Travis Vickers, AIA

My dad was an architect, and I grew up surrounded by his architecture practices, both professionally and personally. While I was in college, my dad started his own architecture firm, and that really turned my eye towards the business side of the industry. I attended the University of Florida for a degree in architecture and a minor in business administration, then I kicked off my career in Orlando working on the Orlando and Jacksonville airports and a variety of Disney hotels.

Throughout my first few jobs, I took note of what I saw the owners of those companies doing, knowing that my end goal was not only to be an architect, but also run a company. I ran an Atlanta branch office for a company based out of Orlando for a while and began growing my Atlanta network. When the 2008 recession hit and the world was somewhat upside down, we had to lay off most of our team. This is when I really decided to take the plunge and start my own company.

When starting out, we knew it was important to remain open-minded in the projects that we would take on, never limiting ourselves to just one project type or size. We divided our work into four studios: Tenant Solutions, Landlord Solutions, Special Projects, and Architecture, and we tackle a variety of projects ranging from corporate and industrial, to retail, restaurants, and breweries.

We’ve built our team around our core values – character, expertise, passion, and enthusiasm. These come into play every day, from initial conversations when we are interviewing a potential candidate to how we approach our clients and take on projects. These values have created a firm culture around collective expertise and passion for the industry, and I think it really shows in our designs, relationships, and the repeat business we receive.

After restructuring and rebranding over the last couple of years, we’ve been able to grow our market reach and have been lucky to experience exponential growth. This year, each of our four studios grew, bringing many talented individuals to our team. We also moved into a new office, and after only one year, we are currently expanding our space.

When I’m not in the office, I’m usually on the golf course, biking, running, or swimming with my fantastic wife and kids.

What was a piece of advice that has stuck with you?

When I first started my career in Atlanta, a good friend introduced me to their director of marketing, who gave me advice that has stood with me to this day. You catch bigger fish with a hook than with a net. In other words, in all things you do, you will reap greater rewards from dedicating your time, treasure, and talents deeply to select causes, goals, or relationships than you would if you were to spread yourself across many only at a surface level. This has been the foundation around which we formed our company and that has allowed us to continue our success.