We just finished an offsite with our team in Brazil. While my thoughts are fresh, I'd like to capture my experience both to process the trip and provide a behind-the-scenes view into Resend's culture and values.

Starting Point

I've worked remotely for nearly a decade for different companies, but have never yet participated in an offsite or group in-person gathering.

For many reasons, I didn't know what to expect.

• I don't travel regularly.
• I've never been to South America.
• I'm joining a skilled and established team.
• I joined the company only a few weeks ago.
• I am still learning the product and the industry.
• I had only met one coworker in person before the trip.

You may have the same question I did: “What should I expect?”

Purpose

Since Resend is a fully remote company, in-person offsites hold special value. I'd like to call attention to just two.

1. Forge personal connections

During my first week at Resend, I took time to meet the team personally online. While everyone seemed friendly and welcoming, I wasn't prepared for the immediate connection we forged in person.

Building empathy and understanding for each other is a relationship value that is cultivated best in person.

2. Strategy

The week before the offsite, we spent time together strategizing key questions we needed to explore. We voted on the most important topics and then created a schedule that gave us space to think deeply.

Each day, we asked serious questions about our customers, our product, our aspirations, and our future plans.

Itinerary

Saturday, we arrived at various times on and settled into the Airbnb. We spent time together relaxing, eating amazing food, talking, and playing board games.

Unfortunately, it rained most of our time in Brazil, so we stayed indoors.

Sunday night, before we start the week, we all sat around a table and answered customer tickets until we hit inbox zero.

This not only helped us begin the week with fewer distractions, but also reminded us all why we exist: to help people.

Monday—Wednesday we grabbed breakfast together and then took Ubers to our co-working space to collaborate. Each day included a variety of sessions:

• Group discussions: team members led sessions on important topics about our customers, our product, and future opportunities or concerns.
• Working sessions: we took an hour or so each afternoon to work our regular tasks.
• Support sessions: we took time to answer questions and provide support for our customers each day.
• Team planning: individual teams took time to strategize and plan for the future.
• Customer call: we had a group call with a customer to better understand their needs and pain points.
• How we work: we shared tips and tricks that you'd normally pick up in an office environment, like your favorite Raycast plugins, automations, and tools.
• Handbook writing: we think deeply about our culture and took time to write and update our handbook as a team.

Thursday, we broke into three teams and created hackday projects. Each team created a project to explore a product direction, solve a customer pain point, or provide internal tooling.

I was so deeply impressed with the creativity of the projects and the contributions of each member.

Takeaways

I learned so many valuable lessons during our time, but here are just a few highlights.

1. Personal connection

Each evening, we gathered around wonderful food and enjoyed good conversation. Of course, we talked about work, but we also simply enjoyed each other and forged deeper friendships.

Each person was so warm, friendly, and energizing. We shared good coffee and several enjoyed early-morning runs (I only joined once, but got a picture to prove it).

Not only do I have a new deep and profound respect everyone at Resend, but I feel as though I've made nine new friends—all warm and smart and energizing in their own way. I was prepared to work. I was prepared to strategize. I wasn't prepared for the deep forging of new relationships. Mealtimes, late-night board games, and personal conversations were full of laughter, empathy, energy, and care.

2. Assumptions

As we assessed current pain points, strategized for the future, and tackled problems, I realized that my assumptions were often unproven.

During one session, we were asked to examine the question, "Why do customers leave Resend?" Throughout the hour, we openly discussed the key reasons until we had settled on several core answers to the question.

Everyone on the team was eager to start fixing the problems and my mind had already fixed on key next actions. At the close of the session, Zeh gave us the following prompt:

Take the last minutes of our session and discuss how to validate your hypothesis. Don't solve the problem, but validate your hypothesis with real data.

I realized I'd already settled on both the problem and the solution before genuinely gathering and examining the data. Everyone brings bias into the decision-making process, so putting those biases and underlying assumptions to the test is crucial.

• Let diverse voices speak
• Create hypotheses, not rules
• Gather data to test your hypotheses
• Leave ego at the door
• Be open to change your mind

3. Deep Thought

Startups are known for their speed. But velocity without the proper heading will get you the wrong place quickly.

Deep quality requires deep thought. Throughout the week, I found my perspective slowly shifting and changing. Each time I returned to a concept or a team member spoke into a topic, it added a new layer of understanding.

The slow-brew of deep thought helped me reflect in a qualitiatively different way. The constant pressure of daily work often doesn't leave space for deep thought and the offsite was the perfect medium to work on this crucial skill.

The week was incredible—fun, insightful, and energizing! I'm eager for our next one.