Matt Matros

Founder

Founder with 3 exits in B2C now playing two hands in B2B (insurance and commercial janitorial). | I post daily lessons & learnings that are your shortcuts.

Founder with two 8-figure exits plus an ‘acqui-hire’. My lessons & learnings are your shortcut.

Currently acquiring small businesses across America, across industries.

My inspirations are Scott Galloway and Fareed Zakaria and The Economist. 

I aspire to be the “Rick Rubin for entrepreneurs.”

These opinions are purely my own and not of any of the companies I am affiliated with.

Founder and General Partner

NCC is micro private equity providing capital and support to owner/operators in the commercial cleaning & janitorial industry.

Kait Stephens

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!

CEO & Co-Founder

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.

I’m so excited to be speaking at empowHER. x Shopify’s Built By HER Summit on March 11th.

This event is a full-day, invitation-led, workshop-style experience for women building within the Shopify ecosystem - founders, decision-makers, marketing leaders, and operators across DTC, retail, and commerce technology.

Here’s what I’ve learned as a founder:
1️⃣ Access matters
2️⃣ Community matters more
3️⃣ Seeing someone who looks like you on stage? It changes what feels possible

When I started Brij, I wasn’t thinking about “being a female founder.” I was thinking about solving a real problem for brands and retailers. 

But along the way, I’ve realized how powerful it is to build in public as a woman in tech, especially in AI and commerce - industries still largely shaped by men.

Events like Built By HER create something bigger than a panel. They create momentum.

I’m excited to share:
✨ Lessons from scaling Brij
✨ What I’m seeing in AI + retail right now
✨ And how to build with conviction (even when the odds aren’t stacked in your favor)

If you are responsible for growth, innovation, or execution inside your company, this room is for you.

It’s such an honor to be speaking alongside these incredible women: Amanda Sannella, McKayla Lankau, Julia Winn, Lizzie Andrew, Lena El-Ayoubi, Tash Courtenay-Smith, Gina Perrelli.

Tickets linked in the comments👇

The more AI slop in the inbox, the more human you need to be.

Creativity converts.

That's exactly what Gui Groscos did to get the attention of Slate Milk.

In Slate's marketing messaging, they say to "chug away shamelessly".

And that's exactly what Gui did.

He bought a can from Publix (which he found to be quite delicious by the way).

And video taped himself shotgunning a 30g protein shake from Slate Milk. 🥛 

And guess what? He booked a meeting.

And even got the attention of the founder, who showed up in his DMs. 

You can bet we celebrated this internally cc Andrew Zimmerman. 

Because this is the type of creativity that makes you successful today.

What's the most creative sales tactic that you've done or experienced? 

Drop them below -- committing to personally try all of them 😊

94% of beauty brands are “using” AI. Almost none are operating AI-first.

I just attended Beauty Independent's Tech + AI Summit, and the data was clear: we're in a completely different era.

Here's how the beauty industry has shifted over the past few decades:

1980s - Mid 2000s: Large brands owned 80% of the market. Retail-first. Traditional publishers controlled discovery. Tech was passive, IT-led.

Mid 200s - 2019: Mission-driven, founder-led brands emerged. DTC exploded. Sephora and Ulta became kingmakers. Tech entered through performance marketing and ops tools.

2020 - Present: The "Age of Champions." Biotech + AI are driving innovation. Acquisition costs spiked post-iOS changes. Omnichannel is no longer optional- it's survival.

The 2026 brand reality? Consumers are shopping across more channels than ever - and it feels like a new one pops up every year (if not more). TikTok, YouTube, Amazon & now LLMs. Speed of content matters more than polish. 

So what should good software and AI actually do for your brand?

AI tools can help you across 5 key areas:

→ Eliminate automatable work
→ Increase employee productivity
→ Digitize and remove workflow steps
→ Enable innovation that wasn't previously possible
→ Unlock new insights from existing data

The strategic imperative is clear: urgency over experimentation. Scale AI across the entire operation - not just marketing.

AI is becoming what software once was. Every brand needs a "VP of AI" mindset, even if that's not a formal title yet.

AI doesn't replace strategy. Its a force multiplier for operators.

What's your brand's AI strategy looking like this year?

A few golden nuggets from really smart people:

→ Caroline Weintraub @ True beauty ventures - excited by innovation in hair and truly science-backed beauty, especially the insights coming out of their investment in K18.
→ Aneesha Yande @ Ulta - they constantly think about putting their guest at the center. Specifically in wellness, the guest needs information & education so they can make the right decisions.
→ Kevin Gould @ Glamnetic & Inh Hair - Give your team context on what they need to be doing with AI & hold them accountable to it. They have a VP who is is the central owner of AI across the business.
→ Jeff Lee @ Dibbs Beauty - Don’t be afraid to delete & reboot. When you’re learning, learn from someone better than you and create the habit of usage
→ Shay Bennaim @ Tata Harper - Prioritize curiosity when hiring talent, the ability to adapt and evolve. The world is moving too quickly for anyone to truly be an AI expert right now
→ Divya Gugnani - When you know your business, AI can help you grow your business

Nader Naeymi-Rad, Lauren Bloomer, Meredith Epstein Goodman, Ari Bloom, ⚡️ Paul Canetti, Lars Fredriksson, James Jacobe, Alexander Lorestani, Lorne Lucree, MBA, Akash Raju, Dave Skaff, Kristen Wiley, Reneé Sewell, Robyn-Melissa Watkins, Lauren Gunipero, Bonnie Landes Beer, Mila M.

People say to me, “You make running a business and being a mom look effortless.”

And I always laugh a little.

Because what you’re not seeing is:
- The board deck getting rewritten at 11:47pm
- The Slack threads I’m mentally responding to during bath time
- The five-year product vision living next to the girls’ story books
- The constant toggling between CEO brain and mom brain

It’s not effortless or easy. It’s integrated.

Building a company is a full-time job. Raising kids is a full-time job.

I just happen to love two full-time jobs at once.

Is it chaotic? Definitely. Is it worth it? Every single time.

The real skill isn’t balance. 
It’s knowing when to zoom out, and when to be fully, completely in the room.

Curious, what’s something people think you make look easy that absolutely isn’t?

“Create a caricature of me and my job based on everything you know about me.”

I tried this trend, and apparently, AI thinks my job is:

☕ Drinking coffee
📊 Talking about 1P data
📱 Putting QR codes on everything
🎤 Speaking at events
📦 Living and breathing CPG
👩‍👧‍👧 Raising tiny humans
💌 Answering a lot of emails

Honestly… not wrong.

But what this caricature can’t fully capture is the why behind it all.

The late nights obsessing over how brands can actually own their customer relationships.

The conviction that unified commerce isn’t a trend; it’s table stakes.

The belief that data should empower brands, not trap them inside someone else’s ecosystem.

And the constant juggling act of building a high-growth company while trying to be present for bedtime stories.

What’s wild about this AI trend is that it reflects back what you consistently talk about, build, and prioritize.

So here’s the real question:

If AI created a caricature of your job based on your digital footprint…
What would it say you actually care about?

If you want to see where CPG is headed next, you go to Expo West.

March 3–6, Sarah (Davidson) Molloy, Andrew Zimmerman, Paul Piazza, and I will be in Anaheim, CA. Natural Products Expo West is one of those rare moments where you can actually feel the future of consumer brands unfolding in real time.

New products. Fun outfits.

There is truly no conference that is more fun.

If you’re going to be there, let’s connect.

What are you most excited to see this year? #expowest

I spent the weekend in San Francisco.

And as much as there's AI frenzy in New York, it feels 10X on the West Coast.

I had the chance to chat with friends who are investors in companies like Anthropic, startup operators using AI tools daily, and people building at unicorns like Decagon.

And honestly? I came home feeling like I needed to up my ante.

So I did something I'd been putting off: I tried Claude Code for the first time.

I'm already an avid Claude user. But I'd never touched their coding functionality.

Here's the thing about Claude Code - once you get past the fear of the terminal-looking view, it's shockingly easy to use.

What I built in my first session:
→ A fully functioning calendar app
→ Weekly, monthly, and daily views
→ Dark mode
→ Drag-and-drop events
→ Contact saving

All in plain language. Two prompts.

What blew my mind:
- Claude gives itself a to-do list (yes, really)
- Plan mode vs. agent mode changes everything
- You watch it code in real time

I'm not technical. I don't code. But I built something that actually works.

For startups, this is massive.

Anything that feels operationally painful or complex? There's now a path to automate it—without hiring a developer or waiting months.

I'm bringing this back to the Brij team this week.

If you've been curious but intimidated, just start. The barrier is lower than you think.

Thanks for the inspo Will Holtz.

Congrats to our friends & customers at Gimme Beauty on their nationwide Target launch. 

👏👏 Jeff Durham

CEO, Co-Founder Durham Brands (Gimme Beauty®), Founder CPGX Forum

Launching TODAY nation-wide at Target 
🎯 🙌 🎉 !!!

Heatless curling done the Gimme Beauty way. The BETTER way.

Wrap.
Rest.
Reveal.

Women know that heat damages hair. Curling hair while you sleep is not new. 
BUT... other solutions are bulky, make it hard to sleep in, too silky that hair slides off, and most get bad reviews.

This new disruptive version is minimalistic, super soft, comfortable, breathable fabric that grips without damaging, and the CURLS - the Women who have used this system are hooked! 

And of course, they are all designed by hair type: Fine, Medium, and Thick versions. (also doubles as big curls, medium curls, and small curls) Find the one that's right for you. 

Go to Target - Find the Gimme Beauty collection. Give it a try.

Your support means the world to us and our mission!

Go Gimme!!! Enjoy one of our national commercial spots here below. A lot of eyeballs are going see this and the campaign fireworks are just getting started...

Hot take: Getting on shelf is the easy part.

Staying on shelf is where brands live or die.

I’ll be at Natural Products Expo West March 3–5 with the Brij team, meeting founders focused on driving the velocity that keeps buyers happy and driving repeat purchases.

If retail performance is the goal - not just logos on a deck - let’s talk.

Here’s what I’m hearing from brands right now: 
1️⃣ Retail is more competitive than ever
2️⃣ Paid acquisition costs aren’t getting cheaper
3️⃣ Brands are sitting on incredible in-store demand, but not capturing the data

That’s the gap we help close.

At Brij, we use AI-powered rebates to help brands:
- Drive conversion & velocity at shelf
- Capture first-party data compliantly
- Build owned relationships beyond retail
- Actually measure what’s working to drive revenue growth and ROAS

If you're a brand leader thinking about how to connect retail to growth and retention, I’d love to meet.

Grab time with us below! 👇

Let’s make Expo count.

Excited to be part of The Shortlist NY Founder Showcase on February 23rd!

I’ll be sharing what we’re building at Brij - and why I believe the future of commerce is owned relationships, not rented audiences.

10 spots left if you want in 👀

gathering extraordinary people & angel investing | x-google, meta

I'm excited to reveal the extraordinary founders who will be presenting at The Shortlist NY Founder Showcase on Feb 23

This month's lineup features six breakout founders in NYC - the types of startups you want to know before everyone else does.

– Chris Hladczuk, Goldman Sachs alum who raised $31m to build Hanover Park, an AI-native fund administrator with $10B+ in assets.

– Weber Wong, former Evercore and Menlo Ventures, who raised $42m for FLORA, from Redpoint, a16z, and Menlo Ventures to build Cursor for creatives.

– Rohan Pavuluri, Harvard alum who scaled Speechify to 50m+ users and 160 people.

– Kait Stephens, Airbnb, Blackstone, and Goldman Sachs alum who raised $8m to bridge offline-to-online customer relationships with AI with Brij.

– Oliver Brocato, former founder of Tabs (8-figure revenue), who scaled Bustem.com to $3m+ ARR to protect eComm brands from copycats.

– Kevin Weatherman, Twitter alum who raised $6m from M12, Eniac Ventures to build Upscale AI – an AI platform to generate and optimize video ads.

Each founder will have 8 minutes to convince you why you should join their mission to transform the world.

Meet them in person on Feb 23 at betaworks!

Apply to attend (we have 10 spots left): https://lnkd.in/esj4DkNe

I’m headed to Beauty Independent’s Tech + AI Summit on Feb 9 in NYC 💄🤖
Who’s going?!?!

I’m excited to be attending an event fully devoted to how technology and AI are transforming the beauty industry across the entire value chain.

If you’re going to be there too, I’d love to connect, swap notes, or grab a quick hello between sessions. Shoot me a message!

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Matt Matros

Kait Stephens

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The Battle

Matt Matros

Kait Stephens

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Engagements

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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

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