TOM HOULEHAN | Tom and Jerry, Inc.

Tom Houlehan is president of Tom and Jerry, Inc., a advertising, marketing and event planning company that clearly boasts one Tom—but no Jerry. As it turns out, it was just too memorable a name to pass up, says the 28-year-old founder. “Jerry is my alter-ego,” he says. “I’m the face of the company, but Jerry does all the work.” Every single client, he says, laughs at the name—at first. But then they come back. The firm he started eight years ago, while still in college, is not all he’s involved with. He’s also a principal with Grand Prix Global Concierge, a high-end event company that tailors race-week experiences for corporate and individual clients, and the fledgling Prima Magera, which produces novelty products for sale in convenience stores and pharmacies. And, showing off his philanthropic side, he’s the two-term president of the Bacchus Foundation and president of the O.E. Ellis Society.

BIRJU SOLANKI | KC Free Eye Clinic

The original goal was to become a doctor, but somewhere along the way, Birju Solanki found his calling in running a health-care business. He was one of the co-founders of the Kansas City Free Eye Clinic in 2008. The 501(c)3 non-profit was the first of its kind in the Midwest to provide free, preventive vision care and comprehensive treatments to needy residents with its mobile services. A graduate of Barstow High School, Solanki and other UMKC med school students founded the clinic, where he’s executive director, and it still relies on students to serve patients. “Vision care affords the opportunity for dramatic results for patients at low cost, which also makes it a sustainable and continually growing enterprise,” said Solanki. You can still catch him and co-founder Chanukya Dasari on YouTube, collecting accolades at the Clinton Global Initiative University in 2009 from none other than the former president himself.

BONYEN LEE | KCTV-5

With the possible exception of an emergency room, few settings will test your ability to think—and fast— like deadline journalism. That’s where Bonyen Lee does her thinking. Since KCTV-5 snagged her away from Rochester, N.Y., in 2009—a leap from the nation’s 80th-ranked television market to No. 31—this dual citizen of Taiwan and the U.S. has demonstrated a wide range of skills: writing, videography, editing, generating social-media content and even taking a spin in the anchor’s chair with “It’s Your Morning Weekends.” And the source of that drive is indeed a rarity in these parts: “My childhood Olympic-bound figure skating career gave me the competitive edge in the business world today,” says Lee. “It taught me the power of dedication, passion and focus.” She has also woven herself in the fabric of civic life here as a volunteer board member for the Child Protection Center and on the event planning committee for Reach Out and Read KC. She’s also a member of both the Asian American Chamber of Commerce and the Asian American Journalists Association, and with her husband, Drew Gilmore, she’s remodeling a century-old home in Midtown..

DAVID GASTON | Experience Fitness

A true entrepreneur, says David Gaston, creates his own opportunities. Gaston put that belief into practice by defining his vision, seeking out the advice of professionals, structuring a business plan, applying marketing fundamentals to pick a site, and negotiating favorable lease terms. Then—and only then—did he open the doors to Experience Fitness in Overland Park. With the baseline secured, he and co-owner Kelsey Ngeh focused on developing the regimen of fitness classes and personal training services—even house calls—that Gaston believed would differentiate the club from the masses. A graduate of Baker University and a former business development executive for Physicians Business Network, Gaston will turn 29 this month with something more than a career ahead of him: “I’ve created an opportunity to use my professional strengths of sales and marketing to pursue my true passion—fitness.”