Vaporox, a healthcare technology company specializing in advanced wound healing solutions, switched their equity management from Carta to Cake and achieved 40% cost reduction. In doing so, they also gained a more user-friendly platform that simplified equity management for both the finance team and employees.
The transition, completed in just two weeks, enabled the company to maintain comprehensive equity participation across all employees while improving cash flow through flexible payment options.
Vaporox operates at the intersection of healthcare innovation and skilled nursing facility care, developing cutting-edge oxygen vapor technology that accelerates wound healing.
As Controller, Jana Gendron oversees all financial operations and equity reporting for this pioneering medical device company. "We are in the business of healing wounds. Our machine is basically a vapor that has a super content of oxygen. So when we treat wounds, they're able to close and heal,” Jana explained.
The company's innovative approach to wound care serves skilled nursing facilities, where chronic wounds represent a significant healthcare challenge. Their oxygen-enriched vapor technology provides a novel solution to accelerate healing processes, improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
As a startup heavily backed by equity investment, Vaporox needed robust cap table management to handle investor relations, employee equity programs, and audit requirements. However, their existing solution with Carta presented a significant financial burden.
"After working with Carta, we were facing an annual cost of $16,000. The cost was just not making any sense for us."
For a growing startup where every dollar counts, this expense represented a substantial portion of their operational budget.
The company needed a solution that could deliver professional-grade equity management capabilities without the enterprise-level pricing that threatened to constrain their growth and innovation efforts.
For Vaporox, the financial transformation was immediate and substantial. Moving from Carta's $16,000 annual fee to Cake's more accessible pricing model meant recovering 40% of the cost annually—funds that could be redirected toward R&D, clinical trials, or expanding their skilled nursing facility partnerships.
This cost reduction transformed equity management from a budget strain into a manageable operational expense.
"You guys were able to offer something that was affordable for us and even for the payment plan. We are on the quarterly payment plan, which helps with cash flow. We don't have to dish out something at the beginning of the year."
The quarterly payment structure proved particularly valuable for a medical device startup managing the typical cash flow challenges of the healthcare industry. Rather than facing a large annual payment that could disrupt funding cycles or limit flexibility during critical development phases, Vaporox gained predictable, manageable quarterly expenses that aligned with their financial planning cycles.
This payment flexibility meant the difference between viewing equity management as a burden versus a sustainable investment in their company's infrastructure.
Despite managing complex equity data, the migration from Carta to Cake proved remarkably straightforward. Jana's initial concerns about transferring extensive cap table data quickly dissipated as Cake's team handled the technical aspects of the migration.
"It's a massive file, massive data. I was worried, and I reviewed it after the transfer, but everything was good. Everything was aligned great."
The seamless transition preserved all critical equity information while establishing a more sustainable cost structure for the company's ongoing operations.
Beyond the cost benefits, Cake's user experience transformed how Jana manages equity operations daily. As a controller wearing multiple hats in a fast-moving startup, she needed a platform that would simplify rather than complicate her workflow.
"It is very user friendly. I like the feature for the communication with the investors and how you can send mass notifications and emails. I like the interface where I can see if an invite to the portal has been sent and the investor has accepted it. ”
The visual interface delivered exactly that—replacing complex spreadsheets and manual tracking with an intuitive, color-coded system that provides instant clarity on investor communications and stakeholder status.
“I'm a visual person, visual learner—so the color coding is super helpful to me. I find it very user friendly."
This visual approach to equity management extends beyond personal preference. The platform's design aligns with how modern finance professionals need to work—quickly understanding complex information at a glance, tracking multiple stakeholder interactions simultaneously, and maintaining clear communication channels with both investors and employees.
"With a startup, I wear many hats and if anybody can help me with managing a spreadsheet and putting it into the portal, I am eternally thankful."
For Jana, this meant less time decoding spreadsheets and more time on strategic financial planning for Vaporox's growth.
The implementation of Cake Equity delivered significant benefits across multiple dimensions:
Vaporox's approach to equity reflects a broader philosophy about aligning employee interests with company success. By ensuring every team member holds equity in the company, they've created a culture of ownership that drives innovation in their wound care technology.
"Every employee has a slice of cake here. The amount of shares depends on the role with the company, but everybody is signed up for Cake, and they do have their portal. The most fun they have in Cake, is you can see if you sell this company for this much, how much you would get. They have the most fun playing with that."
This universal equity participation model, supported by Cake's accessible platform, helps attract and retain talent in the competitive healthcare technology sector while ensuring all team members benefit from the company's growth and success.
Vaporox's successful transition from Carta to Cake demonstrates that startups don't need to accept prohibitive costs for professional equity management. By choosing a solution aligned with their stage and budget, they maintained comprehensive equity administration capabilities while dramatically reducing costs.
The company's experience highlights critical success factors for equity management in growing startups: selecting tools that scale with company needs, prioritizing user experience to encourage employee engagement, and maintaining flexibility in payment structures to support cash flow management.
For healthcare technology companies and other startups navigating the complex landscape of equity management, Vaporox's journey illustrates that affordable solutions can effectively support both investor relations and employee equity programs without compromising functionality or compliance requirements.
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