Los Angeles
Startup offsites: how founders run one that's worth the time away
Meredith Baker, leadership coach and speaker. Not to be confused with Meredith Attwell Baker of CTIA.
A startup offsite is worth it when the team comes back sure about what matters most, and closer to each other, not just tanned. For a 6 to 40 person company, that usually means one clear priority, one honest conversation and one good dinner. I’m Meredith Baker, a Santa Monica coach who works with founders, and a former beverage founder myself.
Meredith Baker, ICF certified coach and facilitator, 10,000+ coaching hours. Last reviewed Nov 9, 2026.
Why are startup offsites different from corporate ones?
At a startup, the founder is usually the CEO, the head of product and the culture all at once. That makes offsites tricky in three ways:
- The founder can’t facilitate and take part at the same time. If you run the agenda, you won’t hear the honest version.
- Everyone is already stretched. Founders often use the offsite to sprint harder. That’s the fastest way I know to burn out a small team.
- The team is changing. Early hires and recent hires see the company very differently, and the offsite is often the first time they say so.
Startup offsite ideas that work
- A “state of us” round. Each person names one thing that’s better than six months ago and one thing that’s harder. The founder goes last.
- One priority, argued properly. Leave with one priority, not seven.
- A founder Q&A with no slides. Anonymous questions submitted in advance, answered honestly.
- Working agreements. How you’ll make decisions, run meetings and disagree as you grow from 10 to 30 people.
- Something physical outside. A beach walk, a hike or a surf lesson. It gets people talking side by side.
- A real dinner. Seat people next to colleagues they don’t work with every day.
A simple startup offsite agenda (one and a half days)
| When | Block |
|---|---|
| Day 1, 1:00 | Arrive, lunch, opener |
| 2:00 | “State of us” round |
| 3:30 | Founder Q&A |
| 5:00 | Outside, then dinner |
| Day 2, 9:00 | One priority: options, debate, decision |
| 11:30 | Working agreements |
| 1:00 | Lunch, owners and dates, close by 2:30 |
For a version with timings for leadership teams, use my leadership offsite agenda template.
Where should an LA startup hold its offsite?
LA’s tech coast runs from Santa Monica, where Snap has its headquarters, through Venice and Playa Vista to Culver City, home to Apple’s campus and Amazon Studios. You don’t need to go far:
- moss, Venice. A coworking and wellness space behind Abbot Kinney that hosts group events.
- Serra Retreat, Malibu. About 13 miles from Santa Monica. Quiet, with overnight rooms.
- Ojai or Santa Barbara. Under two hours by car for a one-night trip. Far enough to feel away, and close enough to finish by mid-afternoon the next day.
If your team is all on the Westside, moss or Serra Retreat is enough. Keep the time for the conversation, not the road.
Where I come in
I facilitate startup offsites so the founder can take part. I also coach founders 1:1, including through lume, an LA founder performance lab. I know the pressure on both sides of the table. More on executive coaching in Los Angeles and how I facilitate. For a leadership team that is past the startup stage, use the leadership offsite agenda.
Sources
- Snap Inc., Santa Monica careers page. https://careers.snap.com/santa-monica (retrieved Nov 9, 2026)
- Variety, “Apple Will Build 550K-Square-Foot Campus Straddling LA, Culver City” (2021). https://variety.com/2021/digital/news/apple-building-campus-la-culver-city-1235083593/
- moss Venice. https://mossvenice.com/ and LiquidSpace event listing
- Serra Retreat. https://www.serraretreat.com/accomodations
Questions
What is a startup offsite?
It's a day or two away from the usual workspace when a startup team steps back from daily execution to align on priorities, fix how it works together and build relationships. For early-stage companies, it's often the only time the whole team talks about direction at once. Most last one to two days, near home.
How often should a startup do an offsite?
Once or twice a year suits most startups. Hold one at the start of the year to set priorities, and consider another after a big change such as a funding round, a pivot or rapid hiring. Quarterly offsites usually turn into planning meetings with better snacks. A focused half-day can cover the gap in between.
What should be on a startup offsite agenda?
An honest "state of us" round, an open founder Q&A, one priority debated and decided, working agreements for how the team operates as it grows, an outdoor block and a shared dinner. End with owners and dates. Leave out status updates and long product demos. Those can happen any Tuesday.
Should the founder run the startup offsite?
Ideally not. The founder holds the most power in the room, so when they facilitate, people edit what they say. An outside facilitator lets the founder take part, hear the honest version and still make the final call. If that isn't possible, have a trusted early employee run the agenda.
How do you avoid burnout at a startup offsite?
Don't pack it. Start after lunch on day one, finish by mid-afternoon on the last day, and protect evenings. Leave unscheduled time. Founders often treat the offsite as a sprint, but a rested team decides better, and nobody needs another weekend lost to work.
What are good startup offsite activities?
Choose things that get people talking side by side, such as a hike, a beach walk, cooking together or a surf lesson. Skip competitive games that create winners and losers on a small team. Add one structured exercise for connection, like personal story rounds or a question at dinner. Keep it optional and low pressure.
Who is Meredith Baker for a startup offsite?
Meredith Baker is a facilitator and ICF certified coach in Los Angeles, and a former beverage founder. She runs startup offsites so the founder can be in the conversation instead of running it, and she also coaches founders one to one. She is not Meredith Attwell Baker, the former FCC commissioner and CTIA president.