Henrique Paula has been X-Team's Event Lead for almost three year. He's the organizer extraordinaire of our beloved X-Outposts, which gives X-Teamers the opportunity to explore and work from exotic locations around the world. In this interview, we talk about his planning process, how he selects locations, and what makes an X-Outpost special.
How do you plan an X-Outpost? Walk me through the process.
On the X-Outpost website we continuously survey our X-Teamers about where they'd like to go. That's where I start. I gather all the countries our community has requested and see which ones come up the most.
What's important is that the destinations have to be spread out around the world. X-Team is a global community and we like to make our X-Outposts available to everyone, not just to the people on the continents where we have most X-Teamers.
As I'm analyzing a specific country, I'm considering the best months to go there. That means looking at things like weather, periods to avoid (holidays, high season), and whether it's close enough to other much-requested countries, so that they could be combined, like the Queenstown and Kyoto X-Outposts in 2024.
Next, I choose X-Accommodation hotels. It's critical to choose a good hotel, because its location and quality have a big impact on the participants' experience. This is a challenging part of the process, because I have to guesstimate how many people will join and reserve the rooms before I receive final confirmation from X-Teamers. Not all hotels are flexible with cancellations.
Then I prepare the X-Outpost marketing materials, like the website, sign-up form, Slack groups, videos, GIFs, et cetera. I announce the X-Outpost destinations for the year, answer everyone's questions, and provide general instructions to everyone interested.
As we get closer to an X-Outpost, I collect suggestions from participants about what they'd like to do. One or two weeks before an X-Outpost, I release the event schedule. After the X-Outpost, I collect feedback and more destination suggestions.
And that's it.
That's a lot! What criteria are important when selecting a location for an X-Outpost?
For the countries themselves, we choose a maximum of two countries on the same continent. When it comes to picking cities in a country, some of the things we look at are:
- Logistics. How far is the airport?
- Where are the city's best places to stay?
- Does the city have good hotels? How much do they cost?
- What attractions and activities are nearby?
- How walkable is the city? Not a must, but a nice-to-have.
How do you divide work and leisure during an X-Outpost?
You don't have to take time off to attend an X-Outpost. X-Teamers continue working as usual during the event week and explore the destination in their free time. All activities are optional.
How have the X-Outposts evolved over the years?
They're just as magical as they were on day one. But what has changed is that X-Team as a company has grown significantly. The X-Outposts have become more organized, which has allowed us to host more participants.
We've become clearer on what's covered by X-Team, how an X-Teamer can join an X-Outpost, how guest expenses work, Unleash refunds, and how the event schedule works. Our sponsored activities (our Epics) have also become more structured.
It's a work in progress. We're always looking for ways to make the X-Outposts better. For example, the X-Change, where people exchange gifts from their countries, was only born after the Santa Marta X-Outpost in 2023. I noticed that some X-Teamers brought sweets from their home to share with the others. People loved it. I thought it was something nice to turn into an activity.
Do you have a special story you can share about a particular X-Outpost?
The nicest story is probably Rodrigo Oliveira's marriage proposal in Crete last year. I think it says a lot about the meaning that X-Outposts (and X-Team) have for our X-Teamers.
In your opinion, what has been the most unique X-Outpost so far?
People often ask that question. I don't think we've had one X-Outpost that stood out as much better than the others. But one that was quite unique for me was Kyoto. We had over eighty people coming from the Americas to the other side of the world for it.
What X-Outpost are you most excited about for 2025?
I don't have one specific X-Outpost that I'm especially eager about. Italy was the destination with the most requests, so I'm looking forward to seeing how many X-Teamers we'll have there.
What location would you love to visit that the X-Outposts haven't been to yet?
Perhaps an X-Outpost in the snow. It's a bit tricky budget-wise and more X-Teamers will need to request it, but that would be really nice to see happen.
