Mr K finalists: Diversity is a strength, but the vibes defining these Top 10 businesses don’t stop there

Yes, 80 percent of the finalists for this year’s Small Business of the Year Award are ventures run by women, Karen Crnkovich acknowledged, but it’s not just their owners’ gender that put them in the top-tier of contenders for the coveted “Mr. K” honor.

Neelima Parasker, SnapIT Solutions, bottom left, speaks during a panel conversation featuring the 2024 finalists for the “Mr. K” Award; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“There are eight really brilliant, smart ladies on the stage,” said Crnkovich, president of DMC Service, Inc., a Kansas City commercial HVAC and plumbing service contractor, during a panel conversation with the finalists. “But don’t pick us because we’re women or because we’re women of color. Pick us because we’re the best. Pick us because we do great work, and let those diversity boxes be an extra cherry on the top to doing extraordinary work.”

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce organized its 2024 Small Business Top 10 Reception Thursday evening at the Cascade Hotel. Finalist companies are vying for the prestigious “Mr. K Award” — named for the late Kansas City entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Kauffman — that honors the Small Business of the Year in Kansas City.

RELATED: Meet the Small Biz of the Year finalists: KC Chamber surprises Top 10 Mr K contenders

Thursday’s gathering marked the last KC Chamber showcase before a winner is announced at the Small Business Awards Luncheon, which is set for 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, June 13 at the Westin Crown Center.

Click here to register for the luncheon or to learn more about the event.

Kim Scott-Robert, Quantum Resource Professionals, speaks during a panel conversation featuring the KC Chamber’s Top 10 small businesses for 2024; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

DMC Service is one of three repeat finalists — also including Quantum Resource Professionals and Walz Tetrick Advertising — from 2023. SnapIT Solutions is a returning finalist from 2022.

“When you’re named a Top 10 Small Business, it shows that you and your team are on the right track,” said Joe Reardon, president and CEO of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce. “You’re growing in a sustainable way, you’re giving back to our wonderful Kansas City community. You’re continuing to create those strong relationships with your employees and your customers. You’re prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the work that you do and with the clients that you serve. You’re serving Kansas City as an amazing business in our community.”

Jasmine Nastasi, Stellar Image Studio, speaks during a panel conversation featuring the 2024 finalists for the “Mr. K” Award; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Like Crnkovich, who is in the trades industry, Jasmine Nastasi operates her business in a male-dominated industry, she noted. Part of what makes Stellar Image Studio — a video production company — stand out is that she co-owns it with her sister, Amber Michele Giangregorio.

“I always say that people don’t hire us necessarily just for our videos,” she continued. “There’s a lot of great video production companies in Kansas City, but it’s an energy; it’s a vibe. There’s something special about owning the business with my sister. We bring a really unique energy to the sets that our clients love.”

Sherry Lumpkins, Blue Symphony, speaks during a panel conversation featuring the KC Chamber’s Top 10 small businesses for 2024; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

Sherry Lumpkins — principal at Blue Symphony, a technology and marketing firm — said her experience as a woman of color helps to set her business apart.

“I have had to learn how to interact and communicate with all sorts of different types of people,” she explained. “It’s a skill that I’ve had to develop throughout my career. So I think it helps all of us to connect even better when we’re talking to people.”

“Piggybacking on what Jasmine said,” Lumpkins added, “there’s an energy and an understanding that I think we communicate.”

As a small business owner in Kansas City — a region currently enjoying its time in national and international headlines — now is the time to leverage this elevation, emphasized Neelima Parasker.

“The spotlight is good, but at the same time, we’ve got to have our ducks in a row with our strategy in place,” noted Parasker, founder of SnapIT Solutions, “and not be afraid to pivot and rethink what we are putting together. Because the past few years, all we have been doing is understanding and tuning into the market way more frequently than we used to.”

Elaina Paige Thomas, The Next Paige Agency, speaks during a panel conversation featuring the 2024 finalists for the “Mr. K” Award; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

With the public eye on Kansas City, Elaina Paige Thomas said, she founded The Next Paige — KC’s only Black-owned and women-owned full-service talent agency — at just the right time, noting the recent passing of a tax film credit. 

“It creates opportunity for the landscape of Kansas City’s ecosystem for more job creation,” she explained. “And that is what we do at The Next Paige. We have been providing job sourcing for creatives here to career opportunities to continue to enhance and fulfill their dreams.”

Leonard Graham, Taliaferro and Browne, speaks during a panel conversation featuring the KC Chamber’s Top 10 small businesses for 2024; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

During Thursday’s panel discussion — which was moderated by Victor Hammonds and Melvin Sarmiento with Bank Midwest, the presenting sponsor of the reception — the leaders representing the finalist companies also tackled such topics and challenges as inflation, workforce shortages, and AI; how they are supporting other small businesses; and how they are increasing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in hiring.

“DEI is something that we did long before it was known as DEI,” said Leonard Graham, president of Taliaferro and Browne. “We’re an engineering firm of about 70 people. We were recently recognized by the Kansas City Business Journal as being the most diverse engineering firm in the city. It comes to us naturally.”

“We have people in our firm from all over the world,” he continued. “My business partner — Hagos Andebrhan, over there in the marvelous-looking white suit — is from Eritrea in East Africa. We have people from West Africa, we have China, people from India, women in leadership roles. It just comes naturally to us.”

Recent Mr. K Award winners include Parrish and Sons Construction in 2023 and Chicken N Pickle in 2022. The honor has been presented annually since 1987.

Several other awards are set to be presented at the June luncheon, including the KC Chamber’s Emerging Business Award, Small Business Equity Award, and the new Luminary Arts and Creative Small Business Award.

Check out a photo gallery from Thursday’s panel conversation below; photos by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu and Taylor Wilmore, Startland News.