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Every summer, Xynergy CEO Jennifer Martin takes her staff on a rafting trip. “It’s one of the ways to really see the beauty of New Mexico.” Martin says. The excursions are booked through a company called New Mexico River Adventures, Xynergy’s very first client more than 21 years ago. “It was the first rafting site on the web,” Martin says. “It brought them a ton of business.” Martin cultivated her love of programming and design when she was very young. Drawing on R. A. Montgomery’s Choose Your Own Adventure books as inspiration, Martin experimented with coding for the first time by creating games on her TRS-80. Little did she know that she’d be working with Montgomery years later on Comic Creator, one of the earliest incarnations of CD-ROM software developed for Apple Computers. Martin’s company started on the ground floor of web design and online marketing in 1994. After working on a project for Studio X, Martin saw the artistic potential for websites. “I didn’t know if the internet would take off. I was just really excited about it. You could put your stuff up and everyone would see it.” Without any venture capital, she began her own business, trading time with Studio X for use of their equipment. “We had to build very slowly,” she says. “But it just kept getting bigger and bigger”. With the internet still in its infancy, Martin had few resources for guidance. Over the years she has surrounded herself with what she calls people of excellence “Right now, the quality of the work we’re putting out is great. Having caring team members is so important.” Xynergy excels at building brand-specific designs, creating websites for clients who want to stand out in a crowd. The company has worked with a well-established mail-order company in Connecticut since 1998, though Martin has never met with them in person. “We communicate with them every week. Our clients know they can rely on us to be there. We’re committed to long-term client support.” Initially, Martin moved to Santa Fe to work on Comic Creator and has been here ever since. Xynergy moved to its current location in 2001. The company also has offices in Albuquerque and Taos.“New Mexico’s a beautiful place. My family’s here. What I love about Santa Fe is that it’s still kind of a small town, but it has city level art and culture.” One of the greatest rewards of Martin’s career has been working with individuals“who have a sense of excellence, and care about what they’re doing.” Xynergy works with numerous state agencies, as well as high-profile clients like author Andrew Sobel and film legend Shirley MacLaine. Martin says MacLaine’s site was successful because she is someone “who embraces new ideas and will run with [them] creatively.” As a result, her site was way ahead of the curve. with Jennifer Martin, MacLaine is in good company.