Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Steinhour.
Hi Amy , we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My journey to founding GiftWellSoon started long before I ever imagined becoming an entrepreneur.
I’ve spent much of my career in healthcare as a physician assistant, helping patients navigate some of the most difficult moments of their lives. I understood the medical side of illness, but in 2022, when I was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer at 39 years old, I suddenly found myself experiencing healthcare from a completely different perspective.
At the time, my husband and I were raising two young daughters, and life was already full. Suddenly, we were navigating chemotherapy, surgeries, appointments, parenting, work, and all the uncertainty that comes with a cancer diagnosis. Even with my medical background, it was overwhelming.
One of the things that stood out to me during that experience was how many people genuinely wanted to help. Friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers reached out with the best intentions. They would say, “Let me know what you need,” and they truly meant it. But when you’re going through something difficult, figuring out what you need, asking for it, and coordinating everyone’s offers of help can become another responsibility at a time when you have very little energy to spare.
I also began to recognize something I had seen throughout my healthcare career but hadn’t fully appreciated until I experienced it myself. So much of what makes a health crisis difficult happens outside the doctor’s office. It’s the meals that need to be made, the children who need rides, the household responsibilities that don’t stop, and the emotional weight of trying to keep everyday life moving forward.
That experience planted the seed for GiftWellSoon.
I began thinking about how we could make it easier for people to receive meaningful, practical support during life’s hardest moments. We have wedding registries and baby registries that make it incredibly easy for people to show up and celebrate life’s happiest milestones. Why shouldn’t we have something equally simple for the moments when people need their communities the most?
That idea became GiftWellSoon, a free support registry that helps individuals and families organize the help they need during illness, recovery, caregiving, grief, and other major life challenges. Whether it’s meals, transportation, childcare, help around the house, gift cards, or financial contributions, our goal is to make it easier for people to ask for support and easier for their communities to provide it.
What started as a deeply personal idea has grown into something much bigger. Today, we’re building relationships with healthcare organizations, nonprofits, employers, and community partners to explore how practical support can become a more accessible part of the care people receive. We’re especially interested in reaching people who may not have the time, resources, or energy to organize that support on their own.
Building a company has been an entirely different kind of education. I’ve had to learn things I never expected, from technology development and fundraising to partnerships and business strategy. There have been plenty of challenges, but I’ve also been incredibly encouraged by the people who recognize the problem we’re trying to solve and want to be part of the solution.
Kansas City has been a wonderful place to build something like this. The entrepreneurial community is incredibly supportive, and we’ve met so many people who are willing to share their experiences, make introductions, and help us grow.
When I look back, I never imagined that one of the hardest experiences of my life would lead me down this path. But I also know that my story isn’t unique. Every day, families are navigating serious illnesses, unexpected diagnoses, and life-changing circumstances while trying to hold everything else together.
My hope is that GiftWellSoon can help change how we show up for one another during those moments. Because asking for help shouldn’t be the hardest part of going through something hard.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road, but I don’t think I expected it to be. If there’s one thing I’ve learned through both my cancer journey and building GiftWellSoon, it’s that you can have a plan, but life rarely follows it exactly.
Personally, going through breast cancer treatment while raising two young daughters was one of the most challenging experiences of my life. Chemotherapy, surgeries, and the physical and emotional toll of treatment were difficult enough, but what surprised me was how much of the recovery continued long after treatment ended. There’s an expectation that once you’re cancer-free, life just goes back to normal. The reality is that you’re often navigating a new normal, physically, emotionally, and mentally, while everyone around you has moved on.
That experience also changed my relationship with asking for help. I’ve always been someone who is comfortable taking care of others, both personally and professionally. Learning to accept support myself wasn’t easy. It’s actually one of the biggest lessons that has carried over into GiftWellSoon. We often think asking for help is a sign of weakness, when in reality, it takes a tremendous amount of strength to recognize that we can’t do everything alone.
On the business side, the learning curve has been steep. My background is in healthcare, not technology or entrepreneurship. Building a platform from the ground up, figuring out what people truly need, and learning how to turn a personal mission into a sustainable business have all come with challenges. We’ve had to make difficult decisions, rethink ideas we were excited about, and accept that sometimes the things we thought would work simply don’t.
One of the biggest challenges has been realizing that recognizing a problem and changing how people respond to it are two very different things. Almost everyone understands how difficult it can be to navigate a serious illness or major life disruption, and most people genuinely want to help someone going through it. But asking for help is deeply personal, and changing the way people think about giving and receiving support takes time. We’re not just introducing a new platform. In some ways, we’re trying to shift a cultural mindset.
I’ve also learned how important it is to listen and to surround yourself with the right people. Building a business isn’t something you can do alone, and finding people who believe in the mission and bring strengths that complement your own makes all the difference. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have Kristen Beck, our COO, and Christina Rowell, our CTO, alongside me on this journey. Their expertise, perspectives, and commitment to what we’re building have been invaluable. Having a team that can challenge ideas, work through obstacles together, and keep moving forward has been one of the most important parts of our progress.
There have certainly been moments of frustration and uncertainty, and plenty of days when I feel like I’m learning everything as I go. But there have also been moments that remind me exactly why we’re doing this. Every time I hear about someone successfully using a GiftWellSoon registry, whether it’s a family receiving meals and help around the house, a patient getting the support they need during treatment, or a caregiver feeling a little less overwhelmed, it reminds me that what we’re building is making a real difference in people’s lives. Those stories are incredibly rewarding and reinforce why this work matters.
I think the biggest lesson has been learning to be comfortable with not having all the answers. Progress doesn’t always look the way you expect it to, and sometimes the most important thing you can do is keep showing up, surround yourself with good people, stay open to learning, and remember why you started.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’ve spent the past 18 years working as a physician assistant, with a career that has taken me through orthopedic surgery, emergency medicine, and academia. Each of those experiences has shaped the way I think about healthcare, the challenges patients face, and the importance of caring for the whole person, not just their medical condition.
Working in orthopedic surgery taught me how much a patient’s recovery depends on what happens after they leave the hospital. A successful surgery is only one piece of the puzzle. Patients still need transportation to appointments, help with daily activities, and support while they regain their independence. In emergency medicine, I saw how quickly an unexpected diagnosis, injury, or medical crisis could turn someone’s life upside down. And my experience in academia gave me an appreciation for education, research, and the importance of continually questioning how we can do things better.
Throughout my career, I’ve always been drawn to the human side of medicine. We spend so much time focusing on diagnoses, treatments, and outcomes, but the everyday realities of living through an illness or recovery can be just as challenging. My own experience with breast cancer brought that understanding to an entirely different level. I went from being the healthcare provider to being the patient, and suddenly I was experiencing firsthand many of the challenges I had watched my patients navigate for years.
Today, I’m bringing those experiences together as the founder and CEO of GiftWellSoon. What makes GiftWellSoon different is that we’re focused on the practical needs that often fall outside traditional healthcare. There are wonderful organizations providing medical care, emotional support, and financial assistance, but families are still left coordinating much of their everyday support on their own. We’re working to help bridge that gap.
We’re also looking beyond individual registries to explore how GiftWellSoon can become a resource offered through healthcare organizations, nonprofits, and employers. My background as a healthcare provider has been especially valuable in these conversations because I understand the demands placed on clinical teams and how difficult it can be to introduce new resources into already busy environments. Our goal isn’t to add more work for healthcare professionals, but to make it easier for them to connect patients and families with practical support from their existing communities.
What I’m most proud of is that we’ve taken something that began as a personal experience and turned it into a resource that other families are now using. Every successful registry represents someone receiving help during a time when they really need it. It might seem like a small thing to have dinner delivered, a ride arranged, or a household task taken off your plate, but when you’re overwhelmed, those moments of support can mean everything.
I’m also incredibly proud of the team we’ve built. My co-founder and COO, Kristen Beck, and our CTO, Christina Rowell, bring perspectives and expertise that complement my own. Together, we’re building something that combines healthcare experience, technology, and a shared belief that people deserve better support during life’s hardest moments.
I think what sets me apart is the combination of my professional experience and my personal journey. I’ve spent nearly two decades caring for patients, I’ve experienced a serious diagnosis myself, and now I’m working to address a gap that I’ve seen from both sides of healthcare. That perspective influences everything we do at GiftWellSoon.
Ultimately, I want to help change the way we think about support. We often treat practical help as something extra, when in reality, it can make an enormous difference in someone’s ability to navigate an illness, recover from surgery, or simply get through a difficult season of life. I believe we can make that kind of support easier to access, more organized, and a more natural part of how we care for one another.
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Growing up, I was definitely independent-minded and not someone who naturally fell in line. I had a tendency to question the rules, challenge the status quo, and buck the system until it was absolutely necessary to do as I was told. Looking back, I think that stubborn streak was equal parts frustrating and valuable!
It also took me a while to find my footing professionally. I didn’t have a clear path or know exactly what I wanted to do early on, and I’m incredibly grateful that I had amazing parents who supported me and gave me the space to figure it out.
Ironically, some of those same traits that probably made me a challenging kid have served me well as an entrepreneur. I’ve never been particularly comfortable accepting that something has to be done a certain way simply because that’s how it’s always been done.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.giftwellsoon.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giftwellsoon/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giftwellsoon
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-steinhour-giftwellsoon/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GiftWellSoon
