Pioneer Coworking in San Francisco: An Interview with Mishka Orakzai, Community Lead for Pioneer

Coworking and discussion was the primary goal of Pioneer's corporate retreat this summer season. After a long time disconnected and working virtually, Pioneer wanted to help create more coworking and collaboration amongst their team members. So their month-long event targeted the founders working together and enjoying time away from work to collaborate more with their efforts.

One of our team members, Shun Yamada, recently interviewed Pioneer’s Community Lead, Mishka Orakzai. She shared more about their experiences when they traveled for their corporate retreat, including their team bonfire and coworking activities. In our interview, we learned about how Retreat was able to help them get their event organized while also providing them with time at their Airbnb to allocate for coworking and meaningful work discussions. Their successful event is the first of many for their founders and other members of Pioneer.

Shun: What was the primary goal of the Pioneer summit?

Mishka: The Pioneer Summit is a month-long event for founders we’ve funded to work and live together in San Francisco as they build their startups. Over the course of the trip, they have the opportunity to enjoy the city, meet a few formidable founders and work alongside other Pioneers. Here’s a peek at the one going on right now. We’ve organized a Summit about 2 times this year and another one is coming up.

Shun: How much did you end up achieving?

Mishka: The progress made by the Pioneers on building their companies! From investment opportunities to quicker launches, they all leave the city feeling a sense of accoimplishment.    

Shun: Why did you choose an Airbnb for your Pioneer summit?

Mishka: It’s a great way to book reliable housing for Pioneers that have all the amenities and comforts of a home. The reviews are quite helpful.

Shun: What is the hardest thing you faced while planning this trip?

Mishka: Finding accommodation that is good, reasonably priced, and close to the city and public transportation.

Shun: Why was that hard?

Mishka: San Francisco is expensive!

Shun: What have you done to solve that problem?

Mishka: Retreat was helpful in the last Summit in finding a house that fulfilled our needs!

Shun: Could you share something fun you all did during the summit?

Mishka: Walking across the Golden Gate bridge with the Pioneers. Was pretty iconic.

Shun: How do you feel Retreat helped you?

Mishka: We needed accommodation for 8 of our founders and were looking for 2-3 houses on Airbnb. But Retreat helped by finding one house that could accommodate all eight founders! It was a great place, close to the BART and well-priced.