Reflecting on Kapor Capital’s 5th annual People Operations Tech Summit & Pitch Competition on December 4, 2019.
At Kapor Capital, we know first hand how important it is to create inclusive ecosystems that leverage tech tools to solve tech’s diversity and inclusion problems across employee life cycles. We believe this requires collaboration from entrepreneurs, investors, Diversity & Inclusion professionals, and HR teams. Five years ago, we embarked on a plan to create the first People Operations Tech Pitch (POT) Competition to amplify companies that are helping to level the playing field, bringing in more diverse talent and creating environments where all employees blossom. The competition has garnered hundreds of applications from founders working to build a more diverse and inclusive tech ecosystem, and has provided $500K in non-dilutive capital to companies.
Our 5th annual People Operations Tech Summit & Pitch Competition brought together Diversity & Inclusion professionals working across multiple HR functions. Our MC, Carolina Huaranca Mendoza, Advisor at Kapor Capital, kicked off the Summit with a Lightning Talk with Sonja Gittens Ottley, Head of Diversity & Inclusion at Asana. The Talk was followed by a panel, moderated by Tiffany Foo, Director of Talent at Kapor Capital, featuring Matt Perry, Chief People Officer, Kapor Center, and Jessie Wusthoff, Director Diversity & Inclusion, Clover Health, which illuminated how HR professionals are leveraging people operations tools and platforms to drive inclusion and equity.
Our Pitch Competition brought together 10 disruptive U.S. based startups striving to remove bias and create inclusive and equitable workplaces with their technologies. Participating companies had the opportunity to compete to win $100,000 in cash and prizes. This year, R3 Score Technologies won First Place ($40,000) and the Audience Choice Award sponsored by Google for Startups ($25,000). Gather won Second Place ($25,000), and Skillist won Third Place ($10,000).
2019 Presenting People Operations Tech Pitch Competition Finalists
Employee Cycle: Transforms disparate employee data into a user-friendly HR analytics dashboard
Gather (2nd Place Winner): Helps HR teams create custom prompts and workflows around critical employee touch points
Increment: Quantifies the skills gap for manufacturers by tracking upskilling pathways, making the training and wage increase processes for industrial workers more transparent
OrgAnalytix: Visualizes and measures workplace inclusion
R3 Score Technologies (1st Place Winner): Leverages a scoring system designed to move people beyond the criminal record
Reframe: Helps to increase employee retention and accelerate growth through personalization in the workplace
Skillist (3rd Place Winner): Enables companies to screen talent more effectively and inclusively by focusing on skills, not pedigree
The Forem: Helps companies discover talent to change the company’s trajectory or lead to the next innovation
TiLT: Leverages research to revolutionize parental leave transitions in the workplace
Upful.ai: Leverages behavioral science and AI to write meaningful and unbiased employee performance reviews
Kapor Capital has proudly invested in 11 companies in the People Operations Tech space. Check out our portfolio companies here.