Kori, a diversity technology platform and financial services conference certification program, is closing after about three years. according to a letter by co-founders Liz Gagnon and Sonya Dreizler.
In the letter, Gagnon and Dreizler say the business will shut down as of Dec. 31, including the Conference Diversity Certification, which aimed to create an industry standard for diversity in conferences, and the company's Voices of the Chorus platform. which connected individuals to conferences, podcasts and media opportunities.
When citing the reasons for the shutdown, Gagnon and Dreizler acknowledged that “startups are risky” and that “disrupting the status quo is hard work,” and framed Kori's difficulty in the context of the broader headwinds it faces. diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
“In what will come as no surprise to anyone involved in DEI initiatives, Kori has seen a significant decline in industry demand for diversity initiatives in the past two years,” the letter said. “Specifically, there has been less interest in allocating dollars toward DEI initiatives, particularly related to racial diversity efforts.”
Gagnon and Dreizler also acknowledged that the two directors had less time to devote to running the business than when it first started, and they came to the “hard conclusion” that they did not have the bandwidth to continue the organization at the level of the quality they wanted.
The choir opened at the end of 2021. His certification was the first of its kind in the industry, and his goal was to encourage conference organizers to invite more women, non-binary speakers, and people of color to speak at industry events.
Conference organizers would work with Kori to rate their events, and the company would use that data to build frameworks to help conference organizers meet the highest standards of diversity each year. The choir would score each conference on its commitment to DEI, and scores of 60 or higher would ensure the conference's eligibility for certification and a bronze, silver, or gold badge to show its commitment to the cause.
of the company launched its Voices platform in September 2022. Although the platform will shut down at the end of this year, a modified public version will remain available until mid-2025, according to the letter from Gagnon and Dreizler.
The co-founders emphasized that the choir's work will continue after the organization ends, and the directors look forward to collaborating with others striving for similar goals.
“Many of you are also working to make financial services more inclusive and representative of the world around us,” they wrote. “As this chapter closes for us, we hope our progress serves as a stepping stone for other people.”