On his own

The story of how and why Dean Crowley launched his own construction company while the economy was in the dumps isn't necessarily one of a yearning for entrepreneurial freedom.

That might be true today, but in 2011 Crowley didn't feel that way. “I never really had the entrepreneurial dream,” says Crowley. “The goal wasn't to start a company.”

Instead, Crowley figured he would end his career where it started in 1992, at W.G. Mills, once one of the largest independent construction firms in the state. But national construction giant Gilbane bought Mills in 2010. A Business Observer 40 under 40 winner in 2006, Crowley was a senior executive at Mills, but not a senior-level owner who made out with a big payday in the sale.