Carta

👟 Venture-backed founders: you're in a marathon, not a sprint 👟 Sharing data on the journey from incorporation to key funding milestones. The charts below show the time to primary rounds for software startups. 🌱 𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 (includes priced seed rounds & SAFEs over $2M) ⏩️ Median: 1.8 years from incorporation; up 15% from 2019 🔄 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔 ⏩️ Median: 3.1 years from incorporation; up 10% from 2019 ⏳ 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗕 ⏩️ Median: 4.7 years from incorporation; up 16% from 2019 📊 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗖 ⏩️ Median: 6 years from incorporation; slightly down from 2023 📈 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗗 ⏩️ Median: 8.1 years from incorporation Key takeaways ⤵️ 1️⃣ Startups are staying private longer. 2️⃣ Skipping stages is common. Progress can leapfrog us from seed to Series B. 3️⃣ Choose your co-founder(s) wisely. You may be building together for a long time. #VentureCapital #StartupGrowth #FundingMilestones #Entrepreneurship #StartupJourney

📊 State of Startup Compensation, H1 2024 📊 A few highlights from our latest report ⤵️ 1️⃣ Dynamic Movement: Over 60,000 hires and departures in the first four months of 2024 reflect a bustling startup landscape.    2️⃣ Geographical Shifts: Increased compensation in metro areas like Atlanta, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Sacramento showcases changing compensation dynamics. 3️⃣ Salary Trends:    - Average salaries have held steady since late 2023.    - Significant increases for entry-level roles, while senior roles saw marginal changes. 4️⃣ Equity Packages: The average size of equity packages for new hires has stabilized after a significant decline in 2022 and 2023. 5️⃣ Hiring Trends:    - January 2024 saw fewer new hires compared to previous years.    - The total net headcount has remained flat, with notable growth in the energy, medical devices, and hardware sectors. 6️⃣ Layoffs and Departures:    - Layoffs have decreased significantly, with a 38% drop since January 2024.    - Voluntary departures have also seen a steady decline. 7️⃣ Company Composition:     - Less than 3% of venture-backed companies are at Series D or later, yet they account for 25% of headcount. At Carta, we leverage vast amounts of data from over 43,000 startups to bring you actionable insights. 📥 For a deeper dive, download the full report now: https://lnkd.in/gJ-p8gtV #StartupCompensation #StartupEcosystem #HiringTrends #EquityCompensation #SalaryTrends

Is it easier to build a business with less cash today? While some traditional expenses have decreased, new financial demands emerge. It's not just about reducing costs but reallocating resources effectively. —Kate Beardsley of Hannah Grey VC There are two major buckets to consider: talent and capital for customer acquisition. Even if you need fewer people, you still need a capable team to execute your vision and secure customers. —Peter Walker Watch the full episode to learn more about navigating the financial landscape of startups in 2024: https://lnkd.in/dnazwpTN #StartupInsights #VC #Entrepreneurship #StartupFunding

📽️ What Does an Account Director Do at Carta? 📽️ At Carta, our Account Directors play a crucial role in ensuring a seamless experience for our clients. Here’s what they want you to know about their work: 🔹 Your Quarterback: We are your main point of contact, guiding you through the Carta ecosystem. We want you to reach out to us as much as needed because that’s why we’re here. 🔹 Trusted Advisors: If you face a problem for the first time, odds are we’ve seen it before. We provide expert advice and quick solutions to help you move forward. 🔹 Comprehensive Support: Whether you have a product-related question, need a process update, or want the status of a capital call, we’ve got you covered. We advocate for you internally to ensure you have all the services you need. 🔹 Your Voice at Carta: We make sure everything runs smoothly so you don’t have to worry about accounting or other admin tasks. We’re here to make your experience with Carta as stress-free as possible. Learn more about how our fund admin team supports you in achieving your goals: https://lnkd.in/ghsBmrxV #FundAdministration

The Administration recently proposed its outbound investment rule, which would curtail U.S. investment related to key geographical regions that fund and support the development of key technologies. On this edition of Policy Live, the Carta team will be joined by a special guest, Jesse Sucher, former Senior Adviser to the Assistant Secretary for Investment Security at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, to discuss the rule. In addition to a deep dive on outbound investment, the Policy team will also dive into how the upcoming election will impact the evolving political landscape around private markets, and what it means for you, private funds, and the innovation ecosystem. Join Carta Policy Live at 12 pm (ET) on Friday, July 19 to learn more.

Carta 🤝 Kayne Anderson, a middle-market private equity firm with a 40-year track record and $35 billion in assets under management. Many of Kayne Anderson’s portfolio companies use Carta to manage their cap tables. When their growth capital team saw how Carta made life easier for those companies, they reached out to partner more closely. Working with standardized data and reports from Carta allowed Kayne’s investment team to stay on top of cap table information and generate quarterly reports more efficiently. “We already had some portfolio companies on Carta, so we decided to drive more adoption across the portfolio. That way, we could integrate some of Carta’s technology through the use of APIs to make our operational processes more standardized.” -Andrew DeYoung, Managing Director at Kayne Anderson “Carta definitely saves time. It’s always easier to work with a Carta cap table, because we know where everything is. You know exactly where to look when you’re looking at a Carta document.” -Ronald T. Pierre, Vice President at Kayne Anderson From managing complex equity structures to providing unparalleled transparency to their investment team, we’re excited for Carta’s partnership with Kayne Anderson. 🔗 Learn more about Carta’s support of this leading PE firm at the link in comments.

Management teams dream of ringing the stock exchange’s opening bell to announce their IPO. An IPO is the largest fundraising event a company will ever go through. But behind the picture perfect ending are years of hard work and preparation—from soliciting public company vendors, to preparing for the audit, to drafting the S-1.   Join Tom Keiser, Chief Operating Officer of Carta, and Michael Harris, Global Head of Capital Markets for the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday, July 23 at 10am PT / 1pm ET for a discussion on what management teams need to think about as they consider taking their company public, including: ⏩️ Ways to IPO: traditional, direct listing, SPAC ⏩️ When to start preparing for an IPO ⏩️ What type of new vendors will a company need to engage when preparing for an IPO ⏩️ What can companies expecting an IPO do now? 📆 Register: https://lnkd.in/gNSGekvf

🎬 Get to Know the Carta Fund Admin Team 🎬 Our Fund Admin team brings a wealth of expertise to Carta, making sure our clients receive top-notch support and service. By the time they arrive at Carta, account directors have a minimum of five years of experience in the asset management sector. Our most experienced team members have been in the field for decades. 👤 Megan Greer, Peter von Rosenvinge, Kimberly Cook, Perry Cheng and Matthew Woo featured in this video are just a few of the 400-person Carta Fund Admin team. At Carta, our account directors are your main point of contact, providing comprehensive support and ensuring all your fund administration needs are met efficiently. Watch the video to learn more about their backgrounds and how they can help you succeed with Carta. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gHQhvg7x #FundAdministration

SAFEs have dominated pre-seed fundraising for years and now they’re used in nearly half of all seed rounds. Why did this happen? Here’s Peter Walker's take: ⏩ Investors got more comfortable with SAFEs at larger dollar amounts, probably due to the introduction of side letters into many deals.   ⏩ The fact that companies now often raised multiple SAFE rounds means that all those investors receive the anti-dilutive benefits of the (post-money) SAFE.   ⏩ Venture hubs across the country followed the Silicon Valley lead towards higher usage of this funding pathway. Priced round vs. SAFEs and convertible notes: Priced rounds require more upfront negotiating and legal involvement than convertibles, but they also give you a clearer picture of how much your company is worth and the ownership percentages of each stakeholder. Convertible notes and SAFEs, on the other hand, offer more flexibility and control if you’re still figuring out where your company is headed. It's crucial for startup founders to understand how SAFEs work, their pros and cons, and what your alternative options are for fundraising—see the link in comments for more on this. #startupfundraising #SAFEs #founders

Meet Clara Pazos, a support analyst on the fund admin team 🤝 The minute Clara finishes one book, she starts reading another which is why she’s traveling everywhere with her Kindle in her bag. “The book reimbursement policy at Carta allows me to continue reading all the time. A book I recently read that I’d recommend people to read is ‘The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society’ by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. This book is the perfect read for someone who just wants to pick up a book to relax. It has quirky characters who love literature, some WWII history, and a bit of romance. I found it heartwarming and inspirational. Happy reading!” Carta’s book reimbursement policy allows Cartans to consume books of all forms and topics, and fully reimburses their cost. Read more about our benefits here:https://lnkd.in/gsunKHUB  📚 #LifeAtCarta #BookClub #BookRecommendation