What happens when you get 40+ successful entrepreneurs in the same cabin for a weekend? Ego clashes? Best practices? Inspiring stories?

With each individual holding conflicting expectations of the Fellowship summer retreat, Awesome Inc co-founder, Brian Raney, and Fellowship Director, Keith McMunn, led the first session to establish a culture for the retreat. Core values have preserved the unique and open culture at Awesome Inc throughout the years, so entrepreneurs teamed up with investors and friends of the Fellowship to pitch values that they believed would provide a unique and open culture for the retreat. The group agreed on several values that created a space for vulnerability, empathy, inclusiveness, and getting out of your comfort zone.

The next session was led by management expert and Fellowship mentor Drew Sutton, who gave a very informative presentation about the characteristics and challenges faced by great leaders. Drew’s presentation was filled with historical and comic book references that kept everyone laughing, while extremely engaged. He mentioned that a good leader must keep his team prepared for the “fog of war,” explaining that it’s his job as a leader to inform his employees of the guiding principles that will help them make decisions on behalf of the company in the fog. Drew shared that he keeps all the principles and values that he expects from his employees written down and presents them to every new hire.

After bonding through both sessions, Brian Raney regained the room’s attention and laid down the rules for a game that was played throughout the next two days. The game, affectionately called “murder,” was started with Brian secretly selecting three murderers among the group. The three assassins were tasked to ‘kill’ the townspeople, and the group would vote on who they thought was committing each crime.

The “smoothest-kill-of-the-weekend” was made by Ford from Cloverleaf. Ford scaled the side of the cabin, jumped onto the balcony, took out everyone in the hot tub, and walked inside before anyone noticed. The only witness to the crime was the cabin groundskeeper, who saw Ford dramatically leap from the balcony during his escape. Unfortunately, he was unable to provide any incriminating evidence. Other murders were not as smooth and resulted in mass shootouts, and hitmen getting caught after single shots.

In addition to the fun icebreakers, attendees bonded while tubing down the Little River in Gatlinburg and hiking to a beautiful waterfall during a summer rain shower. Cloverleaf held the last session of the first day. The founders had collected data from attendees including their Myers Briggs, DiSC, and workplace culture preferences and used the results of the data to pair harmonious groups. After discussing their effectiveness as a team, they had to put it into practice by completing the egg drop challenge with just post-its, straws, and plastic cutlery. Each team dropped their egg without it breaking, which may be evidence of Cloverleaf’s software successfully brings effective teams together.

The next day, sessions leaned on the technical side with a representative from Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP sharing how to get the best service from a law firm. The group learned that entrepreneurs often seek help from an attorney too late into the process, so it is best to begin the relationship with a practice while building your company. This allows you to obtain more negotiable price points and to connect with the right type of firm for your business.

Following the Dinsmore session, Elizabeth Rounsavall, a Venture Capitalist, shared a wealth of information about investment opportunities for startups. Founders in the room opened up by sharing their experiences with boards and investors. As they discussed best practices, Elizabeth gave them the Venture Capitalist’s point of view on what a Kentucky investor expects compared to what an out of state investor will take an interest in.

The final session was led by friends of Awesome Inc, Bryce and Elzaba Anderson. They shared their stories of trials in entrepreneurship, inspiring the group to think about their “why” and “good.” Bryce spoke about his journey with Vinaigrette Salad Kitchen and the failures he faced while trying to carry out his “why” of working with Kentucky farmers. Bryce’s story moved the group to think about the principles and values that keep them afloat while trying to fulfill their own “why.”

Elzaba encouraged everyone to breakup and discuss how to find value and approval for their sense of good. The circle was asked to reflect on their lifestyle, which segued perfectly into a moving speech, aka “The Thing,” from Brian Raney at the close of the retreat. Brian spoke about his “why” when he created Awesome Inc and his own moments of doubt and the thing that reminded him to carry on with his vision.

The summer retreat was filled with great opportunities for learning, networking and reflecting. In typical Awesome Inc fashion, we made time for fun and games of murder in between. The greatest takeaway are the bonds that were established between motivated startups. All the while, the value of surrounding yourself with people who are passionate about your work is priceless. Wach Here