She Still Packs Every Order as if It’s a Gift
This week, Channon Kennedy joins the podcast and talks about how she’s building distribution for the measuring tool she created.
Here are today’s highlights:
Gene Marks says the settlement with Visa and Mastercard will introduce complications that will annoy consumers and hurt businesses.
As you look for ways to harness artificial intelligence, keep in mind that your employees probably aren’t excited about its adoption.
In Alaska, business owners getting quotes for health insurance feel abandoned.
Paul Graham says everyone who starts a business feels hopeless at times—but if you have a core group of customers who love you, keep going .
THE 21 HATS PODCAST
This week, we welcome another new voice to the podcast: Channon Kennedy, who takes us inside the side-hustle that’s become her second full-time job. Channon is the inventor and patent-holder of the Morgan Square, a clever measuring tool—here’s a demonstration—that’s racking up awards, expanding its distribution, and carving out space for a woman founder in a traditionally male-dominated industry. This is a true bootstrap story. Channon’s numbers are modest enough that she still does most of her own fulfillment at night after her day job as a banker—and she loves it. “Every time I get an order,” she says, “I feel like I’m wrapping a Christmas present. I’m just so excited that somebody wants something that I’ve created.”
Plus: Paul Downs checks in with an update. After posting his best year ever in 2024, he was blindsided when sales suddenly stalled earlier this year, forcing him to lay off a third of his employees. Sales have since rebounded, but now he’s staring at a backlog and a different dilemma: Does he hire aggressively to meet the higher demand—or play it safe until he sees how 2026 begins?
You can subscribe to the 21 Hats Podcast wherever you get podcasts.
THE 21 HATS RESOURCE GUIDE
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