Kait Stephens

Brij

Brij’s mission is to directly connect consumer brands with ALL of their customers.  

Our AI-enabled no-code platform enables omnichannel brands to “bridge” the data gap across all online and offline channels, including black boxes like retail & marketplaces.  

Brands use Brij’s digital rebates, QR code experiences, & dynamic links to drive retail velocity, share content, and collect valuable zero & first-party data.  These connections also serve to meaningfully enhance the customer experience.

CEO & Co-Founder

The Omnichannel Marketer

The Omnichannel Marketer Show is a podcast about how founders & marketers build successful omnichannel brands across DTC, retail and marketplaces.

Host

Found

Co-Founder & CEO

Airbnb

MBA Intern, Product Management & Strategy

PIMCO

• Underwrite private equity investment opportunities with focus on retail
• Innovation Prize Recipient 
• Women’s Bond Club Rising Star Award
• PIMCO Women Steering Committee

Vice President, Portfolio Manager

Portfolio Manager

iStar

Developed valuation analysis and performed due diligence on high yield, structured real estate financings, acquisitions and developments. Project coordinator in public/private partnership with City of NY on development of amphitheater in Coney Island.

Investment Associate

The Blackstone Group

Underwrote and analyzed potential investment opportunities globally on behalf of clients in the Park Hill Real Estate Group

Analyst

Summer Analyst

Goldman Sachs

Assisted team of four Private Wealth Advisors on managing client investment portfolio

Helping brands bridge offline & online commerce 🔁 | Omnichannel Queen 👑 | Host of the Omnichannel Marketer podcast 🎙️ | CEO & Co-Founder @ Brij 🌉 | Angel Investor

👋👋👋 I’m Kait the CEO and Founder of BRIJ! My friends call me the queen of Omnichannel 👑. I also host a podcast called the Omnichannel Marketer 🎙️. 

My background is in Omnichannel Retail and Ecommerce. I help brands solve the pain of having no connection, relationship, or insights from buyers coming through retail and marketplace channels.

I share Omnichannel strategy and best practices. 

And I founded BRIJ, a platform for brands to build Omnichannel Experiences - a new digital touch point in physical channels to communicate key messages, collect 1st party data, and drive reorder.

If you ever want to talk Omichannel, the future of retail, connected experience, or QR codes, I’m happy to chat any time!

Brij is building the infrastructure to "bridge" online & offline channels.

Do you know anything about the people who purchased your product at Retail or on Amazon today?

It is a simple, powerful question. That no one in consumer marketing can answer. 

Retail and Marketplace are black box channels… until now.

Where most consumer brands see darkness, Brij sees a new brand touch point, a communication channel, access to customers (and associated data), and new marketing opportunities. 

Brij is an Omnichannel Marketing platform that empowers brands to bridge the offline & online gap to create a connected on-brand experience that provides more value to buyers. 

And helps marketers to know who purchased what, when, and where - every day, in real-time, 24/7/365.

When your Director of Strategic Partnerships gets named a finalist for the 2025 Smarterships Partner Awards, you don't just celebrate - you shout it from the rooftops. 🎉

Sarah (Davidson) Molloy isn't just building partnerships at Brij. She's redefining what partnership excellence looks like in our industry.

Sarah represents our team beautifully across the entire partner ecosystem.

In a world where partnerships can feel transactional, Sarah brings something different. She builds relationships that actually matter. Creates connections that drive real value. And somehow makes it all look effortless (spoiler: it's not).

If you know Sarah, you know she deserves every bit of this recognition. If you don't know her yet, you're missing out on connecting with one of the most thoughtful individuals in our industry.

Drop some love for Sarah (Davidson) Molloy in the comments - today's the day to hype up the humans doing the real work behind the scenes. 

Because these awards celebrate exactly that: the people who show up, deliver, and make magic happen for their teams every single day.

Congrats Sarah! We couldn't be prouder to have you leading partnerships at Brij. 🌉✨

BTW - Sarah is hiring a Partnerships Manager. Couldn’t think of someone better that I’d want to work with!

#partnerships #teamwin #brij

I had my first child at the worst possible time in my career. And it was the best choice I ever made.

When I became pregnant with my daughter, I'd founded my tech startup Brij only one year prior. 

If you're not in the startup world - the first year isn't a time where you can afford to go slow. It's fast, all-in, go-time.

Many people questioned my timing. 

Even more people question the notion of women being mothers and business leaders entirely. (Want proof? I can show you some of my LinkedIn comments. 😂)

But I knew there would never be a perfect time to start a family. 

So, I went for it.

My advice for women who are questioning whether or not they're allowed to do both is this:

- First off - You do NOT need to choose career vs family. It IS possible to do both. I'm here to show you that.

- Start before it feels perfect. It took me thousands of needles, 5 retrievals, 4 embryo transfers, and 2 devastating miscarriages to give birth to my first daughter. That's not the case for everyone, but I'm happy that I chose not to wait to start my journey until my career path felt 100%.

- Create an environment that makes both possible. My success as a mother and entrepreneur is in direct correlation to the strength of my partnership and support system.

It takes a village to raise children, and it's not always easy to balance parenthood and scaling a startup. 

But the bottom line is - you can absolute do both.

Sincerely, a working mom who loves both her jobs. 👧🏼📈❤️

Brij started with two people, a pitch deck, and a belief that offline and online didn’t have to be disconnected.

This Thanksgiving, I’m reflecting on everyone who turned that belief into this incredible company that Brij has become.

This time of year always makes me pause and reflect on how far we’ve come — and how many people make this journey possible.

For so long, it was just Zack Morrison and me building Brij. Now, we’ve grown our team enormously, which has been one of the most gratifying pieces of the job, welcomed amazing customers, and partnered with investors who believed in us long before Brij was anything more than a pitch deck.

To our team:
I am endlessly thankful for this wonderful, A+ group. You show up with heart, talent, and ownership every single day. Thank you for your contribution to building our mission and vision.

Brij would not be what it is without each and every one of you:
Zack Morrison, Alec Shah, Genevieve Flynn, Patricia Riegel, Sarah (Davidson) Molloy, Felipe Maté, Whitney Hudson, Tim Mattessich, Cara Felleman, Gui Groscos, Jenni Cocoa Lee, Arielle Halldin, Emma Laffey, Julia Lang, Alexa Kilroy, Audrey Buck, Lorenzo Sozzi, Lisa Smith, Nicole D’Amore, AJ Hoke, Stephanie Peters, Denis Kuria, Qalb Hussain, Harsh Chaudhary, Navneet Kaur Keer, Madhur Jain, Dashmesh Verma, Sush Ravish, Wilterson Garcia, Arqam Saeed, Diego Silva, Usman Zahid, Erick Casteneda, Zoofishan Khan Hussain, Haris Ali, Maryam Afnan, Alina Arshad, Muhammad Zahid, Bilal Qamar, Nauman Ijaz, Danish Ashraf, Adnan Jamil, Victoria Louise de Guzman

To our customers:
Without you, Brij would not exist!
When I think back to starting the business, I set a goal of having 1 customer.
And now? We’re over 150 brands — a milestone that reminds me we’re solving a real problem and building something that matters.
Thank you to those who took a chance on us early and have continued to be our partners in building this solution to truly bridge the offline and online.

To our investors:
Thank you for taking a leap of faith when Brij was nothing more than a pitch deck, and thank you to all the investors after that who have given us the capital to make Brij a reality.
Thank you for your belief in our vision.
John Neamonitis at Lake House, Rachel ten Brink at Red Bite Capital, Diana Murakhovskaya at Artemis, Francisco Aivado Nunes & Miguel Bagulho at Bright Pixel, and Blake Hatten at CEAS

To my family:
Thank you for being my rock.
I could not do this without a strong support system — my wonderful partner, my mom, my sister. Startup life truly takes an army, and I am beyond thankful. Kevin Stephens

I’m reminded today that gratitude isn’t just a holiday tradition. It’s a practice. One that keeps me centered in the chaos and energized for what’s ahead.
Wishing you all a wonderful Thanksgiving. 💙🦃

I spent the first half of last week in Atlanta with some of the sharpest operators in B2B commerce, and I walked away with one clear takeaway:

B2B is having its “consumer moment.”

The expectations are higher, the friction is heavier, and the appetite for real transformation is here.

What stood out most to me was how aligned these conversations were with ones we’re having at Brij.

Here are a few themes that stuck with me:

1️⃣ Brands are drowning in manual workflows — and begging for simplification.
Samsung, UPS, Rawlings — everyone talked about friction in the basics:
- Registration
- Warranty
- Verification
- Onboarding
- Product data lookups
- Reseller suppression

This friction directly impacts conversion, customer trust, and repeat revenue, and is the gap Brij fills — automating the workflows that no one wants to own, but everyone feels.

2️⃣ AI is creating massive upside — but only for companies with clean, connected data.

Teams are excited about AI pilots, but data is still:
- Fragmented
- Inaccurate
- Owned by different systems
- Nearly impossible to unify
- Brij’s ability to unify product + customer data through registration is becoming a critical entry point for AI-readiness.

3️⃣ Customer experience is now the deciding factor in B2B.

This was the quiet headline of the entire event.

Whether you're selling gloves, electronics, medical equipment, or industrial parts — the expectation is the same: Zero friction. Clear value. Instant answers.

Ecommerce teams can’t afford onboarding loops, broken verification flows, or warranty black holes.

Simplifying those moments not only improves CX, it’s also one of the fastest ROI drivers.

4️⃣ The big unlock is connected experiences.

Every team said some version of: “We don't need more systems. We need our systems to actually talk to each other.”

The future of B2B looks like:
- Unified data
- Flexible APIs
- Frictionless onboarding
- AEO-ready product information
- Real-time visibility into product ownership
- All things Brij was purpose-built to deliver.

B2B is realizing what we’ve seen in DTC for years:

The brands that understand their customers best grow the fastest. And that understanding starts with product ownership.

That’s where Brij lives.

I left Atlanta energized because the pain points are universal, the need is urgent, and the timing for what we’re building at Brij could not be better.

If you were at B2B Atlanta, I’d love to hear what resonated with you.

And if you weren’t — which of these themes are you seeing inside your org right now?

Eric Brother, Taylor McCaffrey, Patrick Lord, Laura Madigan, Carlos Camacho, Andy H., Derek Gominger, Danielle Arnold, and Milena Melnikova — it was so lovely meeting and speaking with you all.

B2B Atlanta

I only need one conversation to spot a great hire.

That's how we've built a team of A-Players at Brij. I knew when I started the company with Zack Morrison that I ONLY wanted hire the absolute best of the best. The people who take initiative, aren't afraid to innovate, and own their zone of genius.

Now, we've got our hiring process perfected to a tee. 

Here's my 5 steps to dial in your hiring system so you can build your dream team:

1. You need a top-of-funnel strategy.

We have clear systems for attracting inbound candidates to hire, but we don't shy away from going outbound, either. If we see someone who could be a great fit on the @brij team, we don't hesitate to reach out!

2. Your screening process should be optimized for efficiency.

Custom-GPTs are our go-to way to quickly screen applications for aligned values, experience, and skills. 

3. Your hiring team needs to be on the same page.

Everyone in our hiring process has the same expectations of what we're hiring for and who would be the right person to fill it. 

4. Define your company's core values.

The #1 thing we're looking for in Brij candidates: Be an entrepreneur. Startups require qualities in a candidate that a corporate job doesn't - A problem solving mentality and a willingness to wear a lot of hats.

5. Identify their superpower.

I ALWAYS ask candidates one question: "What is your superpower?" Their answer tells us if they're aligned with the core job and responsibility we're hiring for.

The last step in perfecting our hiring process is to move - QUICKLY.

As a startup, this is where our advantage lies. When we find the right person, we get them on board fast.

What's your favorite question you've ever been asked in an interview?

Black Friday looks different this year

And the signals are pointing to an opportunity for brands that is bigger than ever.

According to Retail Brew, record 186.9 million people are expected to shop between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday this year.

That’s 3 million more than last year.

But the stat that really jumped out at me?
👉 72% of Gen Z plans to shop in-store this weekend (compared to 49% of all shoppers).

They now account for a fifth of all spending.

For all the talk about e-commerce, Gen Z is quietly dragging everyone back to brick-and-mortar. And that’s a massive signal.

But, for most brands, retail is also still a black box.

Meanwhile, online behavior is shifting too:

Adobe Analytics predicts a 500% increase in retail site traffic driven by generative AI — and that traffic is converting better than non-AI sources.
So we have:
• More shoppers
• More in-store moments
• More AI-driven online demand
• More fragmentation across channels

And yet, most brands will walk away from Black Friday with record sales but no clearer view of who their customers actually are.

That’s the real miss.

If there’s one thing I hope brands take away from this weekend, it’s this:
💡 Black Friday isn’t just a discount event — it’s a data acquisition event.
And not next year. Right now.

Every transaction, every product interaction, every unboxed moment is an opportunity to identify and activate customers across channels.

Because if you want 2026 to look different — more loyal customers, more repeat purchases, more efficient CAC — the work starts today, not next Q4.

My advice to brands:
1️⃣ Don’t let in-store be a blind spot.
Gen Z is telling us loud and clear: IRL matters. Make sure you can connect that experience to your digital ecosystem.
2️⃣ Capture first-party data at the point of excitement.
When someone discovers, buys, or unboxes — that’s the moment to earn a relationship.
3️⃣ Build the bridge between offline and online now.
2026 will reward brands that refuse to treat retail as disconnected channels.

Check out our Black Friday playbook (link in caption) for more inspo on what you can do now to set yourself up for success well ahead of next BFCM.

The hardest pill to swallow as a retail brand? You’re not "in control."

Yep, this lesson isn’t a fun discovery. 😅

As founders, marketers, and brand leaders, we pride ourselves in controlling the details. In fact, a quest for control is part of what drove me to entrepreneurship. 

Let’s be real - Who doesn’t want to be in charge of their work schedule? 
To execute on your visions and ideas? 
To create your own team culture instead of blending into someone else’s?

But when you work in retail, one thing becomes clear to you, fast:

You can’t control consumers. You have to meet them where they are.

Spending three days at Glossy Beauty & Wellness Summit solidified this truth - The brands that will win in 2026? They’re the ones creating seamless, omnichannel experiences that FOLLOW their customers.

To follow your customers, you need to pay attention. Customers are evolving how they interact and shop with brands quickly and often!  Here are all of my top takeaways from Glossy E-Commerce Summit 2025:

-TikTok is now the #1 source for beauty content and new products over all other social and steaming platforms. 

That means brands can’t afford to stay focused on just the channels they own anymore. Customers might discover your brand on TikTok, add to their Amazon cart and buy it in-person at Ulta - all in the same week.

If you want to keep up with your customer, you have to meet her wherever she shops. And guess what? She expects convenience AND continuity. 

-Paid ads aren’t just for DTC brands anymore.

The best teams using paid ads to support their in-person retail - not just their e-commerce. 

-TikTok is no longer just a "top of funnel" awareness-driving platform.

It's driving conversions across EVERY sales platform. Once again, it's about meeting your customers where they are, not dictating where you want them to shop.

-Your team has to be aligned and connected in its omnichannel marketing efforts.

If your brand, paid and retail teams aren't working from the same strategy (& budget), your brand will never feel cohesive. 

The bottom line? The CUSTOMER is in control.

It's your job to meet her where she's at.

Glossy E-Comm Summit

Tech Up For Women 

Our premise for Tech Up for Women is everyone needs to know about technology to advance their careers. To that end, we offer conferences, Tuesday Tech Up Talks and a platform with resources, recruiting and content on a wide range of technology, innovation and career development.

Co-Founder & Advisor

McMorran Strategists LLC

Advising and training is focused on executing, not just talking about it.  I am available as a speaker/moderator for topics of innovation, governance. angel investing, and women initiatives.  Have  led sessions at  US Patent & Technology Office Conference, HBS Women's Student Association, Tech Up Talks and Conferences, Private Directors Association, Impact Consulting Malta Innovation Accelerated Conference, Funding Post's Events & Anita Borg Institute.

Owner

University of Rochester

Serving on the Research & Innovation Committee

Life Trustee

Serving on the Audit, Academic Affairs and Facilities Committees

Member, Board of Trustees, 

The Daily Gazette

"The locally owned voice of the Capital Region"
The DG Board was awarded the 2021 Private Director Board Award for a Family-owned Firm under $100M

Board Member

Verity Wines, LLC

Investor in Verity, LLC,  the mid-tier wine distributor in NY and NJ, representing 750 wines and 300 producers/wineries from 14 different wine-producing countries.  Was a Board member from April 2010 thru March 2013.

Invester and Board Member (Board April 2010 - March 2013)

Tempbuddy

Temp Recruitment Software that saves time, money and effort for everyone...eliminating time sheets! Was on Advisory Board until transaction with PE firm in late 2016 and a subsequent sale to Bullhorn during 2019.

Investor and prior Advisory Board

The Executive Forum

Have been a member of the Executive Forum since 2009 and was on the Board in 2010. Re-joined the Board in 2015 as Vice Chair and became the Chair in 2016.

Chair Of The Board Of Directors

BoardmyBiz.com LLC

BoardmyBiz.com is the online community for matching of successful business minds with small businesses to enable strategy, execution and growth.  It provides connections for small business owners, potential advisory board members and professional service providers.

Partner

FARO Technologies

FARO is the world’s most trusted source for 3D measurement technology...Products that make a difference in multiple industries with creative solutions.  FARO is the pioneer in using laser technology for portable measurement.

VP/Global Market Development

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Created functional units post-merger in order to enable the firm to operate effectively as well as to actualize the sale of the consulting unit.  Based on the ongoing outsourcing, off-shoring, divestment and restructuring, the number of staff managed varied from 2000 to 150 with a direct budget ranging from $550 million to $335 million.  Accountability for the firm’s spend grew to $2.3 billion, even after achieving cost reductions of 15-25% for each service.  The savings taken out of this $2.3 billion annual spend was over $560 million from the business units’ cost basis.  And more important, provided state of the art service for crisis management, records, travel services, meetings/events, leasing and procurment.

Managing Director

SUMMARY
I am an experienced & creative business growth executive, angel investor & board member as evidenced by firms with which I have led or contributed. I am currently - Co-Founder & Advisor at Tech Up for Women LLC, , Life Trustee at the University of Rochester, Board Member and Past Chair and Past President of HBS Women's Association, Member and Past Chair of Executive Forum, Founder of Executive Forum Angels & Owner of McMorran Strategists LLC as well as Audit Chair at the University Club.  

"No one walks away from time with Kathy without actionable insights that produce unprecedented results for their enterprise." - Rod Smyth, TempBuddy Founder

ANGEL EXPERT
Founder of EF Angels with over 60 members, who have invested over $5+M in 20+ firms.
Investor in numerous startups, including Brij.IT, 3 a.m., Spare Foods, Entrepreneur Roundtable Accelerator, etc.

EMERGING COMPANY ADVISOR
Work with solopreneurs, which are looking to scale.  Expertise is high-touch, results-driven solutions in the areas of:
•	business development & relationship marketing to help identify and create long-term and profitable clients, 
•	building boards/advisory boards, 

SPEAKER & MODERATOR
*   Speaker regarding angel investing & innovation at US Patent & Technology Office, Funding Post's Conferences, Tech Up for Women Conferences, Executive Forum Conference, etc.
*   Excellent Moderator, e.g., Tech Up for Women Tech Up Talks and Conferences, Impact Consulting's Malta Innovation Accelerated Conference & HBS Women Student Association Conferences.

Please reach out to me at McMorranStrategists@gmail.com    646-662-3725 (Mobile)

Specialties: Angel, Business Development, Innovation, Social Media, Strategy, Operations, Boards, Governance, Problem Solving, Virtual Teams, Merger Integration, Sourcing, Shared Services, Procurement, Supply Chain, Security, Crisis Management, Real Estate, Facilities, Social Responsibility, Green, Financial experience, Technology impact, Diversity, Non Profit boards, meeting & event spend, COO, CAO, Food, Wine

taplio

The Battle

Kait Stephens

Kathleen A Murray

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreKait Stephens's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Kait Stephens

Kathleen A Murray

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Kait Stephens's LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreKait Stephens's LinkedIn Performance