The team’s scurrying across a hotel room—somewhere atop a hill in Ramnagar, Uttarakhand—to set things up for the much awaited Founding Day. We’ve moved the coffee table aside to make space for the sofa that we dragged from across the opposite room. Now that everyone has finally found a place to comfortably be seated in — a few of us have cozied up on the sofa, a couple of us are laying on the bed, while the rest of us are nestled in a corner on the floor — we take a moment to look up and scan what we’ve managed to piece together. A broad smile spreads across all our faces, and in that moment, we realize:

We’re a room full of (happy) people! 🙂

That day, as we reached our nine-year mark and stepped into our tenth year, we decided to spend the day:

Dreaming

We kick start the day by inviting the three radials— the building blocks — of Glow Worm to engage with Lego® Serious Play®. (A problem-solving technique that stirs metaphorical thinking — is a banyan tree simply a banyan tree or a symbol of nourishment and longevity?— and provides an outlet for more complex thoughts, ideas, emotions and feelings to be expressed and explored, effectively.) We use our motor impulses to build our radial, from the ground up, the way we see it today and the way we’d like to see it tomorrow.

What happens when each of these teams — Growth and Excellence, Culture and Future, and Innovation and Scale — is determined to win? Glow Worm wins, and how! We watch each other’s imagination break free as we borrow and lend Lego® blocks across teams with a wide-eyed determination to build a Glow Worm that fits all of us and makes room for more!

When the 3 radials come together

Celebrating

A walk down the memory lane

‘A picture can tell a thousand stories’— that’s how we decide to relive 9 years worth of memories in a single day. From 2014 to 2022, we put our carefully curated collection of polaroids that mark all our ‘firsts’ from each year on display.

From our first client project to our first get-together as a remote-work team, we spare no opportunity to celebrate all that we’ve accomplished over the years. As each team member sorts each ‘first’ into its year, a thousand stories spill into the evening.

Committing

As we look outside the huge glass window of the hotel room, we see the darkness settling in. We instantly become aware of the fact that the hotel will close its kitchen in another hour or so. Some of us have to travel early the next morning, but none of us are ready to leave just yet.

There’s only one desire in all our minds: we want to make this stay. The key to its fulfillment lies right beside us in a colorful box of paints (— after all, art lives on, doesn’t it?). So, we lather our hands with colors of our choice, grab a piece of white chart paper and leave our imprints behind, as though to say: Hello, beautiful world! We’re here. We’re here to stay.

We're here to stay!

Embracing

A room full of happy people :)

As is inherent to our value of inner work, and has become tradition at Glow Worm, we bring the occasion to a final close by reflecting on what this experience meant to all of us.

As everyone attempts to pack this overwhelming journey into a bag full of memories, we take a moment to pause, take it all in, and let it all out. And, just like that, giggling through our tear-stained faces, we blurt out our biggest takeaway: We’re in the right place, with the right group of people.

With that, once again, we all make our way back to our respective corners of the world. This time, knowing that an idea that sparks in one room in a corner of the world, can take you to another in a completely different corner of the world!

culture founding day milestone