It's a boon for the employer as well as the employee and creates a well regulated and transparent environment between the two.
It took a lot of time to onboard Carta as a vendor and we had to engage a small team around ESOPs from our side but that was not a major problem and I think it is the process for every company.
Helps me view my ESOPs details - how much awarded, how much vested, related certificates, strike price, etc.
They automate a lot of the more ministerial services that I manually perform for my clients at great expense.
For early stage companies, it's expensive. Some of my clients have a lot of stakeholders.
Just having accurate records is a major benefit. Consistent and verifiable stakeholder communications is another. Plus, we''ve used the data room capability and, of course, their 409A valuation service.
Ease of use and comprehensive. Good customer service.
Pricing is starting to creep up - especially for startups that are looking to pinch pennies.
(1) Previously, I had multiple, huge spreadsheets that I used for cap table management. Maintaining them took a lot of time, resulting in a lot of grunt work. Carta has reduced it by over 90%. (2) Getting valuations done was a headache, but not anymore.
Carta is an all in one solution for equity management and reporting. The platform is easy to use and meets all of our needs.
There aren't any downsides other than pricing for smaller companies is high.
409A, Equity management, stock option accounting, financial reporting
Carta is great, especially for a small to a midsized private company. The platform is easy to navigate, with helpful resources. The customer support team is always able to resolve my requests. The exercise simulator is a great feature to use before exercising your options.
Sometimes support can take long to respond back to email requests. When importing draft options, it would be nice to include the cost center field instead of having to do a separate import.
Cap Table Management, Tax Form 3921 and 409A Valuation
Everything. Easy to use and simple to figure it out. Great UX. All of the features one needs. Ability to leverage data for compensation, can manage Board resolutions and fundraise.
Nothing. I like it all. It's a great product. The value is there.
Full cap table and fundraise management plus compensation benchmarking.
I like to have the information at my fingertips, whether via reports or drilling down in individual sections.
It takes some knowledge you might not have on the top of your head in order to set it up, but after that it's gravy.
Carta primarily helps me track rounds and investors and also value options.
The ability to review one's equity grants, the price and vesting schedule. The information is set out straight forward and you can look at each grant and its vesting easily.
There really isn't anything I don't like. The additional features added have resolved my dislikes.
The learn the basics of equity is awesome, as it allowed me to direct employees to a creditable site to gain information and thereby freeing up my time.