Some founders say Carta makes it too difficult to cancel subscriptions

Managing a startup can be expensive, requiring many different subscriptions. Cap table management software that helps founders arrange funding can cost thousands of dollars a year.

Based in San Francisco, Carta is the market leader in this industry. But some startup founders say Carta makes it too difficult to cancel their subscriptions.

The issue first surfaced after Pipeline founder Sudarshan Sridharan at X placed writing about the struggles he’s trying to overturn, saying, “I’m speechless at how anti-establishment @cartainc is. They make it impossible to cancel your subscription or speak to a human support agent.”

To end his Carta subscription, the customer requested a meeting with a success manager with a “cancellation request,” he wrote. But slots were only available since December 26th, well past the December 17th update date, the founder posted:

Adam Ryan, also CEO of startup Workweek placed only about being able to schedule a cancellation request well past the renewal date.

“Once you check the box to cancel, the calendar pops up. The next possible date is December 26. Our renewal date is (December) 17,” Ryan told TechCrunch. “I never finished the process. I just emailed them and told Amex it wasn’t verified and showed the screenshots so they could deny the seller.

Carta told TechCrunch that these problems booking an appointment to cancel were due to a “one-time staffing issue.”

“This was a one-off staffing issue resulting in a calendar availability issue which is currently being resolved,” a Carta spokesperson said. “During this time, customers who need support can contact our live Support Team via chat or phone during extended business hours.”

But several of Carta’s competitors told TechCrunch that they have no plans to scrap the service.

“Customers can completely unsubscribe right in the software with a few clicks of buttons or by sending us an email,” said Sumukh Sridhara, Head of Founder Products at AngelList. “I don’t think there’s any good reason for a cover desk salesperson to force you to call.”

Pulley, another competitor, said the same thing.

“Our cancellation process at Pulley is simple. Customers can cancel their subscription by emailing support@pulley.com. There is no requirement to book an appointment or attend a cancellation meeting (which is not standard industry practice),” said Alison Gonzalez, Pulley’s vice president of marketing. We resolve these requests as quickly as possible to do so.”

Requiring such meetings runs the risk of staff shortages that delay when the founder can cancel. In A video on the Carta websitesuch appointments are shown as available the next day. But two screenshots shows that such appointments shared by founders are available for 17 days only for this month.

Another screenshot, shared exclusively with TechCrunch, shows that the renewal pricing (non-cancellation) deal is only available at a very inconvenient time this month: the day after Christmas, December 26th at 6:00am.

Carta says its destination system is designed to ensure its customers fully understand the process and transfer securities information as smoothly as possible.

“We offer meetings to ensure our clients have a clear understanding of the liquidation process, best practices to mitigate the impact on their shareholders and investors, and to initiate the secure and proper transfer of securities information (since clients have already lost access to the Carta platform) contract with Carta for services” said TechCrunch.

“We understand that some customers may prefer a less tailored approach. Therefore, we are always open to feedback and will take it into account in the future.”

Carta also said that its capital management is “not just a SaaS product” and as such SEC transfer agentThere are “different steps required for a typical SaaS company.”

But Pulley, who does not use cancellation meetings, is also an SEC transfer agent. according to to your site.

Many founders still use Carta and the original viral post there are comments from people praising the company’s product.

“We switched from Carta to Diligent to try to cut costs and it was a disaster. He returned to Carta and will not leave again. It’s a 100 times better product and it keeps getting better.” placed Bill Smith, founder of Landing.

Katie Jacobs Stanton, whose firm Carta is a “junior investor” and also uses the software, placed “There must be a mistake! They were really great to our teams (and to us).”

Carta’s practices have come under scrutiny before. In January 2024, Karri Saarinen, founder of coding startup Linear, accused Carta, which has shared private cap sheet information, claimed that a Carta employee contacted one of its angel investors who claimed to have an offer for its shares without notifying Saarinen first. Carta ended output secondary stock trading market, sale This August stock market trading startup Public.