The hedgehog lab summer party.
With a global team scattered from Boston to Bulgaria, the annual hedgehog lab summer party is an opportunity for all of us to congregate in Newcastle upon Tyne, the home of our headquarters, to share updates, celebrate our recent achievements and bond over a beer (or two).
The day saw over 70 of our 100+ team come together at the studio bright and early to chat with both familiar and brand-new faces. An extra special one for us, this was the first time since our recent acquisition that our York, Boston, Sofia and Newcastle offices were together in the same building.
The morning started with introductions, strong coffees and new headshots (some even brought in an outfit change for the occasion – but we’ll let them stay anonymous for now). Not surprisingly, matching real-life people to their Google Meet faces resulted in a lot of “I didn’t realise you were that tall!” and so on.
After lunch, our weekly Gab hosted by the People team commenced. The meeting included company updates from our CEO, Sarat, and employee recognition awards. Then it was time for the moment everyone had been waiting for – the new hedgehog lab website unveiling! Presented by our Chief Marketing Officer and Americas Managing Director, Patrick, it was the perfect opportunity for our team to align over our refreshed brand strategy and revamped company positioning for the next 5 years.
From brand unveiling to merch unboxing, the team tucked into their much-anticipated box of hedgehog-branded goodies that had been long in the making. T-shirts were immediately donned by some (Sarat), while others proudly presented their newfound water bottles, mugs and notepads in their headshots.
The afternoon saw things get competitive with a general knowledge quiz that resulted in some slightly bruised egos (no, the Angel of the North is not taller than York Minster) and ‘Never Have I Ever’ bingo. Not long after, the photoshoots were finally complete and we headed out for our evening entertainment.
This year, our fabulous People team selected By the River Brew Co. as our summer party venue. For food, we tucked into authentic chicken gyros from award-winning street food vendor, Acropolis, followed by L.A.-inspired Taco Truck, Good Times Tacos – the Jalisco shredded beef shin and oxtail dunked in birria broth went down an absolute storm.
On benches positioned below disco balls and beside beautiful views of the Tyne River, we sat chatting about all things technology, tattoos and train strikes until the sun went down. We’re already counting down the days til our Christmas party.
Get in touch
Fancy joining our team? Explore our open vacancies and the benefits of being a hedgehog. We’d love to hear from you!
