Ah, the Kraken. A mythical sea creature based (more than likely) on the elusive giant squid, and said to have been at least one mile in length! The Kraken would eat by luring and trapping surrounding fish in its giant mouth. So majestic, so mighty, so utterly revered.
Our newest product GitKraken—a Git client which launched earlier this month, required some type of fanfare that would harken back the original story of the mythical Kraken.
So, everyone at Axosoft dressed up in Kraken costumes, ran 3 times the length of the mythical beast, then ate. Not really by trapping hapless fish, but by brunching at a local brewery/restaurant.
Welcome to our GitKraken 5K and brunch celebration at OHSO (a local hip eatery that all the cool cephalopods frequent)! Enjoy the images and check out GitKraken!
Coordinating the Krakens
According to Karen Moffitt, employee and all-around kick-ass organizer, who was instrumental in organizing the event, there were 80 excited Krakens who turned up bright and early.
Our main goal was to do something fun, inclusive and reflective of our values. What better way than with a family fun run complete with costumes? “It was important to invite family because if you have children who know that their mom or dad works a lot of the time, it gives them an opportunity to see where they work,” says Moffitt. “It really shows we are a family-friendly company.”
Get Your Kraken On!
Employees made, and then wore, Kraken costumes as they ran the route. But how do busy developers and employees find time to create attention-commanding costumes while they are still in the middle of launching a product? The answer: get help from an artist.
Christina Lopez, Creative on the Axosoft marketing team, is a Fine Arts graduate and helped everyone with their costumes. “I just pulled from what I learned in sculpture class,” she explains. “I was drawn to pool noodles because they implied tentacles.”
There was some standard, friendly inter-office competition as each team created their own version of a Kraken. “The marketing team used foam and spandex to make a giant Kraken head,” Lopez explains.
The Award Goes to….
In order to choose which team took home the award for best costume, the kids were asked to judge. In the end, they decided that Customer Success had the best Kraken. “They were very hush-hush with what they were doing,” says Lopez. “They used a lot of duct tape and really, they were the underdogs, so you know they had to win,” she explains with a smile. We always like a good underdog story!
If you’re interested in getting to know more about GitKraken, check it out here (no running or costume-making involved!) Want to know more about the company that is crazy enough to run through the streets dressed at Krakens? Check out Axosoft.