Thinking Bigger Business Media kicked off its first-ever Brew :30 networking event Thursday evening at Amigoni Urban Winery.
The new networking event features three up-and-coming companies—in this case, Unruh Furniture, Happy Food Co. and Idle Smart—and introduces guests to some of the city’s best wineries, breweries and distilleries. Thursday’s Brew :30 was sponsored by business VoIP provider sipVine.
Idle Smart has created a device that automatically turns on a tractor-trailer’s engine whenever its cabin temperature dips below a certain point. That’s because many truck drivers sleep in their cabs whenever they’re on the road, and “just like you, they want to be comfortable when they sleep,” said Ryan Bennett, Idle Smart’s vice president.
Instead of letting trucks idle for hours on end, Idle Smart’s device only uses the engine when it’s truly necessary, saving huge amounts of fuel.
Happy Food Co. is led by Jeff Glasco and Kiersten Firquain. They sell “dinner kits” that include all the ingredients a person needs to make a healthy, delicious meal in about 30 minutes. Happy Food Co. partners with local employers to distribute their products: Employees can place an order via a mobile-friendly app, and Happy Food will deliver to the office by the end of the workday.
Happy Food Co. was designed to help busy individuals and families who still want to eat healthy. About 80 percent of Americans, by 4 p.m. on a typical workday, have no idea what they’re going to fix for dinner, Firquain said.
Unruh Furniture specializes in handcrafted, 100 percent hardwood furniture. The company, currently based in Grandview, is preparing to move into a former church at 36th and Walnut in midtown Kansas City, Mo. The new building will be more than double the size of Unruh Furniture’s old space.
