Starting out with a founding team of 2 at the start of Covid and growing to 37 amazing individuals in two years; the Softr team has mostly gotten to know each other through Slack conversations and Google Meets - without much in-person interaction. For a team that crosses many time zones and cultures, this can be challenging and overwhelming - especially for building close relationships!
Two weeks ago (July 2022) this all changed. We finally managed to get out of the Covid-era lockdowns and headed to Portugal to enrich our remote working experience and strengthen our bond over four amazing days. Traveling from Armenia, Taiwan, Spain, Portugal, Latvia, Netherlands, Germany, and the UK, our team arrived at beautiful Torres Vedras of Portugal to kick off our offsite!
Spoiled and full from the delicious Portuguese cuisine, we headed straight to Foz do Alcabrichel to start our lively hike on our first day in Portugal. Accompanied by an experienced guide, a stroll through the Torres Vedras mountains was a great way to enjoy the most stunning views and energize after the long flights from home.
Over the next few days, our mornings started with some exciting practical sessions. On day-1 this included a warm introduction from each of the Softr team members followed by a presentation from our co-founder, Mariam, sharing Softr’s company vision, goals, and values.
We then headed out to Praia Azul beach, ready and confident to catch some waves during the surfing classes. It was the best way to explore the ocean and learn a new sport together. We also played volleyball, tried fresh seafood whilst overlooking the ocean view, and shared some truly memorable laughs together.
The following day, our colleagues prepared a session full of informative presentations and fun activities. The first presentation was by Mario Araujo (Head of Growth) and Tommaso Di Stefano (Growth Marketer), talking about Softr’s growth vision and roadmap with the help of their assistant sea otter.
Austin Yang (Lead Product Manager) conducted the presentation on where our product team is heading, detailing our main product use cases and roadmap. Meanwhile, Iker Fernández (Lead Product Designer) shared the design team’s vision, goals, and strategy, as well as the exciting plan to make Softr product a design reference and open to the design community!
We also had a special guest joining us for the trip all the way from New York. Matt Turck, the lead investor on our Series A funding shared an inspiring opening note and then joined our co-founders, Mariam and Artur, to run an AMA panel and answer company-related questions from the team.
Later, we were ready to explore the beautiful city of Lisbon. Once we had a chance to walk the cobbled streets of the bustling city, we hopped on the boat to enjoy the ocean and relax with some great music. The eventful day ended in the center of Lisbon with an incredible sunset, tasty pizza, and wine.
For the last day of our sessions, our team turned into Softr users - building scaling, and problem-solving products for various use cases.
We wrapped the session with Artur’s (CTO and co-founder) presentation on the past, present, and future of tech at Softr.
This was followed by the most challenging and dynamic part of the trip; the activity tournament accompanied by a paintball match. Our team enjoyed a bundle of laid-back activities like wall climbing, bow and arrow, rappel, mega slide, and more.
Our main goal was to return to the hotel with the same number of people safe and sound (mission accomplished!).
We wrapped our trip with a final meal in Lisbon and said our last goodbyes to each other!
To walk through Softr memory lane, check out this great video created by Samvel Siradeghyan (Senior Software Engineer).
It has already been two weeks since we returned to communicating through Slack huddles, Google Meets, and sharing memes in our “Fun” channel. But it feels different, much closer, and better after the Offsite.
We can’t wait to see what the future has prepared for the Softr team and community. One thing is for sure, our next offsite will be just as grandiose and impressive.
See you next year!
Want to be a Softrian?
This is just the beginning. Want to join us for the next offsite and be a part of our diverse and creative team? Learn more about our mission and open positions on the job opportunities page!
