Aampe Offsite in Taiwan

A month ago, I got back from my first Aampe offsite in Taiwan.

We landed in Taiwan around 8PM. One of our suitcases showed up destroyed.

Broken on arrival.

So instead of easing into the week, I found myself navigating Taipei at night, heading into the nearby night market, tracking down a 90+ year old luggage shop (松山書包行) to replace it.

Not how I pictured the trip starting.

But honestly, it set the tone perfectly.

Aampe’s offsite was the first time I met most of the team in person.

Up until then, everyone lived in Slack threads, PR comments, and virtual standups. Then suddenly we’re in the same room, working through ideas in real time.

You notice things you don’t see remotely:

• how people think out loud
• how quickly ideas evolve
• how fast direction can change when everyone’s present

Conversations that usually take days collapsed into minutes.

Outside of that, Taiwan just kept delivering.

Hiking up to a waterfall in Jiaoxi.

Wandering the streets and night markets of Taipei.

Making our way up Taipei 101 and taking it all in from above.

I got to share all of it with my wife.

Late nights, incredible food.

And the in-between moments that stayed with me.

I came back with more than I expected:

Better context. Stronger relationships. And a clearer sense of how I want to build — tighter loops, more shared space, less distance between idea and iteration.

Also… a new suitcase 🧳.

Grateful for the Aampe team, the experience, and getting to share it all with my wife.

[group photo by Sean Marc Lee…the rest are mine]