a16z   /     What Founders Get Wrong About Scaling – With Carta’s CEO

Summary

Henry Ward, cofounder and CEO of Carta, has spent over a decade scaling his company from an early-stage startup to a 2,000-person industry leader. In this Speedrun conversation with a16z Games partner Josh Lu, Henry shares hard-earned lessons on: -Hiring missionaries vs. mercenaries — and how to keep company culture intact as you scale -The reality of product-market fit and why many founders try to sell too soon -The evolution of a CEO — from building a product to building a system around you -Inputs vs. outputs, and why companies should focus on the right leading indicators -Transparency in leadership, including when (and when not) to share This episode is packed with candid insights and lessons on company building. Recorded live at the a16z Speedrun program, you can learn more at a16z.com/games/speedrun.

Subtitle
Henry Ward, cofounder and CEO of Carta, has spent over a decade scaling his company from an early-stage startup to a 2,000-person industry leader. In this Speedrun conversation with a16z Games partner Josh Lu, Henry shares hard-earned lessons on: -Hiri
Duration
00:40:37
Publishing date
2025-03-07 11:00
Link
https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/what-founders-get-wrong-about-scaling-with-cartas-ceo-MI_8gVUi
Contributors
  Josh Lu, Henry Ward, Steph Smith
author  
Enclosures
https://mgln.ai/e/1344/afp-848985-injected.calisto.simplecastaudio.com/3f86df7b-51c6-4101-88a2-550dba782de8/episodes/fda933aa-9165-43d5-9fa2-ed10a5132a77/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=3f86df7b-51c6-4101-88a2-550dba782de8&awEpisodeId=
audio/mpeg

Shownotes

Henry Ward, cofounder and CEO of Carta, has spent over a decade scaling his company from an early-stage startup to a 2,000-person industry leader. In this a16z Speedrun conversation with Games partner Josh Lu, Henry shares hard-earned lessons on:

  • Hiring missionaries vs. mercenaries — and how to keep company culture intact as you scale
  • The reality of product-market fit and why many founders try to sell too soon
  • The evolution of a CEO — from building a product to building a system around you
  • Inputs vs. outputs, and why companies should focus on the right leading indicators
  • Transparency in leadership, including when (and when not) to share

This episode is packed with candid insights and lessons on company building. Recorded live at the a16z Speedrun program, you can learn more at a16z.com/games/speedrun.

 

Resources: 

Find Henry on X: https://x.com/henrysward

Find Josh on X: https://x.com/JoshLu

 

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