Fifteen years ago today, on 11/11/11, Synergy Technical was born.
When people ask me if I had a vision of what Synergy Technical would look like in 15 years, I can honestly say no. Not even close.
I can still vividly remember waking up at 4 a.m. one morning, knowing that today was the day. I was going to start a company. I sat down at my computer and started playing what I can only describe as buzzword bingo on the Virginia State Corporation Commission's website, trying to come up with a name.
I wanted something that sounded established. Something that didn't scream, "I'm sitting in my house at 4 a.m. trying to figure out how to start a business."
And somehow, Synergy Technical was born.
I had absolutely no idea what I was getting myself into.
Fifteen years later, I've been reflecting on how we got here. And the more I think about it, the more I realize this isn't really a story about starting a company. It's about the people who made it possible.
Coming up with a name was the easy part. The real challenge was convincing someone to trust a company that had barely existed long enough to have a business card.
I'll never forget our first customer, Lutheran Family Services, now known as enCircle. They took a chance on us when we didn't have an impressive customer list or years of company history to point to. What we did have was experience, determination, and a commitment to doing good work.
Fifteen years later, they're still our customer.
Over the years, our customers have trusted us with important parts of their businesses, challenged us to solve difficult problems, and given us opportunities to grow alongside them. Some have been with us almost from the beginning. Others have joined us along the way, bringing relationships that have often grown into genuine friendships.
Somewhere along the way, that little startup became a company serving customers in all 50 states and around the world. We've taken on challenges we never could have imagined, competed successfully against companies many times our size, and built a reputation for doing good work and standing behind it.
We wouldn't be celebrating 15 years without any of our customers. Their trust is something we've worked hard to earn, and something we will never take for granted.
One thing I'm particularly proud of is that Synergy Technical has never taken outside investment funding, and we've never borrowed money to finance our growth. Everything we've built has been funded by the business itself.
And here's something else I'm proud of: We've been profitable and grown every single year since we started. All 15 of them.
That doesn't mean it was easy.
I still remember those early moments. Hiring the first employee and realizing someone else's livelihood depended on my decisions. The first baby born to a Synergy Technical employee. Signing our first office lease. Figuring out benefits, 401(k)s, and all the things nobody tells you about when you're starting a company.
In those beginning years, 80-100 hour workweeks weren't unusual, and nobody had the luxury of wearing just one hat. We were all doing whatever needed to be done—technical delivery, sales, finance, human resources, customer support, marketing. There weren't departments to hand things off to. Just a small group of people willing to roll up their sleeves and figure things out.
There were stressful moments, difficult decisions, and more than a few sleepless nights.
And here's something I learned about being the person at the helm of this ship: You don't really get to panic. It's a lot like being a parent when your kid gets hurt. They can come running to you with their finger half cut off, and your job is to stay calm, bandage them up, and find someone who knows how to fix the problem.
You can freak out later.
That's what running a company felt like in the beginning. Things happening every day that I had no idea how to deal with. But I knew we would figure it out.
I'm incredibly proud of those early years, but I'm also grateful they're behind us. Today, we have talented people leading different parts of the business, and we no longer depend on everyone doing five different jobs just to keep the lights on.
I hope we never lose that willingness to jump in and help one another, even if I'm perfectly happy to leave the 100-hour workweeks in the past.
One of the biggest lessons I've learned is that leadership isn't about always having the answers. It's about surrounding yourself with people who can figure things out and trusting them along the way.
There were friends and mentors who encouraged me to take the leap. Partners who saw potential in a tiny startup and opened doors we never could have opened ourselves.
And then there were the people who left perfectly good jobs to join a little company with big ambitions and absolutely no guarantees. Over the years, many more people have joined us and made their mark. Some have moved on, others have stayed, but all their contributions remain part of our story. I am grateful to every single person that ever passed through our doors.
They didn't just join a company. They helped build one.
All our employees brought their experience, relationships, ideas, and talent. They established our reputation, built customer relationships, solved difficult problems, and shaped our culture.
It’s a cliché, but Synergy Technical really has become an extended family in many ways. We’ve watched each other's children grow up, celebrated weddings, babies, and graduations, and supported one another through difficult and fantastic times.
Sometimes I think we're so focused on what's next that we forget to stop and appreciate just how far we've come. TEAM SYNERGY – LOOK HOW FAR WE’VE COME!!!!
But what makes me proudest isn't just the success of the business. It's that we've built the kind of company I hoped we could build 15 years ago.
A company where people want to work. Where people feel valued, challenged, supported, and proud of what they do.
A company that customers want to work with. One that does what it says it's going to do, builds relationships based on trust, and does good work.
And a company that gives back to the communities where we live and work. Some of our proudest moments have had nothing to do with technology. They've been the days we've spent volunteering, supporting nonprofits, helping kids discover science and technology, and making our community a little better.
What makes me especially proud is that these aren't just my priorities anymore. Our people have embraced them and made them their own.
That's a culture worth protecting.
If you'd asked me in 2011 where Synergy Technical would be in 2026, I wouldn't have had the faintest idea. And if you ask me today what we'll look like in 2041, my answer probably isn't much different.
But I'm confident in our future because of the people we've brought together, the customers who continue to trust us, and the company we've built.
Fifteen years ago, I was sitting at my computer at 4 a.m., trying to come up with a company name that sounded like we'd been around forever.
Today, we have been around for a while.
To every customer who has placed your trust in us, every employee, past and present, who has helped us earn that trust, and every partner, mentor, and family member who has supported us along the way: Thank you!
I couldn't be prouder of what we've become.
Happy 15th birthday, Synergy Technical.
What a ride. And I know the best is still ahead of us.
With love and gratitude,
Ro