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Running a startup can be expensive, and requires a large number of different subscriptions. Cap table management software, which helps founders organize their funding, can cost thousands of dollars annually.
San Francisco-based Carta is the market leader in the industry. But some startup founders say Carta makes it too difficult to cancel their subscriptions.
The issue first appeared on X after Pipeline founder Sudarshan Sridharan to publish About his struggle trying to cancel, he wrote: “I’m speechless about how opposed the founder @cartainc is. They make it impossible to cancel your subscription or talk to a human support agent.”
He wrote that Carta requested a “cancellation request” meeting with his customer success manager to terminate his subscription. But the slots were only available starting on December 26, well after the December 17 renewal date, as the founder posted:
Adam Ryan, CEO of startup WorkWeek, too to publish About only being able to schedule a cancellation request well after the renewal date.
“The calendar pops up after you check a box to cancel. The next available date is December 26. “Our renewal date is (December 17),” Ryan told TechCrunch. “I never completed the process. I just emailed them and told Amex it was not approved and showed the screenshots so they could reject the seller.
Carta told TechCrunch that these issues with booking a meeting to cancel were due to a “one-off staffing challenge.”
A Carta spokesperson said: “This was a one-off recruitment challenge that created a calendar availability issue which is currently being addressed.” “Customers who need support during this time can reach out to our live support team via chat or phone during extended business hours.”
But several of Carta’s competitors told TechCrunch that they are not holding meetings to cancel the service.
“Customers can completely unsubscribe directly from the program by clicking a few buttons or by sending us an email,” said Sumukh Sridhara, AngelList founder and product lead. “In my opinion, there is no good reason for a cap table seller to force you to make a call.”
Paulie, another competitor, said the same thing.
“At Pulley, our cancellation process is straightforward. Customers can cancel their subscription by emailing support@pulley.com. There is no requirement to book an appointment or attend a meeting to cancel (this Not a standard industry practice).” “Cancellation request is processed upon receipt of email, and we process these requests as quickly as possible to ensure customers are able to cancel before renewal dates.”
Requesting these types of meetings runs the risk of delaying staff shortages when the founder is able to cancel. in Video clip on the Carta websitethese meetings are displayed as available the next day. but two Screenshots Sharing by the founders shows that these appointments are only available during the 17 days of this month.
Another screenshot shared exclusively with TechCrunch shows a meeting about renewal pricing (not cancellation) only being available at one very inconvenient time this month: 6:00 a.m. the day after Christmas, December 26.
Carta says its appointment system is designed to ensure its clients fully understand the process and migrate securities data as smoothly as possible.
“We offer appointments to ensure that our clients have a clear understanding of the cancellation process, best practices to mitigate the impact to shareholders and investors, and initiate the safe and proper transfer of securities data (as clients lose access to the Carta platform once they are no longer able to do so) Contract with Carta for Services ), she told TechCrunch.
“We realize that some customers may prefer a less personalized approach. As such, we are always open to feedback and will take feedback into account moving forward.
Carta also said that its equity management is “not just a SaaS product” and as a product SEC transfer agentThere are “different steps required compared to a typical SaaS company.”
But Polly, which does not use rescission dates, is also a transfer agent with the Securities and Exchange Commission. According to To its website.
A lot of founders are still using Carta and the original viral version mail He has comments from people praising the company’s product.
“We switched from Carta to Diligent to try to reduce cost and it was a disaster. He went back to Carta and will never leave again. It’s a 100 times better product and it keeps getting better.” to publish Bill Smith, founder of Landing.
Katie Jacobs Stanton, whose company is a “minor investor” in Carta and also uses the program, to publish “It must be a mistake! They’ve been really great for our teams (and us).”
Carta’s practices have come under scrutiny before. In January 2024, Kari Saarinen, founder of programming startup Linear, accused Carta of sharing private cap table data, claiming that a Carta employee contacted an angel investor claiming to have an offer for his shares without notifying Saarinen first. Carta ended up exiting the secondary stock trading market, selling last August to a public stock trading startup.
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