How Alpha Exploration Co. managed a retreat with 16 different vendors using Marco

Alpha Exploration Co. (AEC) produces an app for hanging out with friends, meeting new ones, and discussing anything under the sun. Backed by a16z and dozens of leading angel investors, AEC’s small, scrappy team is relentlessly focused on their product and its audio community. 

Facts:

• 35 retreat attendees

• 23 retreat components planned and managed

• 16 different vendors sourced, vetted, and coordinated

The Challenge

Building team culture is especially challenging for remote companies

As a fully remote operation, Alpha Exploration Co. understands firsthand how difficult it is to foster workplace relationships over Zoom. That’s why they place extra emphasis on in-person events: Live gatherings nurture close-knit team dynamics, which directly correlate with improved performance and productivity. 

Knowing this, Janet Kim, Executive Assistant at AEC, sought a helping hand to elevate their upcoming retreat experience and eventually discovered Marco. She was impressed by our expertise and especially excited to discover that Marco does not offer pre-packaged retreats — rather, we tailor every single program to the specific client.

The Solution

Marco planned, managed and executed on the vision of AEC’s retreat 

After a seamless onboarding process, Janet and Marco dove headfirst into planning AEC’s upcoming retreat. Throughout the preparatory stages, Janet fell in love with the Marco team’s: 

1. Responsiveness — Janet could reach Marco team members whenever necessary over a shared Slack workspace. She emphasizes that this connection is critical to build trust in any client/vendor relationship.

2. Expert-level organization — Janet’s point person at Marco kept an “exceptionally organized and thorough” spreadsheet detailing every minor detail of the retreat — down to when AEC employees would be flying in and out.

3. Transparency — Janet emphasizes that, unlike most vendors, the Marco team was fully transparent about costs from day one. She appreciated the chance to track where all of the cash was going, as she could budget appropriately and rest easily. 

When the actual retreat arrived, Janet was amazed: Marco truly took over and executed every detail of the plan like true pros. Instead of running around to ensure everything was going smoothly, she simply relaxed and spent time with her teammates. For instance: 

• Marco employees were on-site 24/7 — typically the first to wake up and the last to sleep.

• If anyone had a question for Janet, she could easily refer them to the Marco reps on-site, knowing they would be in good hands.

• Every vendor and experience picked by Marco was exceptionally high-quality, from the sound bath (a novel activity) to the comedian (a genuinely hilarious night).

"The spreadsheets alone and the constant comms over Slack made it really, really easy to work with Marco. Their longest response time was likely three hours. It is critical to consistently communicate with your vendors — and Marco delivered." 

The Results

AEC’s retreat lifted morale and bonded an international team

AEC aimed to orchestrate a retreat that would build and strengthen team relationships. Luckily, Marco understood that assignment to a tee. 

Today, Janet reports that the AEC team returned from the retreat more closely knit. Everyone carries new inside jokes and memories with teammates who flew in from as far as Toronto and New Zealand. Here’s how those qualitative, team-wide wins translated into metrics: 

• 35 retreat attendees

• 23 retreat components planned and managed

• 16 different vendors sourced, vetted, and coordinated

Looking forward, the AEC team is already excited for the next chance the community gets to reunite and reconnect. When it’s time, Marco will be Janet’s partner of choice to make it happen.