Welcome to Aveni’s Offsite 2024
Remote first reunites
On June 20th, 2024, a bus packed with Aveni employees left from Edinburgh to the beautiful Winton Castle & Estate for the long-awaited Aveni Offsite! It promised to be a day full of team building, celebration, and simply getting to bask in the real-life presence of a remote-first team.
At Aveni, the people come first. You probably hear that a lot, especially reading company culture blogs and it can be easy to dismiss it as something that’s just said. But Aveni’s team, from the CEO and founders to the new starts who have just joined, all share a kindness, a compassion, a camaraderie that you don’t experience anywhere else.
It’s easy to forget the power of human connection when you’re working away behind a screen. That’s not to say that working remotely doesn’t have its advantages–of course it does!–and maybe that’s what makes events like these so special.
An uphill climb
Upon arrival at Winton Castle, our team was greeted by the breathtaking sight of the 15th-century castle, its honey-coloured stone glowing in the morning sun. The sprawling estate, with its manicured gardens and ancient woodlands, provided the perfect backdrop for a day of connection.
The agenda was set to balance our company catch up alongside structured team-building activities (re: Highland Games!), with ample free time for organic interactions.
Our CEO, Joseph Twigg, and COO, Jamie Hunter, kicked off the celebrations with a company update, highlighting the hard work and growth that has gone into our company over the last six months. They were followed by the heads of department breaking this down into team successes and shout outs to individual members who had gone above and beyond to steer Aveni along the path of success.
Some of our achievements:
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- Aveni is developing some incredible partnerships with industry leaders, including intelliflo
- Our very much in-demanded Aveni Assist has completed its first year with the successful onboarding of flood of commercial users
- Our LinkedIn channel reached 10k followers
- We’ve already welcomed some amazing new team members and we’re expected to grow by 71% by the end of the year!
It’s never an easy road when you’re a startup, but moments like these remind us all of why we’re so proud to be doing what it is we do.
A highland fling
Of course, the best part of the day was taking part, and sometimes struggling, in the Highland Games. Teams were appointed at random to best blend the departments and build a sense of camaraderie between people who might not normally work together.
We tossed cabers, we threw axes, we marched like penguins in tandem along skis. And we laughed–a lot! Regardless of how well we succeeded, or how spectacularly we failed, each team cheered and roared like we were auditioning to be extras on Outlander.
And we can’t forget the tug of war–which some say was rigged!–where we really put our strength and friendships to the test.
At the end of the games, points were gathered and a winning clan was crowned and presented with the only appropriate prize: Scottish whisky.
A feast for coworkers
Happily exhausted and exhilarated, it came time to retire to the beautiful lawn, which nestled against the castle. We hijacked a television so that we could watch the Euros, whilst others mingled, sipped drinks and played lawn games.
Then we went from Cornhole to corn on the cob as a magnificent spread of BBQ food was served.
Nothing bonds a team like aching muscles, matching bruises, and full bellies!
Until next time
It’s always sad to separate back to our different places about the world, but we return rejuvenated and inspired by real-life conversations, the swapping of stories, and the memories of every team member willing to make a fool of themself for the greater good.
Thanks for the best Aveni offsite yet!
Since you read this far…
What the Executive Team think they look like playing tug of war…
What they actually look like…
