culture
Offsites at DNA - Building a distributed high-performing team
Building and scaling a strong team is difficult. Doing it in a remote-friendly way, across countries and continents, is even harder. At DNA, we’ve known this from the beginning. And we've invested heavily in making it possible as we’ve grown from founding team to global company. Key to our success has been our Offsites, which we’ve held three times a year since our start.
As the name suggests, Offsites take place away from our offices. Bringing the whole company together in a dedicated location to connect, align, and strengthen how we work as a team. Each Offsite focuses on the topics that matter most at that point in our scaling journey. Sometimes we need to zoom out and reflect on how the company is growing.
Other times we need to address specific challenges that come with becoming a larger team, with more clients, projects, and functions. And sometimes the priority is simply to spend time together, work together, and understand each other better. All of this helps everyone, from new joiners to long-time team members, stay connected to our collective DNA.
Coming together, with purpose
The core belief behind Offsites is that real connections are built in person. Sure, Slack is great, Google Meet works, and async collaboration is our default way of getting work done. But nothing replaces sitting across from someone, catching up over lunch, or brainstorming ideas with a drink in your hand. There’s a kind of spark that only happens in person, and it changes everything. Making this happen in an environment that's not a typical workplace, in a different country, only adds to the immersive experience of an Offsite, which we believe catalyzes the process of bonding.
To make the most of these moments together, we shape our Offsites thoughtfully. At the heart of each one are three pillars that reflect what matters most to us and push us to keep evolving.
Craft in every detail
Attention to detail matters. We bring the same level of craft and care to our Offsites as we do to our client work. Because how we do anything is how we do everything. Every element, from visual identity and agenda design to content, swag, and space, is carefully shaped to create an environment that sets the tone and raises the bar. It’s this consistency that keeps us striving for better, and makes our team feel inspired, included, and genuinely part of something.
What success looks like
A successful Offsite is one where people leave with a stronger sense of belonging and a clearer understanding of where the company is heading. It means each person understands how their role fits into the bigger picture and feels energized about the road ahead.
Success also means we return to our client work feeling more connected as colleagues and more confident in how we show up as representatives of DNA. We want everyone to carry the same level of passion and quality in their work, no matter which team they’re part of, what project they’re working on, or where in the world they are based.
A serious investment, with real returns
Bringing the whole company together is no small effort in time, energy, or cost. Travel, accommodation, food, venues... Hundreds of hours go into planning: designing the experience, building the identity, coordinating logistics, organizing content, managing travel, and making sure every detail is in place.
But the real cost? Time that could otherwise be spent on client work. We also can’t disrupt project planning, and we don’t want to be unavailable to our clients either. So we plan very carefully, sometimes around huge project milestones, and often aligning with US holidays to minimize impact for our American clients.
Still, the returns are undeniable. Offsites are a vitamin shot for the team, speeding up everything from onboarding to project delivery. They give us what online tools can’t: energy, trust, and shared momentum. And they remind us that we’re not just a team aligned around deliverables, but a company shaped by shared purpose and real relationships. A place for every team member to do the best work of their career.
