In March we made a business trip with a team of developers and colleagues from OAK’S LAB to Denver.
We spent 2 weeks working on site with a client, setting up processes, delivering one big milestone and of course we were having some fun.
Our client is based in Denver, the capital of Colorado, somewhere in the middle of the US. The city itself has experienced massive growth recently in terms of population, economy and startup ecosystem. Even though the population is around 650 000 the skyline and large area give an impression of millions of people living there. Many big companies build their local branches in Denver or Boulder, like Google. Colorado is also one of the first states to legalize cannabis. You can even purchase THC pills that I haven’t heard of until recently. Compared to San Francisco, Denver is in my opinion safer and more relaxed place to live.
Work
Our client’s office was in a large, well-designed coworking space with a lot of corridors and cool places. The day after we landed, we settled down in the office and started working on the product. It was intense but the local team was extremely supportive and even brought us external monitors to make us more productive.
We used UBER for daily commuting because we figured out that it’s cheaper and faster than public transport. It’s awesome when the car is waiting outside and brings you right in front of the office.
Our base in office
With help of coke, coffee and an unlimited supply of beer we managed to wrap up the work and aimed for SXSW conference presentation. We couldn’t spend as much time as we wanted about the architecture of the product but things cannot work out perfectly as we plan.
We really miss the coworking space with all its treats
Fun
Between coding sessions, we managed to find some spare time to explore the city and do some fun activities. We did some skiing in the high-regarded Rocky Mountains that offered a very nice view and interesting slopes.
Skiing resort in the Rocky Mountains
One of our main focuses was to experience American cuisine. Eating a burger, burritos at breakfast and dinner. During these festivities, you realize the difference between European and American meal size. For example, when ordering ice cream, I was always going for the kid’s portion and it was usually big enough.
“Small” breakfast at a diner – a small fast food restaurant that resembles the famous scene from Pulp Fiction
Our neighbourhood
Mission Debriefing
On our way back we were pretty much exhausted but a lot of work has been done and the client was really excited about the trip. We are grateful for having such an opportunity and thankful for the great support from the local team. Having the engineers on site was not only a huge benefit when meeting a deadline but helped us facilitate further cooperation in the upcoming months when we scale the product.