What does Dock add on top of Carta for portfolio monitoring?
Carta tracks the cap table, valuations, and round-by-round ownership for each portfolio company. It does not record which partner reviewed a quarterly mark, which agent drafted the monitoring brief, or which flag the partner accepted before the next IC. Dock holds that layer. The agent reads Carta for the raw metric, drafts a brief in a Dock row, attaches the Affinity relationship context, and waits for the named partner to sign. Carta stays canonical for the number. Dock stays canonical for the decision.
Carta is used by venture firms to manage their portfolios (Wikipedia: Carta), and the ILPA Reporting Template sets the standard for what LPs expect to see each quarter (ILPA Reporting Template). The Dock layer sits between those two surfaces.
Carta and Affinity stay the system of record for the raw data. Dock is the system of record for what the AGENT INTERPRETS. Each Dock row carries a pointer back to the platform record, agent identity, decision, reviewer, and timestamp. The agent re-fetches platform data via fresh API reads when it needs current state.
The Dock surface: Portfolio Monitoring Briefs
| Company (Carta ID) | Trigger metric | Agent draft | Partner of record | Status | Timestamp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lumen Bio (carta:co_8821) | Cash runway dropped from 14 to 7 months | "Bridge conversation warranted; founder receptive per Affinity last-touch 12d ago" by agent:portfolio-scout |
Priya R. | Accepted, scheduled for IC | 2026-05-28 09:14 |
| Tessera Labs (carta:co_4410) | Revenue +38% QoQ, ARR crossed $2M | "Mark up 1.4x; prep for follow-on conversation" by agent:portfolio-scout |
Daniel K. | Sent back, partner wants raw cohort data | 2026-05-29 16:02 |
| Stillwater (carta:co_6203) | New SAFE round closed at flat cap | "No mark change; note governance dilution" by agent:portfolio-scout |
Priya R. | Accepted, filed to LP packet | 2026-05-30 08:41 |
Each row points back to the Carta company record. The agent identity field shows which agent drafted it. The partner of record field is required before status can move past Draft.
One worked workflow
Monday morning, the portfolio agent reads Carta for every company where a metric crossed a threshold the firm set. For Lumen Bio, runway dropped under eight months. The agent re-fetches the latest founder note from Affinity, drafts a one-paragraph brief into a new Dock row, and assigns Priya as partner of record because she leads that company. Priya reviews the brief Tuesday, accepts it, and the row moves to the IC packet. The agent never sends the brief to the LP letter on its own. The named partner sign-off is the gate, and the agent identity is logged for the lifecycle audit.
Why this matters
LPs ask who saw the flag and when. A Carta export answers what the number was. A Dock row answers who interpreted it, which partner signed, and which agent drafted the language. That separation is the same pattern we use for investor updates on the founder side and for research memos with named reviewers. It is also what makes the agent audit trail usable when an LP asks for last quarter's decision log.
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FAQ
Does the agent write directly to Carta? No. The agent reads from Carta and writes its interpretation to Dock. The Carta record stays untouched until a human edits it through Carta itself.
What happens when a partner rejects an agent draft? The row moves to Sent back. The agent reads the rejection note, re-fetches Carta and Affinity, and drafts a second version. Both drafts stay in the row history with timestamps.
Can two agents work the same portfolio? Yes. Each row records which agent drafted it. A monitoring agent and a deal-sourcing agent can both write to the same company without overwriting each other, because the partner-of-record field gates which draft becomes the firm's position. See the pattern on the founder side.
How does this connect to LP quarterly reporting? Accepted Dock rows flow into the LP packet with partner attribution intact. The LP sees the firm's position, not the agent draft. The internal audit trail keeps both.
