Why surfing in Portugal was the best investment our startup made this summer
As a co-founder at a startup, there’s rarely less than 100 mission critical to-do’s on your list. Between hiring, building a product, raising funding and everything in between, it’s easy to let culture, team morale and alignment slip to the bottom of the list. This is possibly the biggest mistake any startup executive can make.
Your team is your most precious asset. As founders, we invest so much of our time in hiring the best people, but somehow think our job is done from the day they choose our company over others. And when you are an early stage startup, it is even easier to dismiss the idea that culture should be a focus at all.
Don’t leave it for later. Culture is akin to gardening — you start by planting seeds and regularly do some work to shape what it is growing into. If you do it often enough, it grows into something beautiful. If you leave it for a while, it’ll turn into a jungle.
This, is exactly the reason that we decided to take the entire team to Portugal for an offsite this summer. We had two days of meetings, one full day of surfing and plenty of delicious food and drinks to keep our energy high. I was blown away by how much we managed to accomplish in 3 days!
Here’s 5 tips for getting the most out of a startup offsite:
1. Pass down a clear vision
Things happen fast at a startup, new hires, product strategies & messaging can come just weeks or months apart. It can be tough to keep track of where things are, especially for employees who are heads down and focused on their particular job function. This can lead to confusion or insecurity if clear communication isn’t passed from the top down.
The offsite gave myself and the chance to reflect on how far the company has come since we founded it and what we envision happening over the next year. Presenting clear goals, direction and our vision for the future left everyone feeling like they had a clear idea of the plan.
2. Everyone needs to participate
Everyone has a part to play whether it is marketing, engineering or data science. Coming together as a team allows for cross functional ideas, questions and constructive criticism. Founders should take this opportunity to encourage employees to actively participate, whether that is through a presentation or discussion. You’ll be amazed at the ideas and action items that come out of these types of sessions. Don’t worry if you need a follow-up meeting back at the office to fully explore something you have uncovered.
3. Be brave, get real
Ask the team for feedback and be brave with tough questions. Don’t be afraid to get real. This isn’t the time to hold back or put a spin on challenges. What could go wrong with your product vision or strategy? Take time to brainstorm potential problems and solutions. Other questions such as “How will our culture change as the team grows,” are good to help the team think ahead of what the company might look like in six months to one year.
4. Rest and have fun!
If your not careful, your work agenda will take over leaving too little time for rest and recuperation. Startup employees work hard, so make sure you add a fun activity, delicious food and casual drinks to the agenda. Taking time to relax is important for team morale and it also promotes better communication, and the opportunity to see your team from a different perspective. This might uncover useful skills, opinions or fun facts that you never knew about.
5. Recognise the ROI and plan another one
Our offsite in Lisbon cost the company less than $400 per employee. We walked away with a team that was closer and better aligned than ever before. Everyone had a clear idea of the goals for the company over the next year and where they fit into the overall plan of attack. We also left feeling rested and motivated for the deliverables we set out to accomplish by the end of this year.
I’ll admit that I was nervous our offsite would waste time or money and make us look like a negative stereotype of startup’s that “play hard” but don’t actually work hard. I was also leaving my 4 months old baby for the first time, so had a personal agenda to make those days count. I was amazed by our level of productivity and how much we accomplished in three days — not to mention our team’s hidden surfing skills! We can’t wait to do the next one!
aiden.ai is an AI startup founded in 2016 in London. We’re on a mission to build the future of analytics. We’re hiring, find our open vacancies here.
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