a16z Podcast

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

Henry Ward and Joshua Lu

Posted March 7, 2025

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.