Steph Korey

Steph Korey is best known as the co-founder of Away, the direct-to-consumer travel brand she launched in 2015 alongside Jen Rubio. Under her leadership as CEO, Away grew from a single suitcase concept into a lifestyle brand valued at $1.4 billion, becoming one of the most prominent examples of how DTC brands could leverage content marketing, social media, and community-building to disrupt legacy consumer categories. Her approach to brand-building — including Away's in-house travel magazine 'Here' and heavy investment in Instagram and influencer marketing — became a widely studied model in DTC and performance marketing circles. Korey's career prior to Away included a pivotal role at Warby Parker, where she served as Head of Supply Chain and gained firsthand experience in the DTC playbook that would later define Away's strategy. Her background in operations and supply chain, combined with a sharp instinct for brand narrative and digital customer acquisition, allowed Away to scale rapidly while maintaining strong brand equity. The company's marketing strategy emphasized aspirational storytelling and community over traditional advertising, a model that resonated strongly with millennial consumers. In late 2019, Korey stepped down as CEO following a report by The Verge that exposed a toxic workplace culture, including harsh internal Slack communications. She briefly returned to a co-CEO role before fully stepping back from day-to-day operations. Despite the controversy, her impact on the DTC and brand marketing landscape remains significant, and she has continued in a co-founder capacity. Her story is frequently cited in discussions about founder accountability, workplace culture, and the pressures of hypergrowth startups.

Last updated Sep 9, 2026 by ATDb automated enrichment