Growing up with nine siblings, Maura FitzGerald learned how to get herself heard above the din. She now puts this ability to constructive use: making noise for clients in the competitive world of hi-tech.

FitzGerald, whose Cambridge-based firm has recently opened offices in San Francisco and Washington DC, parlayed a freelance tech-writing gig into a burgeoning PR practice. She has succeeded - to the tune of $9 million in fee income in the five years since the firm launched. She ...