Henry Ward on Building Beyond the Term Sheet

It's 6:30 AM—an early start, but today's not just another morning.

Progress Day at a16z speedrun .

35 days until Demo Day for Layerpath and other speedrunners!

And if you're in Speedrun, you know what that means: sharpening the pitch, refining the story, and figuring out how to deliver everything that matters—in just two minutes!

Because you don't pitch everything you're doing. You tell a story!

That's been on my mind all week. And it hit differently after hearing Henry Ward (CEO, Carta ) speak at a16z speedrun

I've followed Henry's journey for a while. His founder-first insights on?fundraising, hiring, and scaling?have shaped much of my thinking about building. But something about hearing him?live?last week stuck with me.

And today, as I'm prepping for Progress Day, there's one story I can't shake.

It's not mine.

It's Henry's.

But it has everything to do with the lesson I want to share today.

The Lego Box: The Term Sheet, and a Different Kind of Investor

Henry told us about his Series E fundraising round when Mark Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz personally led Carta's funding. He had a couple of term sheets in hand, including one slightly better than a16z's. With characteristic directness, he told Mark:

I'd really like to work with you. If you match this, I'll sign with you.

What happened next changed how I think about investor relationships forever.

A few hours after breakfast, Mark called: "Hey, can I come by your house and talk about the term sheet?"

Henry was living in a small house in Menlo Park with his baby son. Mark Andreessen—who Henry joked "barely fit through the door"—**showed up on a Sunday. With a box of Legos.**

While my kid played on the floor, we sat at the breakfast table and talked through the deal.

This wasn't just about term sheets.

It was about who you want on your cap table.

Henry tells this story every time he speaks to investors:

For you, writing term sheets is routine. But for a founder, this is a seminal moment in their journey. If Mark Andreessen can show up at my house on a Sunday, you can too.

Why This Matters

In a world obsessed with pitch decks and valuations, Henry's story hits different. Here's someone who:

• Got rejected 300+ times by investors
• Wrote 41 versions of his pitch deck
• Built Carta from a "small market" everyone dismissed into a company serving 40,000+ startups

But what stuck with me wasn't just the scale. It was how he built.

The Complete Playbook for Founders

1. Your Culture is What You Tolerate

Your company will be defined by the lowest standard you allow.

This hit me hard. Henry shared how?one mistake can set a precedent:?one bad hire, one poorly handled situation, one cultural slip.

And suddenly, that's the new standard.

At Carta, he's ruthless about upholding the bar—but with humanity. When they had to do layoffs in 2020, he wrote one of the most transparent, empathetic letters I've seen. He even created a Slack channel for departing employees, saying

I want to create a network where Carta alumni can find each other and work together again.

That's what real culture looks like. Not posters on walls, but how you handle the tough moments.

2. Don't Scale Sales Until You "See the Whites of Their Eyes"

Good go-to-market can sell bad product-market fit for a while. And that's deadly.

Most founders (myself included) hate selling and want to hire a VP of Sales ASAP. But Henry was Carta's only salesperson for a long time.

Why? Because "if you hire a VP of Sales before PMF, you're just hiring a really expensive bandaid. Do the sales yourself. You're the only one who will feel the real market pull."

He even shared a wild story: For a whole month, Carta's sales phone line was accidentally broken—calls would just hang up. That month turned out to be their best revenue month ever. The product was pulling so hard, they didn't even need a sales team yet.

3. Great Leaders Don't Tell Their Execs What to Do—They Hire Execs Who Tell Them What to Do

Henry's interview question for executives floored me:

I don't know your job as well as you do. How do you work with a CEO like that?

Most execs have always worked for someone who used to do their job. But at a startup? The CEO has never been a VP of Sales, CFO, or CMO.

That means great execs don't wait for orders—they expand your vision.

4. Fundraising is More Like Sales Than You Think

Remember those 300+ rejections? Henry views fundraising as "an auction process."

The best founders don't convince investors. They filter for the right match.

And once you have investor buy-in? Use it.

Most founders underutilize their investors. Don't just take the money—make them work for you.

Real Examples

The Cold Start Story

Before Carta became what it is today (40,000+ companies, hundreds of billions in equity), Henry spent a year just begging contacts to put their cap tables on the platform.

VCs said the market was too small. Founders didn't trust a startup with their equity data. It was brutal.

His breakthrough? Instead of selling to startups directly, he pitched investors. Every fundraising meeting became a two-part pitch: "Invest in us, and get your portfolio to use us."

That's how network effects are born.

The Price Change That Changed Everything

Early on, Carta (then eShares) charged a monthly subscription. Founders pushed back: "I pay $20 for QuickBooks and use it daily. Why would I pay $50 for something I check quarterly?"

Henry's response? He completely changed the model. Instead of subscriptions, they charged per stock certificate issued—about the same as what founders were already paying lawyers for paper certificates.

Suddenly, the "no-brainers" started flowing. One clever pricing change unlocked their early growth.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1) Scaling Sales Too Soon

• Don't hire a VP of Sales before a true product-market fit (PMF)
• Let founders feel market pull directly
• Selling too early can mask fundamental product issues

2) Hiring for Vision When You Need Execution

• Many founders hire product leaders who are "visionaries" just like them
• Instead, hire people who complement you
• Look for doers, not just thinkers

3) Measuring Success with Lagging Indicators

• Don't chase revenue at the cost of sustainability
• Focus on customer satisfaction, retention, and engagement
• These drive long-term growth

4) Being Too Transparent in the Wrong Areas

• Employees don't always need every up and down
• Be open about long-term strategy
• Shield the team from daily volatility

Bringing It Back: Why This Matters Today

Here at a16z speedrun , we have 35 days until Demo Day.

And in the next few weeks, we're all refining how we tell our story.

This reminds me of Henry's journey:

• Like him, we're iterating on our pitch (though hopefully not 41 versions!)
• Like him, we need to focus on inputs (product, customers) before outputs (growth)
• Like him, we should choose partners who show up, not just write checks

Your Turn

Some questions I'm thinking about today—and I'd love to hear your thoughts:

1. Are you feeling the market pull, or just pushing harder?
2. Are you hiring leaders who expand your vision—or just executing it?
3. What's the lowest standard you've let slide?

Share your reflections in the comments.

And if you're in Speedrun? See you on Progress Day. 35 days to go. Let's build! ??

P.S. Special thanks to you for the candid wisdom of Henry Ward and to the a16z speedrun team for creating spaces where these conversations happen. Sometimes, the best insights come while a founder explains term sheets over Legos!