Channon Kennedy’s woodworking tool is now available at Home Depot.

California entrepreneur Channon Kennedy turned a woodworking tool inspired by a friend’s personal tragedy into her business, The Morgan Square, bringing in about $4,000 in monthly revenue and landing placement in major retailers such as Home Depot, according to Entrepreneur. Kennedy, who worked as a banker at Silicon Valley Bank, founded Kiwi Vision and created The Morgan Square, a measuring and marking tool designed to make woodworking more efficient. In an October 2025 interview with the outlet, the Hayward, California entrepreneur shared details about how her business came together.

The idea came from her close friend, Gary Hebberd, whose son, Morgan Dean Hebberd, died at age 8 after a six-year battle with leukemia. As a craftsman, Hebberd had wished for a tool that would have helped him finish projects more quickly so he could spend more time with his son. Kennedy went on to develop the product and named it in the child’s honor.

Launching the business took extensive patent and trademark research, prototype development, and manufacturing partnerships. Kennedy received $50,000 in startup funding and covered additional costs on her own. She also said mentorship from SCORE and support from the Black Chamber of Commerce helped her work through financial and operational hurdles.

Kennedy launched The Morgan Square in March 2020, right as the COVID-19 pandemic was disrupting business activity and trade shows. Even with those setbacks, the company brought in $5,000 in its first year and more than $60,000 in its second year, according to Kennedy. Sales kept climbing, passing 1,000 units in 2023 and 3,000 units in 2024.

Kennedy said trade shows played a major role in that growth because they allowed customers to see and handle the product in person. Still, building the business came with obstacles, including costly prototypes, marketing missteps, and technical issues at her first major trade show in 2022. By October 2025, Kennedy said The Morgan Square was averaging around $4,000 in monthly revenue as it expanded into retail stores and online marketplaces.

Even with the company’s progress, Kennedy continued working full-time in banking while handling her business before and after work, as well as on weekends.