Let's Get Krak'in – Our Meetup in Kraków, Poland
This May, the HappyPorch team gathered in Kraków for our latest in-person meetup, running from the 18th to the 22nd. After months of remote collaboration, there's something irreplaceable about sharing the same space, and Kraków delivered on all fronts, from its warm hospitality to its rich culture and great scenery.
Not everyone could make it this time around, with three of our team members unable to join in person due to the joys and demands of babies and the need to care for family. They were very much missed, but did their best to join us on Zoom whenever they could, which meant a lot to the rest of the team. As we've found at previous meetups, bridging that in-person and remote experience is never perfect, but having familiar faces on screen is always better than an empty seat.
Things kicked off on Sunday with a walking city tour, a great way to get our bearings and take in Kraków before the week's sessions began. Kraków struck a balance that's rare in a city: unmistakably contemporary, with clean and efficient infrastructure, excellent coffee shops, and a forward-looking energy. Yet the medieval Old Town and Wawel Castle stand largely intact, a testament to how carefully the city has guarded its heritage.
Did you know Wawel Castle served as the primary residence of Polish monarchs from the 11th to the 17th centuries? Back when Kraków was the capital of Poland, and the adjacent Wawel Cathedral was where royalty were both crowned and laid to rest. Walking between centuries in the space of a few minutes never got old, even if the rain did its best to test our commitment.
Each morning began with a two-hour team session at 9am, giving us a structured space to dig into topics that matter most to how we work and where we're headed. Alongside those, we introduced Food for Thought sessions at lunchtime, informal and open discussions that let ideas breathe a little more freely over a shared meal.
Monday set the tone with Tom facilitating a retrospective on the year, an honest look at our financials, a Q&A on where we stand, and an early peek at the projects pipeline ahead. It's always grounding to start a meetup by looking back before you look forward, and it gave the rest of the week a sense of purpose and momentum.
Tuesday brought energy in a different form: Filipe led a microventure brainstorming and hack day, which turned into one of the most animated sessions of the week. There's something electric about giving people the freedom to think sideways, and ideas flowed freely. It's the kind of session that reminds you why getting the team in one room is so valuable.
Wednesday was a particularly timely and important one. Teo facilitated a session on AI Policy. As a team that thinks carefully about the tools we use and the impact they have, having a dedicated conversation about how we approach AI responsibly felt both necessary and overdue. We explored not just the practical side, but the ethical dimensions too: what it means to use these tools mindfully, and how we want to show up as a company in that space. That evening, the whole team gathered for a barbecue, a relaxed mid-week pause that did wonders for the mood.
On Thursday, Paul guided us through a session on envisioning our future, arguably the most open-ended and thought-provoking conversation of the week. With the financial grounding from Monday and the creative sparks from Tuesday still fresh, it felt like exactly the right moment to zoom out and ask the bigger questions about where HappyPorch is going and what we want it to stand for.
The conversation also turned toward how we communicate what we do: rather than purely hypothetical content, there was a real appetite to turn everyday work into tangible stories, giving the whole team a voice in shaping HappyPorch's presence.
That evening we played the guess what? game: each person drew a name, shuffled the pile, and had to figure out what it was, purely through yes or no questions. It made for some genuinely funny moments, with the standout being an animal that stumped one particular person despite the clues of no legs, a tubular shape, living mostly above ground.
Can you guess what that is? ~~~~~~<
We wrapped up on Friday with Barry leading a research effort into circular economy, a reminder of the work that sits at the heart of what we do. The session surfaced a range of real companies across circular hospitality niches, spanning food waste intelligence, linen management, furniture resale and asset lifecycle platforms, and explored where HappyPorch's skills are most relevant.
Friday afternoon brought one more moment worth marking: a Zoom call centered on a particularly significant project that reunited current and former colleagues, some familiar faces we hadn't properly spoken to in far too long. Together we finally drew a line under a legacy solution that had quietly consumed more of our collective time and energy than anyone would care to admit. Saying goodbye to it felt genuinely good.
The call did not stay on topic for long though, and before anyone noticed we had drifted into AI, a handful of other tangents, and the sort of wide-ranging conversation that reminds you why keeping in touch with old colleagues is always worth it.
Beyond the sessions, the evenings were deliberately unscheduled. Our base for the week was a spacious and well-placed house that had everything we needed, making it easy to settle in and feel comfortable from day one. One of the nice things about how we run these meetups is that relatives are welcome to come along when there is room, and some of us took that up this time around.
There were a few pub evenings along the way, the kind where conversations meander, laughter carries, and nobody is in a rush to leave. Whether wandering in the old town or simply unwinding together over good food, those unplanned hours often produced some of the best moments of the trip.
One team member with a well-documented obsession with climbing also managed to sneak off bouldering a few times throughout the week, because some people simply cannot sit still. Can you guess who?
Polish cuisine turned out to be a highlight for many of us: hearty, comforting, and deeply flavorful, rooted in the country's agricultural traditions and expressed in dishes like pierogi, rich beef goulash, warming soups that were hard to put down and even steak tartare served with a side of vodka (!) There was always something satisfying on the table, and the quality consistently exceeded expectations. The people matched the food: warm, welcoming, and genuinely helpful at every turn, whether we were navigating the city or just looking for a good recommendation.
Kraków was great, and not just as a backdrop. The city's own sense of continuity, old and new coexisting without friction, felt like a fitting mirror for a team that's always building on what came before. As with every meetup, we leave feeling more connected and a bit more certain of where we're headed. Rome, you're next.
In Kraków this time around: Barry, Filipe, Luca, Teo, Tom and our special guest, Federica. Joining remotely and very much missed: Jana, Marina, and Paul
About the author
Filipe Sousa
Filipe is a jack of many trades. Frontend and backend, mobile or web he will sort it out! While his knack for keeping on top of the latest practices and platforms is outstanding, it's his gold level support that really impresses project managers working with him. When Filipe is not hanging around improving the codebase, he's usually hanging from a rock wall somewhere.