As Berlin is slowly turning grey, the leaves start falling and the days are getting shorter, we decided to collectively take a few days off to regain some energy before the winter season. Kolibris don’t hibernate! In fact, the Holiday season is a busy time of the year for us, so we’re making sure to go into it well-rested.
2019 has been an exciting year for us so far: We reached a number of incredible milestones and grew a lot, from around 80 Kolibris in January to over 110 this month (and we’re curious about what this year still has in store for us!).
As a company, we have successfully passed the initial startup-scaling-phase and are now at a stage and size where things such as company culture and team cohesion are more important than ever. Sure, we took off a long weekend to enjoy time by the pool, fill up our vitamin D reserves, and enjoy delicious food. But much more importantly, we embarked on this trip to get to know each other better, to connect on a more personal level, and to grow stronger as a team.
Only great teams can achieve truly great things! We are not shying away from putting time, effort and money into working on the “team” part, to ensure that we will be able to continue delivering the “things” part.
So here it is: enjoy a little report in pictures of this year’s company trip to Thessaloniki. Discover how we laughed and learned, how we gave our minds and bodies a rest and how we tanned and sometimes tanned a little too much…
Day 1 — The Flight, the Resort and the Infinity Pool
Kolibris gather at the airport. Happy faces despite the early hour!
Why is our Co-Founder Oliver wearing a unicorn suit? It was his birthday that day (and he secretly likes unicorns).
Although Kolibris are great at sprints, they need some help flying long distances.
Gamers come prepared!
When you step out of the airplane and realize that it’s still summer somewhere else.
Last year we still fit into two buses, this year we needed one more!
“This place has an infinity pool?!”
… and a fancy dinner to end the first day.
Day 2 — The Challenge, the Hunt and the Party
If we’re good at one thing, it’s making great idle games! So we put our team to the test with a game design challenge: design the concept for an idle game in under two hours. Working as a unit and utilizing their unique skills, each team came up with amazing ideas that might prove useful for when we start thinking about our third game next year.
One challenge follows another! Next up, a scavenger hunt. The task: take pictures of your team performing different activities. The results of the challenge make for a hilarious slideshow. And of course there are pool-appropriate prices.
Some more pool-time, to try out the inflatable unicorn…
… and a party to round off the night.
Day 3 — The Boat, the Sea and the Drone
What better way to end a trip than with a majestic boat ride?
Who would have thought that Kolibris are actually pretty decent swimmers?
… and like that, we are waving goodbye! This trip forged new friendships and strengthened old ones, and gave us laughs and learnings, along with a few pairs of burned shoulders. We hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as we did and can’t wait to find out where next year will take us.
