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
All-Star voting winners: E-Day at the K celebrates KCSourceLink, its network (Photos)
KCSourceLink’s Entrepreneur Day at the K heralded the work of the support organization’s sprawling network of partners. But the tailgate party at Kauffman Stadium didn’t let founder Maria Meyers go unnoticed. Reading from a proclamation announcement marking Monday as “KCSourceLink Entrepreneur Day” in Kansas City, Missouri, Nathan Kurtz, entrepreneur advocate at the Ewing Marion Kauffman…
Vote now: KCMO competing for spot in accelerator focusing on gender, racial inclusion
KCMO already is a five-star city, Mayor Sly James says, but a new accelerator program could make it even better. “Kansas City’s startup community is growing and innovating, but women and people of color are being left behind,” James says in a pitch video for Living Cities City Accelerator program. A coalition of local organizations,…
Go print yourself! Overland Park doob shop turns selfie concept into 3D replicas
A new shop in Overland Park is supplanting the selfie with the mini me. After first opening shops in Los Angeles and New York City, the Germany-based 3D printing firm doob has arrived in the Kansas City area to 3D print people, groups and pets. The technology, process and results capture moments in time customers…
KCultivator Q&A: Reggie Gray finds magic in connecting entrepreneurs with Black Privilege, no excuses
Editor’s note: KCultivators is a lighthearted profile series to highlight people who are meaningfully enriching Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The KCultivator Series is sponsored by WeWork Corrigan Station, a modern twist on Kansas City office space. He’s left his “Magic Man” persona behind, but Reggie Gray can’t quite shake the performer inside him, he said. “Whenever I…