Belvo has hosted its first-ever company-wide offsite meeting, gathering the whole team in the same place to synch our strategy for the year ahead, have fun together, and strengthen our shared company culture.
What happens when over 100 people who have only met each other partially in real life join together in the same place?
Let me tell you: it was a week of intense feelings. Many people turned out to be taller than expected, others were surprisingly good dancers, and some proved to be as cheerful as in their Slack picture. But after seeing so many of us together for the first time, everyone shared one common impression: we were suddenly surrounded by a group of genuinely fun, bright, and kind people.
Time to meet in person 👭
Belvo has grown exponentially since it was founded a little over two years ago. In the beginning, the team could easily fit around a coffee table. Distance didn’t seem to matter that much. Since then, the team grew to over 100 people with 20 different nationalities, who work from different locations across the world, from our offices in Mexico, Brazil, and Spain, as well as remotely.
And after over two years of video calls, meme-sharing, and team gatherings across offices, it was time for the Belvo team as a whole to meet for the first time in person in a company-wide offsite event. Surrounded by the Caribbean Ocean in Playa del Carmen (Mexico), everyone had the opportunity to spend a week together filled with shared experiences, conversations, games, and work sessions designed to plan the year ahead.
“Sharing conversations with my colleagues from all over the world in real life really set up the tone for this 2022 and onwards! In my case, my team is based in Spain, Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, so getting to see people you’ve only met via Zoom before was truly surreal”
Sergio, Sofware Engineer
A shared purpose 🎯
To get things started the different areas at Belvo had the chance to share their strategy and plans for 2022. From Product and Engineering to Revenue, Operations, and People, the teams talked about the roadmaps and priorities that will take us closer to materializing our mission of democratizing access to financial services in Latin America this year.
It was an opportunity to sit together and realize that what we’re building is already having a crucial impact on transforming the financial ecosystem in Latin America. But also, to realize that the road ahead of us is long, that we have fulfilled less than 1% of our vision so far, and that the only way to achieve our goals is by sharing a common purpose across the whole organization.
“It’s truly impressive to see a full room filled with so many familiar faces –and also many new faces–, together for the first time. The size of this room gives us an idea of the magnitude of what we’re building and the impact we can generate together,” said our co-founder Pablo who, along with Uri, shared some of the milestones that the company has accomplished and the impact it has had since it was created with just a handful of people.
“The best part of the offsite was to realign on the goals and long-term plans for Belvo, it was a great opportunity to remember why I joined the team and I look forward to the upcoming years”
Mafer, Sales Operations Lead
What brought us here 🤝
Sharing the same space with the whole team was also an opportunity to look back at the roots of Belvo –which got started by a humble but incredibly ambitious group of people – and to remember that what brought everyone here was a shared desire to tackle the very challenging mission that we have set for ourselves: building the infrastructure for the next generation of financial innovators in Latin America.
And also to have fun together while making it possible! The offsite was the perfect stage to celebrate the strong culture that has been created at Belvo where values are not just words but are reflected in how the team works together: we get things done, we have fun, we are constantly growing, and we are always curious.
These were all reflected during the whole week: five days, over 100 people, eight different company sessions, dozens of team meetings, and countless moments of laughter and fun.
“For me, the best part of it was to be able to see in person the people that have been helping me this last year and also meet awesome people I hadn’t talked to before. Now more than ever it feels like a family!”
María, Data Science Associate
Sunsets and beach fun 🌅
Between company and team sessions, shared discussions, and planning, there was also a lot of space for everyone to get to know each other better, have some drinks by the beach, take a swim, or participate in activities such as taking a boat trip to do snorkeling, visiting the ruins of Tulum, or go explore the hidden cave of Río Secreto.
Some people woke up early to play some tennis and run by the beach, others watched the sunrise and walked around the area to look at the wild animals. There was even dedicated time for some team-building activities at the beach that included playing volleyball, solving memory puzzles, working together to build structures, and even some archery!
There was a tangible feeling of excitement throughout the whole event. And many, many moments of laughter as the team got to know each other better –even make some new best friends –, and realize that even if we’re far in the distance, there’s so much we all have in common.
Someone said: Slack messages will never be the same again.
