E37: Carta - Cap Table Data Questions Lead Billion-Dollar Startup to Shutdown Secondary Business The Girls Table

This weekend Carta, the go-to cap table platform for startups, was accused by customer Linear of unethical tactics leveraging sensitive investor data. As a fellow investor, venture capitalist, and Carta user, I dove in to unpack the implications.



The core allegations were:



- Without Linear's consent, a Carta rep emailed their investor fishing for interest in a supposed “firm buy order” for Linear equity

- This crossed ethical lines by exploiting cap table data entrusted to Carta



Carta also facilitated secondary sales via CartaX, matching private stock buyers and sellers. This sparked concerns about potential data misuse between business lines.



Restoring trust is now Carta’s top priority. On Monday, Carta's CEO Henry Ward took swift action by shutting down the CartaX secondary trading platform altogether. He stated the move would "eliminate any concern that we are not acting in our founders' best interests."



Carta's quick response is rebuilding trust in the community.



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