Camaraderie Bank
Use purposeful in-person time to strengthen the remote work that follows
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 7
- Confidence
- 96%
Horvath describes in-person time as putting coins in a bank that can support more effective virtual work afterward. The company does not require constant co-location because distributed hiring gives access to talent and lived experience closer to a global customer base. At the same time, Strava found that virtual work did not automatically reproduce the energy and relationships of an office. The response is purposeful convergence: bring people together periodically, use that time to deepen familiarity and belonging, then carry the accumulated context into remote collaboration. Rituals must also be tested for inclusion; Strava's pre-pandemic group runs created camaraderie for some but left others feeling too slow to join. If optional attendance fails to create coordination, Horvath supports trying a clearer shared day as a next step.
Origin
After Strava more than doubled its distributed team during the pandemic, colleagues who had never met gathered in San Diego and greeted one another with existing familiarity. Horvath described the week as banking connection for future remote work.
Core principles
- 01People can belong without sharing an office every day
- 02In-person interaction can strengthen later virtual collaboration
- 03Distributed hiring expands the lived experience available to the company
- 04Office rituals can exclude people even while bonding others
- 05Hybrid coordination needs deliberate points of convergence
How to run it
- 1
State the distributed advantage
Clarify what broader hiring, customer proximity, or flexibility contributes so remote work is an intentional design rather than an accident.
Pro tip Connect team geography to the diversity of customers being served.
Watch out Distribution creates access to diversity; it does not guarantee inclusion.
- 2
Find the convergence work
Identify relationship-building, planning, creative, or decision work that gains disproportionate value from people being together.
Pro tip Gather around a purpose, not merely attendance.
- 3
Design inclusive rituals
Offer ways to connect that do not depend on one ability, pace, interest, or personal circumstance.
Pro tip Ask who feels excluded from the ritual that already looks successful.
Watch out A bonding activity can weaken belonging for people unable to participate.
- 4
Bank in-person context
Use gatherings to create familiarity, shared stories, and confidence that colleagues can draw on later.
Pro tip Prioritize interactions that are difficult to reproduce in scheduled video calls.
- 5
Spend the context remotely
Refer back to shared decisions and relationships to make later virtual communication faster and more trusting.
Pro tip Document decisions so the benefit reaches people who were absent too.
Watch out Do not let gathering attendees become an informal inner circle.
- 6
Increase coordination when needed
If encouragement and incentives do not create enough convergence, test a clearly communicated shared day or another stronger coordination rule.
Pro tip Explain the work problem the rule is intended to solve.
Watch out Horvath says forcing a full office return can lose people and may not produce their best work.
- 7
Review the system
Measure whether people feel belonging, whether remote work improves after gatherings, and whether the model retains valuable talent.
Pro tip Change the cadence based on outcomes rather than office occupancy alone.
In the wild
A distributed Strava team met in person for a week after many colleagues had never shared a room. Horvath says they already felt familiar enough to begin with hugs rather than awkward introductions.
→ He concluded that periodic gatherings could reinforce camaraderie for the following months of distributed work.
Before the pandemic, Strava used activities such as a Wednesday group run to build camaraderie. The company later learned that some employees felt excluded because they did not believe they were fast enough to join.
→ The experience pushed Strava to seek broader ways of creating belonging rather than equating one ritual with culture.
Common mistakes
Confusing attendance with purpose
Requiring presence without identifying the collaborative benefit can add travel and disruption without creating camaraderie.
Building culture around one ritual
Strava learned that a group run bonded some people while making others feel excluded.
Staying indefinitely halfway
Horvath says mixed attendance creates coordination difficulty and may eventually require a clearer next step.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for hybrid or remote organizations that can gather periodically and need stronger coordination across locations.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when gatherings are inaccessible, purposeless, unsafe, or used to disguise unclear working expectations.
From the transcript
“I call that putting the coins in the bank”
“you can be with people, but you don't have to be with them all the time”
“There needs to be a point where you say, "Okay, it's not working. We're going to try try another way."”
From the episode
Strava Founder: How I Motivated 100 Million People To Stay Active: Michael Horvath