It has already been 6 months since I joined Project Tech4Dev and it seems I just published my first blog on my experience in the first sprint – https://projecttech4dev.org/whats-in-a-sprint/ and here we are already!
This time around we had a sprint in the calm and picturesque location of Neembaadi Learning Pathway – near Ahmedabad, Gujarat. The place is perfect for teams like ours and is run by NGOs in Ahmedabad that Mr. Gagan Sethi is deeply involved with. He also graced us with a team building activity on day 2. More on that soon. This sprint was dedicated to the teams in T4D and it was a wonderful way to meet and plan for the new year. We had in-depth conversations on our product Dalgo and also conducted a fun and detailed retro which will help us move forward in 2026.
Coming from a corporate background and having worked in a fully remote company before, I have to say, the culture at T4D where we meet multiple times a year as a team is really exemplary. We used to meet in my previous companies too. But, there is a difference – the difference is in the attitude and the time taken by the leadership for every sprint. To be present, to listen, to act and help each and every team member in T4D irrespective of their role or time in the company. This organic access to leadership is very healthy and really helps build a good culture and ownership from day 1.
What makes T4D tick – the difference is in the attitude and the time taken by the leadership for every sprint. To be present, to listen, to act and help each and every team member in T4D irrespective of their role or time in the company.
On the flip side, we do try to work on too many things in the sprint which we are well aware of but still happens. It’s usually an intense time where we juggle multiple priorities but also take time out to be with the teams – our own and other teams we may not be directly working with, soak in the local culture and take in the sights.
We started Day 1 by meeting and greeting the team members and getting to know some new members who have joined in. I got to meet new people joining us like Prasad Baji, Pritam, Nitish, Prajna and Jacob and a few who I have not had the privilege of meeting earlier like Sanjeev and Nidhi. Got some work done which was pending and the rest of Day 1 was about soaking in the sights of Ahmedabad which included the iconic Sabarmati Ashram, the riverfront, law gardens and ending the day with a sumptuous dinner at Rajwadu with a traditional Gujarati + Rajasthani thali.
Day 2 started for some of us by completing the last session of our manager training which was going on for around 3 months. It was a fitting end to the sessions with Rahul from Rajalka consulting in-person to close this out. We learnt and grew as a team of managers in T4D and go forward understanding each other and ourselves a little bit better. The second half was spent quite fittingly in a team building activity lead by Gagan Sethi who also owns the Neembaadi facility. It was a beautiful and simplistic way to teach deep lessons on team building. I did not get the depth of this training until it completed as it was masked by a competitive game of modified Jenga where teams build a tower of blocks while blindfolded. The message that, fear, guilt and shame are things which are internalised and not coming from others was a very beautiful way of putting it and helping us understand how we look at the team and at ourselves. The day closed by a rousing round of Secret Santa gift exchange and distribution of tasty local dishes for the team with a thoughtfully designed diary from Tech4Dev side.
Day 3 was kicked off with team meetings and a retro of the last year and how we wanted 2026 to be. In Dalgo it was all about making the product better, acquiring more customers and being able to support more use-cases for the sector. The way the team respects and likes working with each other is really valuable and heartwarming to see. We were able to include couple of our team members who were remote in this activity as well. We repeated this retro activity with the leadership team as well before I had to take leave and head back. I joined the next 2 days remotely and was able to deep dive into our product flows, roadmap for 2026 and design discussions.
Overall, it was an energising start to 2026 and looking forward to a great year ahead. As I was heading back the Neembaadi peacocks were around to say goodbye and I did purchase some magnets to commemorate the sprint in Gujarat.
I would like to thank and praise the organising team behind this event including Sheetal, Diana and the leadership team who enable these events in a recurring fashion. Looking forward to the next sprint which is even more exciting as it will be with NGOs. Here’s to Dalgo reaching 100+ customers in 2026!
