We’ve returned from our annual Guru Gathering in Porto—an incredible few days spent together as a team. Huge thanks to Meredith, our in-house event (and talent, and people ops…) maestro for making this gathering so memorable.
The festivities kicked off with welcome drinks, swag bags, and gifts at our charming boutique hotel. Then, we took a tuk tuk tour around the city, soaking in Porto’s history and sights.
Our evening concluded at VINUM at Graham’s. A live violinist and a candle-lit dinner (among barrels of vintage port) set the stage for one of our most spectacular meals yet.
There were plenty more where these came from.
The next day was all about knowledge sharing, including presentations from founders and team leads, with plenty of discussion along the way.
One notable highlight was the huge increase in velocity over the course of the past year. You only have to look at the feature releases for 2024 to see our team’s output, and I couldn’t be prouder of them.
The engineers also shared some of their achievements from a recent Exploration Day where they collaborated and experimented, scratching those itches that sit outside of day-to-day work. They ultimately cooked up features and ideas that they thought could add value to our product.
It was incredible to see what they’d managed to achieve in a single day, offering a glimpse into the innovative features we’ll continue releasing into 2025! 😁
We celebrated the wins of the day with a sumptuous dining experience in a private room at the top of a charming vernacular building.
Then, the next day we spent another morning working together, discussing strategy and workshopping ideas.
Some of our very talented engineers.
I love our remote-first setup, but moments like this remind me how energizing it is to have everyone together, brainstorming and collaborating face-to-face.
That afternoon, the adrenaline kicked in as we headed to a go-karting track right on the Atlantic coast. A few warm-up laps led to a 25-minute race that showcased some serious competitive spirit!
Kev, our resident F1 enthusiast and CTO, was narrowly edged out by Stuart, our Marketing Lead, whose usual calm gave way to some shockingly aggressive driving.
My Co-Founder, Andrew, was somehow given 3rd place despite his car breaking down and missing half the race 🤷🏻♂️. Them’s the breaks—no pun intended. Whatever the results, it was good to see us living one of our brand values: that we value speed.
To round it off, there was a prize giving organized by Meredith (obvs) with trophies and medals, each engraved with “Guru Gathering 2024, Porto”. It was little touches like this that made the whole trip so special.
For our final evening, we set sail on the Douro river with refreshments, a live saxophonist, and a team playlist.
He certainly jazzed up the proceedings.
Meredith threw in a final surprise with a song written by AI about the Guru Gathering. Standout lyrics include:
“From our early days to where we stand,
A scheduling app in high demand.
Now it’s time to take a break,
And celebrate the strides we make!”
After this we headed to a hotel roof terrace for food and drinks and Kat, one of our star marketers, got the party started with a game of Heads Up! and a round of Craig Davids. 😬
It was fantastic to meet some of our new teammates—Dana from customer success and Maria from content—in person, and to deepen our connections across the team.
If you’d like a more in-depth recap, you can watch a highlight reel here:
Despite a challenging economic year, I’ve never felt more confident in our team or more excited about what’s ahead. Here’s to breaking new records in 2025. Who knows where we’ll be celebrating next year!
Explore our product portal to see what’s planned next and what we’ve already added. Vote on which features are most important to you and submit new ideas to have your say!What’s next for Resource Guru?
