The Team Behind the Brand
We’re not your grandpas agency. Stellavate was built by people who’ve actually done the thing — ranked on Google, booked clients without ad budgets, built brands from scratch. We know what works because we’ve lived it. And now we do it for you.
Not your average agency.
S
tellavate is a BC-based boutique digital agency serving small and medium-sized businesses across Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland — and beyond. We handle your brand identity, website, SEO, social media, photography, and marketing. All under one roof so nothing falls through the cracks.
We’re 100% Canadian-owned and operated, led by women who genuinely care about the success of your business.
— Stellavate Team
The Team
The people behind the brand
A small, loud, female-led creative studio and marketing agency based in British Columbia. Here’s who we are, in our own words.
Lori Brown
Founder/CEO
Lori has been building things on the internet since before most people owned a home computer. She founded Stellavate to bring real digital expertise to BC businesses that deserve more than cookie-cutter marketing. Read more about Lori.
Alisha Khan
Social Media Manager/Photographer
With over a decade of experience spanning photography, videography, graphic design, and social media strategy, Alisha brings creative firepower that most businesses have to hire five people to get.
Read more about Alisha.
Interview
Five minutes with the founder
We sat down with the owner to ask the questions people actually want answered before they hire an agency.
Why start Stellavate?
Because too many small businesses were getting the same bland, beige template websites from agencies that have been around for decades without changing. Worse, people were getting websites that were slow, lacked proper structure to be read by search engines, and lacked quality content to get them ranked.
What actually makes you different?
I have 25+ years creating websites, and I’ve watched the internet change drastically in that time. It’s not enough to slap a few pages together in 2026. In the age of AI search, not only do you need to show up in the places people are searching and spending time, but catch their fleeting attention. My background is in buyer psychology, brand storytelling, and design.
What results have you gotten?
I have extensive experience in viral content — 150k followers on TikTok alone, plus thousands more across Instagram, Threads, Facebook, and LinkedIn. I’ve had my images and content ranked as the authority on several topics in Google AI search and ChatGPT, including ‘what is documentary family photography.’ And I’ve had more than 20 opinion pieces go viral on Threads, making their way to other platforms (sometimes without credit). I know what it takes to get seen online.
What’s the one thing you refuse to do?
Boring for the sake of boring. If your brand needs something streamlined and clean, you should be capturing your customers’ attention with great UX and great copy. A dentist office doesn’t need to be drab, it needs to be trustworthy and unforgettable. In today’s digital landscape, people are inundated with content. Their attention spans are short, and if something looks bad, is clunky, outdated, or doesn’t work, you’ve lost them to the next guy.
Who’s actually running the social accounts?
That’s Alisha. If you’ve ever liked a post or laughed at a caption, that’s her, not a bot (though sometimes she does bleep blorp).
What do most digital agencies get completely wrong?
They try to appeal to everyone. Watered down, boring. Their copy reads like it was written by AI. It’s ok to stand out. Not everyone is your ideal client.
What does “not your grandpa’s web developer” mean?
It means we design for the current digital age. We understand how the search algorithms are changing every day, what crawlers are looking for and how to get seen. We use thoughtful UX, easy access to information, high authority, clean structure, & attention grabbing content to do it.
What inspired your branding for your own website?
I started doing web design in the late 90s. Not many of my 12 year old friends were learning HTML like I was. When I was trying to decide on my own personal branding, I chose to bring it way back to my roots. Online Y2K CMYK style.
Don’t worry. I won’t make your website a Y2K theme. Your website will be customized to your brand, your voice, your business offerings.
Classifieds: help wanted
Wanted: businesses ready to get louder
Seeking BC business owners tired of blending in. Must be willing to ditch the beige. Inquire within — first conversation’s free.