This is what kept our remote team connected in 2025

We still surprise people. We were just together at our company onsite in Maui. The people we met during our volunteer projects and team activities often asked where our headquarters is. We do not have one — we never did. And it perplexes them to learn that we come from all over.

We chose to be totally distributed when we launched the company in 2013, long before remote work gained attention. For some, it is still hard to reconcile the absence of an office with the results they see. For us, it is core to who we are and what our team values.

Our remote culture is successful because we have been intentional about it ever since we started — over 12 years ago.

For many organizations, 2025 was another tough year. Ongoing market instability and unsettling world events deepened work-related stress. Company leaders faced intense pressure to cut costs and prove short-term results. And employees across industries reported record levels of exhaustion and disengagement.

This coincided with an intensified push to return to offices. Many companies treated remote work as an experiment to undo. They rolled back flexible policies, citing concerns about culture and collaboration — as if reverting to the way things were would resolve present problems.

It is true that a sense of community at work (colleagues who know you, care about you, and show up for you) becomes essential in times like these. It makes it possible to contribute meaningfully and stay well. But this kind of belonging depends on how you consistently apply your values, not where.

You can sit in the same building and feel alone. And you can create lasting connection without a shared physical space.

We take this seriously on the Aha! team. We have deliberately built a connected culture as a fully remote company. That comes from doing hard work together in pursuit of something bigger. It also comes from the teamwide habits that show up in our everyday work, no matter what.

Here is how we approached staying connected as a remote team this year (and many years prior). It is proof of what is possible, and there are ideas you could adapt for your own team:

We celebrate each other

We give gratitude (we call it #hatitude) daily in Slack and live during onsites. We also celebrate team anniversaries by inviting people to tell a favorite memory from the year. These shoutouts add up to a culture where people feel valued for their contributions.

We share everyday life

We stay active in Slack channels dedicated to our interests. Our pets, cooking, music, travel, gaming, gardening, sports — you name it. These exchanges help us bond and get to know each other beyond the work we do together.

We keep traditions

We have fun, informal traditions that keep team spirit strong — from hackathons to gift exchanges and team games. But nothing tops Aha!lloween. Every year, we go all out in costume (complete with props, backdrops, and skits) for our weekly all-hands meeting.

We give back

Through our Aha! Cares program, we support local nonprofits wherever "local" happens to be. We champion organizations based where we live and work throughout the year. And teammates volunteer with organizations in the communities we visit during onsite weeks.

We get together purposefully

Our onsites bring us together across time zones and continents. We align on strategy and review what is ahead. We also make time to enjoy being together, whether that means getting out in nature or simply chatting over dinner. This year, we were fortunate to gather in Carlsbad and Maui.

Strong relationships come from the habits we keep. These help us build steady support for our values and each other.

Thank you for being part of our year, too. We are happy you are here and wish you a thoughtful start to the new year.

Our team is bootstrapped, profitable, fully remote, and hiring. Join us.