Carta abandons startup shutdown business, instead backs SimpleClosure’s $15M Series A

In February of 2024, equity management startup Carta revealed that it was getting into the startup winddown business with a new offering called Carta Conclusions.

By December, the company had decided to “retire” that offering, according to a blog post.

And now, SimpleClosure, a startup that has described itself as “the Turbo Tax of shutting down,” has announced that Carta is a new investor in its $15 million Series A round.

Carta’s decision to shift gears was driven by the realization that it “made more sense to invest and partner with a team laser-focused on solving this problem rather than building in-house,” said Carta spokesperson Amanda Taggart. (It’s also offering its customers a free consultation and a 10% discount on SimpleClosure’s services.)

Dori Yona came up with the idea for SimpleClosure when building his last company after being tasked by a board member to create a “shutdown analysis.” The process was so complex, Yona felt compelled to build a software technology platform  to help automate and streamline the shutdown process. Demand initially was so great that the young startup had already crossed seven figures in annualized revenue by February of 2024, according to Yona. 

At that time, SimpleClosure announced that it had raised $4 million less than six months after it raised $1.5 million in pre-seed funding. In total, it has raised $20.5 million.

TTV Capital led SimpleClosure’s $15 million Series A, which also included participation from existing investors Infinity Ventures, Anthemis, and Vera Equity. Besides Carta, new backers included The LegalTech Fund and a group of unnamed angel investors.

“The reality is that 90% of startups don’t make it, and shutting down remains the unspoken but necessary part of entrepreneurship,” Yona said. “We hope companies never need us, but if they do, we’re here to help them do it the right way.”

In 2024, SimpleClosure saw its revenue grow by 12x compared to the year prior, according to Yona.