In the late 1970s, Adolfo Cotilla Jr. was working in a regional office in Boca Raton for an architecture firm based in Troy, Michigan. He was promoted to vice president within a year and a half, he said, only to later find himself out of a job when the firm shuttered the office.

Cotilla went to work for two other firms but soon realized he'd rather be on his own. In 1985, he started ACAI Associates, based out of his house in Sunrise. "There was no payroll," Cotilla said. "It was just me looking for work."

More than three decades later, ACAI has grown substantially, serving clients in the health care, education and transportation industries. Now based in Fort Lauderdale, the architecture and consulting firm has 33 employees, and it generated m...