What CORE IR does

CORE IR is a privately held, boutique investor relations and strategic communications advisory firm founded in 2009 (originally as Cor Prominence) and headquartered in Garden City, New York, with additional offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Boca Raton, and Seattle. The firm serves small to mid-sized publicly traded companies across Life Sciences, Technology, Financial Services & Fintech, Energy/CleanTech, and Retail & Consumer verticals, offering relationship-based introductions to institutional investors, retail broker-dealers, fund managers, family offices, investment bankers, and analysts. CORE IR's core offerings include investor engagement (non-deal roadshows and corporate access), corporate communications, strategic advisory services, and program management under the CORE IR umbrella; full-service public relations (media relations, thought leadership, crisis management, content generation) under the CORE Public Relations sub-brand; and digital services (website development on WordPress/HubSpot/Shopify/Elementor, SEO, social media management) under the CORE Digital sub-brand, plus C-suite executive recruiting.

The business operates as a fee-for-service professional advisory firm (retainer and project-based engagements) rather than a transactional or platform-revenue model. CORE IR's custom-tailored CRM is its primary internal technology, enabling client reporting and a 360-degree view of engagement activity; otherwise the firm delivers value through senior personnel, with a roughly 40-person team (including 20 senior professionals with stated 350+ years combined buy-side, sell-side, investment banking, and IR consulting experience) sourced from Prudential Securities, Gruntal, Dawson James, RCM Capital Management, ICR Westwicke, LHA, Alliance Advisors IR, Gilmartin Group, and other Wall Street firms. GTM is relationship-led via direct senior engagement.

The firm serves an active client roster spanning healthcare/biotech (Alimera Sciences, Coya Therapeutics, Atossa Therapeutics, Petros Pharma, Nuwellis, Femasys, Daxor Corporation), technology/satellite imaging (Blacksky), materials/manufacturing (Ferroglobe), consumer goods (Ammo Incorporated, Beam, Gelteq), and robotics (Richtech Robotics), among others. The firm reports having served 250+ clients and facilitated 50,000+ one-on-one meetings over its operating history. The company is privately held, was co-founded by Chuck Bennett (CEO) and Scott Gordon (President) together with Bret Shapiro (COO & Head of Capital Markets), and has no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or parent company.

Name

CORE IR

Legal name

CORE IR

Website

https://coreir.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CORE IR is a privately held, boutique investor relations and strategic communications advisory firm serving small to mid-sized publicly traded companies with investor engagement, corporate communications, public relations, digital, and executive recruiting services across multiple US offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Investor Relations and Strategic Communications Advisory

NAICS

Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Public Relations Agencies (541820)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Investor Relations (IR) Services (BPAFADAC)

Keywords

• Investor relations advisory
• Public relations services
• Capital markets advisory
• Corporate communications consulting
• Executive recruiting services

Headquarters

HQ city

Garden City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Investor Relations Services: Professional advisory services including investor engagement, corporate communications, strategic advisory, and program management for publicly traded small to mid-sized companies
2. Public Relations Services: Public relations services including media relations, thought leadership, content generation, crisis management, and social media management
3. Website Development and Digital Services: Website design, development, SEO optimization, and digital marketing services
4. Executive Recruiting Services: C-suite executive search and recruiting services for publicly traded companies

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CORE IR is a boutique advisory firm that delivers investor relations, capital markets advisory, corporate communications, and public relations services to small and mid-sized publicly traded and pre-IPO companies. The firm brokers introductions between its clients and institutional investors, retail broker-dealers, fund managers, family offices, investment bankers, and analysts via non-deal roadshows, and complements that with PR, digital/website, and executive recruiting service lines under the related CORE Public Relations, CORE Digital, and CORE Recruiting brands.

Product overview

CORE IR is a boutique investor relations and strategic communications advisory firm serving small to mid-sized companies. The firm operates through four interconnected service pillars: CORE IR (Investor Relations) provides investor engagement, corporate communications, strategic advisory, and program management; CORE Public Relations offers full-service PR including media relations, content generation, and crisis management; CORE Digital handles website development, SEO, and social media management; and Executive Recruiting provides C-suite talent search services for publicly traded companies. The integrated approach unifies investor relations, capital markets advisory, and public relations under one roof with expertise spanning Life Sciences, Technology, Financial Services & Fintech, Energy & CleanTech, and Retail & Consumer sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CORE Public Relations: The public relations division of CORE IR offering services including strategy development, media relations, content generation, crisis management, and thought leadership development.

Products and services

• CORE IR (Investor Relations) CORE IR's primary investor relations service providing capital markets advisory, investor engagement through non-deal roadshows and conferences, strategic advisory services, and program management for small to mid-sized public and private companies.
• CORE Public Relations (CORE PR) Full-suite public relations service including strategy development, media relations, content generation, thought leadership, issues and crisis management, speaking and awards submissions, and social media management, operated as the PR division of CORE IR.
• CORE Digital Digital marketing division offering website development and design, search engine optimization (SEO), and social media management services tailored for LinkedIn and X (formerly Twitter).
• Executive Recruiting C-suite executive recruiting services for publicly traded companies, including executive search, board advisory, and leadership consulting.
• Strategic Advisory Services Strategic advisory services covering capital markets, market and financing strategies, uplisting support, corporate structure, and board/executive team composition for small to mid-sized public companies.
• Program Management Program management service providing regularly scheduled client team strategy review calls, post-roadshow feedback reports, SWOT analysis, and relationship tracking for value drivers.
• Investor Engagement Investor engagement service running non-deal roadshows that connect clients with investment bankers, retail broker-dealers, buy- and sell-side institutions, portfolio managers, family offices, and analysts.
• Corporate Communications Integrated shareholder and corporate communications including investment thesis development, press release drafting, earnings call script management, and investor inquiry management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 250+ clients served
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature2 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Solebury Strategic Communications: Investor relations and strategic communications firm serving small/mid-cap public companies. Rory Rumore joined CORE IR from Solebury, and the two firms are direct competitors for IR mandates across healthcare, technology, and consumer verticals.
• KCSA Strategic Communications: Long-standing IR and public relations advisory firm serving small/mid-cap public companies. Multiple CORE IR team members (Rory Rumore, Matthew Cossel) came from KCSA, and the two firms compete directly on integrated IR/PR engagements for growth-stage public companies.
• Stern Investor Relations: Boutique IR advisory firm focused on small and mid-cap public companies, with particular strength in healthcare. Vivian Cervantes (CORE IR VP) was a Managing Director at Stern, and the two firms compete for healthcare/biotech IR engagements of comparable size.
• Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates (LHA): Boutique IR and strategic communications advisor with a strong healthcare vertical—the most direct comparable to CORE IR's core offering. Multiple CORE IR senior leaders (Bruce Voss, Yvonne Briggs, Jeff Kelley, Jules Abraham) came directly from LHA, and the two firms compete for the same small/mid-cap life sciences IR mandates.
• Alliance Advisors IR: Mid-sized IR advisory firm with a dedicated healthcare practice. Bruce Voss (CORE IR MD) and Yvonne Briggs (CORE IR SVP) both previously led healthcare IR practices at Alliance Advisors, and CORE IR competes with Alliance on small/mid-cap IR engagements, especially in healthcare and life sciences.
• ICR (ICR Westwicke): One of the largest US investor relations and strategic communications advisory firms, with a healthcare-focused Westwicke IR practice. CORE IR has hired multiple former ICR senior leaders (Scott Arnold, Gene Mannheimer, Rory Rumore), and the two firms compete head-to-head for small/mid-cap public company IR mandates, particularly in healthcare.
• Gilmartin Group: Healthcare-focused investor relations advisory firm. Vivian Cervantes (CORE IR VP) previously served as Managing Director at Gilmartin, and the firms compete directly for healthcare/biotech IR mandates, particularly in medtech and specialty pharma.

Broad incumbents

• FTI Consulting (Strategic Communications): Global advisory firm with a large Strategic Communications segment offering IR, PR, and crisis communications to public companies. Represents a scaled, diversified incumbent competing for larger and more complex IR engagements that exceed CORE IR's boutique bandwidth.
• Prosek Partners: Large, full-service financial communications and investor relations firm with significantly broader scale and global reach than CORE IR. Prosek represents a scaled incumbent alternative for mid-cap clients that have outgrown boutique IR firms like CORE IR.

Emerging players

• 5W Public Relations: Mid-sized US public relations agency with a growing investor relations and corporate communications practice. Several CORE IR/CORE PR team members (Jacqueline Grose, Audrey Gentile, Alyssa Scarpaci) came from 5W, and the firms compete for PR mandates that include IR-adjacent corporate communications work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CoreIR_
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/coreir
• Instagraminstagram.com/core.ir_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles13 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about CORE IR