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Campfire Field Notes. Client Retreats
Zinc went from a handful of people to nearly 200 in under a decade. Now it's betting that the culture that got it here can scale too.
Sophie Macklin of the people and talent team sees it from the inside. Two years ago, she noted, the retreat drew about 50 people. This year it drew over 150. "People don't necessarily know each other as much as they did," she said.
Co-founder and CEO Luke Shipley gave the problem a name in his opening talk. Zinc crossed 150 employees earlier this year, the figure anthropologist Robin Dunbar identified as the most relationships a person can hold in mind. Until the company reached about 30 people, everyone joined one stand-up each morning. That era is over. "Decision-making will slow down. Communication will become harder. You will have more silos," he told the room.
The mission was to fight that drift on purpose. Zinc wanted a setting that would push people toward colleagues they'd never sat beside, and to reconnect with the company's values, which Luke admitted are probably overdue for an update.
"This is a huge investment, we spend an awful lot of money to bring 152 people from London out to Italy," said COO Sam Norman.
The Core Experience
"Every time we hire someone, the core requirement is: are you a kind person? And when you bring them into a retreat, it means that you're surrounded by a lot of kind people."
The Workation Village itself proved a good fit for the team. A Piedmontese castle sitting on a hilltop dripping with history, the village fosters creativity. It also boasts Wi-Fi routers that sit inside the old bell tower, which lets a company that keeps working during its retreat do so from a terrace with a view.
Not just fun and games
"It pulls and pushes in different directions," he said. "And that is all driven by how you show up on a daily basis."
He called the week a "slingshot opportunity" for Zinc, a chance to make a jump the company couldn't make on an ordinary Tuesday. He backed it with research. Novel locations broaden thinking, and breakthrough ideas tend to come from weak ties, the people outside your immediate team who don't share your blind spots. Then he sent everyone into assigned animal groups for ten minutes with a partner they didn't usually work with, asking about their role and their biggest challenge.
The effect was visible. Sian Hammond, the social media manager, wandered into a room of strangers and stayed.
"It's quite hard to do it in the office sometimes when everyone's heads down working," she said.
Tobi Olasupo from customer success, on his first retreat, spent a year trading Slack and Zendesk messages with people he's now meeting face to face.
"I know them by name, but we've just never crossed paths in the office,” he said, adding that he was grateful to have the opportunity to get to know each other in such a location.
Norman explained what he hoped all of this would protect. He wants colleagues who can disagree without friction, for instance over whether a website button should be blue or green.
"We should be able to defend our positions passionately. But as we leave that room, there's nothing personal about that conversation."
The whole company also went to work in a cooking class built on the French brigade system. Every dish had a head chef, a sous chef, line cooks, and, crucially, a taster. It had little to do with running background checks, but it scrambled the org chart in the best way: the person plating next to you might be someone you'd only ever met in a Slack thread.
Recap
Ponnapula sees the retreat as a long game. If people leave with five colleagues they feel closer to, and the company repeats the exercise for years, "it builds up."
Zinc's leaders are also placing a deliberate bet on in-person connection. The company pays for an office people visit only two days a week, plus Monday lunches, Thursday drinks, and clubs for poker, cinema, and surfing. Shipley-Hall sees the payoff in memories rather than metrics. "It's not about how nice your room was. It's about those little moments. Oh, I really love playing chess with so-and-so. Oh, so nice watching the sunrise."
That practical value shows up down the line. "When you know people best within the team, it's so much easier to get through the hard moments."
"It's settings like this where you get to create the environment for people to bring their true selves to work, create that emotional safety, so the team is just stronger," said Norman.
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We hosted our AI Summit with Campfire - nearly 500 attendees - and from start to finish, the experience was outstanding. Ideas, execution, responsiveness, commitment, hands-on effort: everything was exactly how you'd hope it to be. It's such a relief to know you can rely 100% on a team that consistently finds solutions and makes the right calls in the moment.I've worked with a lot of agencies over the years, and Campfire genuinely stood out. The on-site team was warm, professional, and - what I appreciated most - proactive. They didn't just "run" the event; they lived it with us.
We recently used Campfire to host our company IRL in Berlin and honestly couldn't recommend them more highly.Leti and Mari were absolutely exceptional. From the first conversation to the final day of the event, nothing was ever too much hassle — they were organised, responsive, and genuinely went above and beyond at every turn. In all the events we've run as a company, we've never worked with organisers quite like them.The proof is in the results — this was our highest rated IRL yet. If you're looking for an events team who will make you feel like you're their only client, look no further. We'll be back.
Campfire has been worth their weight in gold. I am so grateful for everything they have done for our company retreat. From the first contact, to saying bye at the end of the stay, I know they have been there for us. They’ve been a constant, calm, companion in what could be a stressful and complicated few days.
Campfire organized an outstanding retreat for our company in Sicily, accommodating around 200 participants. Everything was top-notch, from the shuttles to and from the airports to the food, accommodation, workspaces, and even social areas. Letizia and her team were incredibly responsive and practical whenever we had new requests or needed changes throughout the week. This was our second experience working with Campfire, and we hope it won't be our last.
Just came back from a team retreat in Sicily and what can I say, Letizia and Francesca were amazing organisers! Wish it lasted longer and looking forward to many more!
We partnered with Campfire for our company's annual retreat. As a UK-based company, this was the first time the company went abroad for it and finding a partner that could help us sort out all of the details, spoke the local language and plan a truly memorable event was vital to its success. Over several months we worked closely with Letizia and the Campfire team to brainstorm and plan every last detail for the retreat in Italy. They were well organised, great at communication and always reachable when we had any questions. They ensured our team of over 30 were well taken care of at the venue and made sure that every request was handled in a timely manner. They helped us pull off the event beautifully and we definitely recommend them for corporate retreat planning!
Great working with these guys. Letizia and Flo have helped us plan two successful retreats now, always a pleasure. Great attention to detail, brilliant venues and locations. Love the outdoor/nature themed ethos of the company, these folks get it!
All activities during the week where very well planned, our guide was very nice and attentive. She took care of all the things that came along and made our company trip an excellent experience for all of us!
Francesca and Mariona made our company trip to Spain truly exceptional. From the beginning, they were always there to ensure everything ran smoothly and our needs were met – no matter how big or small. Their attention to detail, quick response and friendly approach made the planning process enjoyable. Thanks to their incredible support, the event was a huge success. We couldn’t have asked for better partners and would absolutely recommend them to anyone planning a team event!
We used Campfire for the first time this year, and our annual company offsite turned out to be the best one yet. I had the pleasure of working with Letizia and Francesca, who were both incredibly understanding and accommodating. They took the time to listen to our needs and offered thoughtful suggestions for activities, which ended up being the highlights of the trip. Thank you both again for making it such a great experience!
Leider gibt es nur 5 Sterne zu vergeben. Gern hätte ich mehr vergeben für die großartige Organisation, Flexibilität und hervorragende Zusammenarbeit mit Marica. Sie hat uns bereits zum 2. Mal betreut und unser Teamevent zu einem unvergesslichen Ereignis gemacht. Ich kann Campfire uneingeschränkt empfehlen, wenn es um die Organisation und Durchführung von Teamevents geht.
Great organized trip to Portugal. Every small issue was addressed as best as possible. Additionally, our local guide was just amazing, dealt with everything and was still able to find a few minutes for everyone to learn some more things about our location and Portugal in general.
Huge thanks to Campfire for organizing such a wonderful retreat! Everything was so well thought out, and we truly appreciated the experience. Looking forward to the next one!
