backstitch

backstitch is a software-as-a-service company whose platform helps employers design, deliver and measure internal communications and total rewards messaging. The platform connects to existing people technology systems and distributes targeted messages across web, mobile, email, intranet, chat and print channels, covering newsletters, announcements, benefits enrollment instructions, wellness information and crisis communications.

The product line has three main components: backstitch Studio, a drag-and-drop content creation tool for employee newsletters, announcements and day-to-day messages that publishes to channels including Outlook, Gmail, SharePoint, Slack, Microsoft Teams and PDF; backstitch Reader, a white-labeled iPhone, Android and responsive web app that authenticates hourly, salaried, retiree and spouse audiences and integrates with HRIS, Active Directory or Office 365; and backstitch Total Rewards Statement (TRS), an interactive statement showing employees the value of pay, benefits, retirement and perks. Supporting features include push notifications, embedded polls and pulse surveys, machine translation into 100+ languages, stock image and asset libraries, news clipping and media monitoring, contact and distribution list management, employee social advocacy sharing, and analytics and engagement reporting across channels.

backstitch offers both a managed total rewards platform configured by its own team and a self-service option, TRS Express, a web application launched publicly in October 2024 that lets small and mid-sized employers build total compensation and total rewards statements independently. The company serves salaried, hourly, union and non-union workforces across non-profits, health systems, manufacturing and hospitality, among other industries.

Founding story

backstitch launched in 2012 in Detroit, founded by Jordan and Stefanie Warzecha, with a free consumer content-curation tool that let users aggregate and follow news on topics of interest. Users told the founders they wanted a similar tool at work to track clients, competitors and industry developments, prompting the founders to research corporate communications; finding that employee disengagement with internal communications was driven by outdated and impersonal tools, they rebuilt the platform for corporate HR and communications departments beginning in 2016.

Business model

B2B software-as-a-service sold to employers, with a managed, configured total rewards platform for larger organizations and a lower-cost self-service application (TRS Express) for small and mid-sized employers. The website directs prospects to request a quote rather than listing public pricing.

Software subscription/licensing of the backstitch platform and its modules (Studio, Reader, Total Rewards Statement), plus a self-service TRS Express product aimed at smaller employers.

Traction

The company states it has worked with Fortune 500 companies, global employers and top brands, and says its flagship total rewards platform gained significant traction after the pandemic. It was listed among Kansas City companies that raised the most venture capital funding in a 2024 Kansas City Business Journal round-up and is a Techstars portfolio company and a member of the Quicken Loans family of companies.

Latest developments

In October 2024 backstitch publicly launched TRS Express, a self-service SaaS web application for small and mid-sized employers to create total compensation and total rewards statements. Its website continues to publish HR and total rewards content, with articles dated through September 2025.