IT firm honored as ‘Emerging Business of the Year’ finds inclusive welcome in Kansas City
June 15, 2023 | Nikki Overfelt Chifalu
Editor’s note: The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce is a non-financial partner of Startland News, which serves as the media partner for the Small Business Superstars program.
NvisionKC — founded during the throes of the pandemic — more than survived 2020, Grace Ahn said; the IT consulting company is positioned for power, earning the KC Chamber’s Emerging Business of the Year Award.
“Anything is possible if you set your mind to it,” the founder and CEO said after the Chamber’s Small Business Celebration Awards Luncheon Wednesday at Marriott Muehlebach Tower. “This award is truly the lump sum of all my team’s effort and also the KC community’s support for small businesses. We just started with the will to be able to make it work and we found local businesses to be supporting and trusting of us as a newbie in the industry.”
Click here to learn more about the KC Chamber’s other award winners.
Grace Ahn, NvisionKC, right, is presented with the 2023 Emerging Small Business of the Year Award by La’Nesha Frazier, Bliss Books and Wine, during the KC Chamber’s Small Business Celebration; photo by Channa Steinmetz, Startland News
After a career as an IT consultant, Ahn founded Nvision KC — which specializes in collaboration, process automation, analytics, and software development — as a way to merge her computer science and hospitality management degrees, she shared.
“I wanted to see if I can provide the best customer service in IT and professional services, as well,” she explained. “We try to not only meet their requirements but provide them solutions that exceed their expectations.”
Ahn — an immigrant from South Korea — is proud of what NvisionKC has accomplished in just over two years, she said, especially the team she has done it with.
Click here to learn more about NvisionKC.
“It is very important for me to include diverse team members — whether it’s men or women — with different backgrounds,” she added, “because I’ve found it brings creativity and it’s really fun to learn from each other.”
After moving to the United States at the age of 26, Ahn has lived in several different cities around the country. But she noted that she is happy to call Kansas City home now.
“I love Kansas City because of the authenticity of the people,” she continued. “They have truly welcomed me. Even though I’m an Asian person — which is rare to see on the street — I don’t feel excluded. If you just walk on the street, people smile at you and I love that atmosphere of Kansas City.”
2023 Startups to Watch
stats here
Related Posts on Startland News
Digital Sandbox charges three new startups with its proof-of-concept challenge
An effort to elevate Kansas City’s creative minds, Digital Sandbox KC is digging deeper in its sixth year of acceleration — adding three new startups to its portfolio, the proof-of-concept program announced this week. “Our initial goal was to find 10 early-stage concepts that had high-growth potential and help them secure follow-on funding,” said Jeff Shackelford,…
KCultivator Q&A: Donald Hawkins chews on sage advice, blood sausage, ‘circle of giving’
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Founders should rally around Kansas City’s startup ecosystem like fans rallied around the Chiefs, said Donald Hawkins. “If you look at a lot of the companies that have scaled — there’s a huge connection gap between…
‘Hardest deal is always the first one’ — Partnership adapts Motega Health tech for animal use
A new licensing deal with Simini Technologies has unleashed disruptive potential for Lawrence-built Motega Health, the company announced Thursday. “We are very pleased to be partnering with Simini and their team and are excited by the energy and creative thinking they are bringing to the commercial process in veterinary medicine,” said Dr. Blake Hawley, founder…
KC Tech Council: ‘No Coast’ aims to prove landlocked doesn’t mean limited for local tech industry
Kansas City has been “punching above its weight” since the days of covered wagons, said Ryan Weber, noting the tech industry specifically has an impact of almost $11 billion a year on KC’s local economy. “Nationally, our profile has risen so much,” said Weber, president of the KC Tech Council which works to support the…