099-B from your broker-dealer? Learn more about Form 1099-B and who receives it in this overview.
View
Founder Education
March 2025
Equity management
As your company grows, equity management can get complex. This comprehensive guide explains the basics of equity management and why it is essential for startup success.
View
Data & Research
March 2025
The typical time between VC rounds is shrinking in SaaS and rising in fintech
The median wait time between a seed round and a Series A is much longer today than it was three years ago. At other stages, the difference is even more noticeable—though not in all sectors.
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Equity Education
February 2025
83(b) elections
The tax implications of an 83(b) election vary by the type of equity you hold. In this article, we cover important due dates, filing information, and what to include in form 83(b).
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Educational Essentials
February 2025
Cap tables
In this article, we explain everything early-stage founders need to know about cap tables, including how to build a cap table, manage company ownership, and prepare for fundraising.
View
Founder Education
February 2025
Form 3921
If any of your employees exercised an ISO in the last tax year, your company is required to file Form 3921 with the IRS. Learn how and when to file IRS Form 3921.
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