How Solo.io Brought Their Global Team Together With Retreat

In an economic reality that is forcing many companies to reconsider how they plan their offsite meetings, Solo.io faced the challenge of bringing together its global team for a productive and meaningful event.

As a five-year-old startup company with limited resources, Solo.io was in search of a retreat solution that would offer the right balance of planning, logistics, and cost management to meet their needs.

Enter Retreat, the end-to-end offsite planning solution. Retreat worked with Solo.io’s leadership team and provided venue sourcing, custom itinerary planning, and complete event management to ensure an effective retreat for their remote team. 

The result was a successful offsite at the Grand Sheraton Hotel in Nashville, TN, in February 2023. Their success was due in part to the expert support services available from Retreat.

Read on to learn more about how Solo.io was able to pull off a successful retreat with Retreat.

Solo.io is a leading provider of cloud-native application networking solutions that help businesses modernize their digital experiences and take the next step in their cloud journey. With an industry-leading product portfolio, over $175M in venture funding, and regional offices across North America, Europe, and APAC, they are revolutionizing how companies connect, secure, and observe their cloud-native applications. 

The company's open-source contributions to Istio, Envoy, Kubernetes, Cilium, eBPF, GraphQL, and WebAssembly have defined the industry’s modern application networking solutions. As a market leader in application networking technology with a team of experts, Solo.io is driving innovation to help businesses succeed in the digital age.

The Goal: Gather The Team to Plan For The Year Ahead

Solo.io is a software company that ensures that the lines of communication for different APIs run smoothly between applications. Their core team was based in Boston, but they had teams located worldwide, so their goal was to create a retreat where people could come together and plan for the year ahead.

The planned offsite retreat served two primary purposes - to provide a space for the sales teams to come together and plan and to create an opportunity for team members to get to know one another better. 

The goal was both efficient planning and team bonding. The leadership at Solo.io knew that when everyone could gather in the same space, the chances of being productive and forming meaningful connections would increase significantly.

The Problem: Connecting a Global Team of Remote Workers

While Solo.io has enjoyed success over the five years since its founding, the company struggles from a common issue - a remote team spread across the globe. This can make it challenging to bring people together effectively for an offsite event, as many of their team members would need to travel from different parts of the world in order to attend.

Though the company has an office in Boston, Massachusetts, most of its staff are remote and would need to travel in order to attend the offsite meeting. Some live on the other side of the globe - making even online connections difficult to plan and manage.

What Solo.io needed was a method for bringing as many of its team members together as possible with minimal cost and effort. And if every detail of the offsite could be planned and managed through a single solution, that would save time and money, too.

The Solution: Retreat Helps Solo.io Connect With Ease

Retreat was the perfect solution for Solo.io’s offsite needs. Retreat offers an end-to-end planning service that works with clients to source the right venue, plan the itinerary, and manage every detail of the event.

For Solo.io, Retreat found a location that worked for everyone - including those traveling from overseas. The team at Retreat worked with Solo.io’s leadership to create an itinerary that included team-building activities, workshops, and competitions. They also handled all the logistics of the event, from transportation to lodging and catering.

Step 1: Setting Goals

In helping pull off a successful event, the first step was for Solo.io to set its goals for the retreat. This included objectives for team-building, collaboration, and planning and any other specific goals like cultural initiatives or product development activities.

The team planned to utilize their internal messaging system Slack as well as email invites to invite their remote teams to register for the offsite, which was planned for February 13-16th, 2023, in Nashville, TN.

The team expected to see around 90 team members register to arrive and began working with Retreat to find the best location for their retreat. With an expected no-show rate of 20%, they looked to find a location that would offer enough space for 90 people and provide a comfortable and engaging atmosphere.

Step 2: Choosing A Venue & Developing An Itinerary

Retreat worked with Solo.io to find the perfect venue - one that was cost-efficient, had plenty of space and could accommodate the team’s needs. One of the team's primary goals was to avoid locations that would see travel hindered by snow or other inclement weather. And with a global team, they desired to find a location that was near an international airport - offering easy access for those from overseas.

Working with Plan Restreat, Solo.io was able to secure space at the Sheraton Grand Nashville, a hotel with plenty of parking, extensive breakout rooms, and easy access to both the airport and downtown Nashville.

Using Retreat's features that included hotel research, contract negotiation, and quote management, Solo.io was able to identify their ideal location and get it secured at a price that ensured the offsite was cost-effective. Plus, their cloud-based planning solution made it easy to connect the dots between the itinerary and the logistics of the event - including dining, and lodging.

Step 3: Making Sure Teams are Comfortable & Relaxed

Once the logistics were taken care of, Retreat and Solo.io worked together to create an itinerary that would ensure teams had plenty of time to relax and engage in team-building activities and workshops. 

Retreat had staff ready for the event, working registration booths and engaging with attendees. They also helped set up and manage different aspects of the event, such as SWAG tables for attendees and vendors.

By working with Retreat, Solo.io was able to create a successful and cost-effective offsite that allowed their remote teams to come together, collaborate, and celebrate their successes.

The Result: A Successful Offsite That Set The Stage For A Successful Year

The offsite was a tremendous success, with all 85 team members in attendance - far beyond their expected 20% no-show rate. 

Solo.io brought their remote teams together and collaborated on shared goals such as product development, cultural initiatives, and team-building. The event also allowed them to celebrate their successes over the past year - creating a sense of pride and camaraderie among the remote teams.

The offsite was an overall success, thanks to Retreat's services allowing Solo.io to secure a cost-effective venue, manage logistics, and plan an engaging itinerary. Their cloud-based planning solution also made it easy for everyone involved to check in on the event’s progress, ensuring a smooth and successful offsite.

The team at Retreat handled all the logistics of the event so Solo.io could focus on what mattered most - creating an atmosphere where remote teams can truly thrive. And when small companies can offer a family-like atmosphere for their remote teams, there's no limit to what they can achieve together.

What Does The Future Look Like For Offsite Meetings?

With economic uncertainty, companies are often faced with difficult choices when it comes to creating corporate retreats. But with careful planning and the right partnerships, companies can still make their offsite meetings a success - both financially and culturally.

Offsite meetings are an opportunity for teams to come together, meet face-to-face, build relationships, and foster collaboration. 

With the help of companies like Retreat, companies can make sure these events are cost-effective while also meeting their team’s needs. Solo.io's experience in Nashville showed that the cost of offsite meetings could be managed without sacrificing the quality of the experience.

When companies look forward to future in-person or off-site events, it’s important to remember that corporate retreats are essential to any successful business. With careful planning and preparation, companies should be able to ensure that their offsite meetings remain cost-effective while providing a great experience for teams.

As an investment in the future of their business, companies should use this time to foster collaboration and set their teams up for success. By partnering with a company like Retreat, businesses can make sure their offsite meetings stay on budget and create an environment that allows teams to thrive.

Plan Your Next Offsite From Start to Finish with Retreat

If you are ready to bring remote teams together, Retreat offers the tools and resources you need to make it happen.

As part of our full-service solution, Retreat will help you choose the perfect venue and manage all of your logistics from start to finish. Our services include:

• A comprehensive portfolio of venues, activities, and experiences to choose from

• The flexibility to customize your trip with special add-ons such as private transfers, meals, and team-building activities

• Experienced advisors who are available 24/7 for all aspects of the retreat, from planning to execution

• A dedicated retreat manager who is responsible for every aspect of the trip

• In-depth post-retreat analysis and feedback.

We believe that team retreats should be refreshing, engaging, and meaningful experiences. Retreat will help you create an unforgettable experience that your team will remember forever! If you are ready to experience why companies like Solo.io and others chose Retreat to plan their corporate retreats, contact us today, and let us help you make it happen.

Together, we can make your team’s time away from the office an unforgettable experience.