Embolden began as a home-based web design company that quickly expanded.

What started as a business running out of [Ann-Marie Harrington's home with only three customers quickly grew into much more. Within two years Harrington had turned Embolden into a full-time job for her, as well as a number of contractors, who later became full-time employees. During those first few years, Harrington said, the company was doubling in size every year.

With little time and resources for recruitment, Harrington turned to family, hiring her sister and sister-in-law. Already in the family were husband and wife Marc and Pamela Ardizzone and two brothers Jason and Justin Davenport.

Whereas some might worry that having so many personal relationships swimming about in a professional environment could present problems, Harrington and her employees all said that it has been a definite plus.

“People really like to see that my business is all about relationships,” Harrington said. “When we are having conversations with clients it’s clear to them that we are working in a very positive atmosphere. I think they feel that we can give them a lot of personal attention here that they might not get with other companies.”