Ideation: (noun)
- the formation of ideas or concepts.
At Trava we have lots of ideas, but as a busy SaaS startup often the documentation of and feedback surrounding various ideas can remain siloed within departments. When Trava’s leadership team sat down to discuss upcoming quarterly goals and projects, the realization that many ideas weren’t being properly showcased – or worse, unheard thus unconsidered – came to the forefront. Our core values call for advocacy for diversity in all forms, including thought, therefore as Trava moved forward with ways to up-level the product and offerings, it was decided to get the whole team involved because two, or in our case 23, heads are better than one.
And from this, Travathon was born. Travathon is our condensed, yet competitive, version of a Sprint Week.
Teams were created, dividing the entire company into cross-departmental groups with the goal of bringing together individuals that don’t normally work together on a day to day basis. A loose agenda filled with suggested brainstorming activities and collaboration tools was created, and then the one week sprint commenced.
Teams had several “design afternoons” where roles were chosen and ideas were fleshed out, answering the one big question at hand:
What would make a customer say, I have to have Trava?
To answer this question, the Trava team then split into their respective cross-functional teams to brainstorm ideas over two days, then present the ideas on the third day. The teams brainstormed the following:
- Target audience/Customer
- Solutions
- The deliverables needed to deliver the solutions
- Budget
After each presentation, questions were asked by other teams, ideas were rated using a rubric, and there was a lot of laughing.
In the end one winner was chosen, but in reality the leadership team had four amazing new ideas to add to the roadmap. Despite the teams working independently, it was remarkable to see how each idea was aligned with the mission and vision of Trava. The Trava team has already started laying out a roadmap for implementation of these new great ideas.
Beyond great ideas, a sense of community was fostered and the voices of all Trava team members was celebrated.
“The mission-rooted thoughtful brilliance of everyone on our team is impressive. Such amazing inspiration in so many ways. And one of the coolest parts… not only did a number of the #travathon concepts seem to dovetail one-another, it almost seems like these fit into a Phase I, II, II, IV model. Gives one the impression that we’re a part of something much bigger and more disruptive/influential than at first glance. Feeling very fortunate to be a part of this team and on the ground level of something so much more dynamic and engaging than just cyber security. Thank you everyone for making it such an exciting opportunity in so many ways!” – Chirs Dressler, Product Designer
To say that we were pleased with the results of our first Travathon is an understatement. We are beyond excited about the ideas that will be birthed out of the next one, as this has become an annual event. At Trava, we understand that success is a team effort and we couldn’t be more proud of the team we are building here.
