OUTSITE provides a working environment for entrepreneurs with a love for the outdoors. Photo: Facebook/Outsite
Imagine if the surfing world met the start-up industry of Silicon Valley. Now imagine if the two seemingly disparate cultures had a lovechild; and that kid was on MTV’s The Real World. That’s basically the idea behind OUTSITE, an offsite living/working environment for surfers and other outdoorsy types.
The Santa Cruz-based travel agency offers company retreats for businesses looking to boost morale through group working vacations. Along with a villa in Santa Cruz, OUTSITE owns and operates a communal living house in San Diego. And it’s not just for large company retreats. Individuals with an entrepreneurial mind, who are sick of working endless hours in Starbucks, can book a room or a bed in the houses. The idea behind the project is to: “Get away. Get focused. Stay, work and play in beautiful places.”
On OUTSITE’s website, the phrase “digital nomad” pops up quite a bit. It’s a fairly new slogan, likely foreign to many people (including myself, until now) because of its novelty. With the rise of start-ups and the tech boom, the traditional office climate has dissipated into young entrepreneurs working from wherever they please, so long as there is wifi and caffeine. Hence, HBO’s Silicon Valley, banding together a group of pimply computer nerds in a house while they create a billion dollar enterprise. OUTSITE follows this philosophy of toppling the traditional office workspace, but they do so in the most fun way possible.
OUTSITE’s communal office space in their Santa Cruz villa. Photo: Facebook/Outsite
Their thinking is that, with a little time spent enjoying the outdoors, spirits will be higher and production increased. San Diego and Santa Cruz are both hubs for surfing and other outdoors sports. Also, the idea behind working in a communal living space – as opposed to a crowded yet anonymous coffee shop – is to form connections and ideas from like-minded people. They also offer group surf outings, yoga, communal field trips, and much more.
Who knows…the next Zuckerberg could be a surfer and OUTSITE might be the catalyst that the budding entrepreneur needs.
Learn more about OUTSITE and how to book your next retreat here.
