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Meet, learn, train, and build like it matters. Gatheround is a hub for creating and hosting more engaging and effective online gatherings — from routine meetings to workshops and group learning sessions. Designed for how remote-first and flexible teams connect, learn, and innovate, we empower facilitators and participants alike to make the most of time spent together (apart).
Beloved by teams at Target, Gusto, Calendly, Cisco, and more, Gatheround offers:
▪️ A state-of-the-art agenda builder to create your ideal session fast
▪️ Hundreds of curated activities and templates, based on how the best teams in the world do business
▪️ Core platform functionality designed to engage hearts and minds in big ideas, from dynamic video chat to Q&A and quizzing tools (and much more)
▪️ Over a dozen ways to participate, for all kinds of learners and thinkers
▪️ Stronger connections and social fabric from your very first session
“Our first Gatheround was the breakthrough in remote culture we’ve spent years searching for. It felt like sitting around a campfire, talking, laughing, and bonding with friends — except in a 45-minute session.” Kevin Lee, Co-Founder, immi
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We believe that the workforce has just barely begun to scratch the surface of what teams can accomplish with the right tools. Remote and flexible teams are more productive and more equitable — and when we break down silos, learn and align together, and get connected to do great work? The sky's the limit. Gatheround is on a mission to make sure every remote, distributed, and flexible team is unstoppable — starting with how we gather.
As Alicia Hughes and I start to say goodbye to another amazing year, we wanted to share a special gift with all of you! 🧧
Today, we had the pleasure of leading a session featuring some of our favorite tech tools, including Curipod, Canva, HeyGen, Gamma, Slack, Loom and Gatheround with an incredible group of participants.
Looking for a way to celebrate someone for a job well done? Stop at Candy Lane and consider sending them a Thnks or Sugarwish.
This year has been filled with so many opportunities to learn and collaborate with amazing people on this platform.
To celebrate, we're sharing the gameboard template packed with videos and activities to inspire your work. Plus, you can make a copy to use this with your organization or students! 👇
Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday! 🎄
Template Link: https://lnkd.in/eC4qEFiJ
View Link: https://lnkd.in/e4c8_y2Z
🎁It is the season of giving, so Michele Klein, PMP and I would like to share our favorite things gameboard.
🎄This board is filled with links and videos to 10 amazing tools that can help you make your virtual world more effective, efficient, connected and collaborative.....our favorites include:
CanvaCuripodLoomGatheroundSlack (with a mention of the The Society of Working Moms and Founding Women)
SugarwishThnksGammaHeyGen
💝We are forever grateful that so many here have supported us in our new journeys and we hope this gift will bring as much joy to your life as you bring to ours.
🎇Wishing you a very merry end to 2024 and a new year filled with all the things that bring you the most happiness.
https://lnkd.in/eHMAKf2Z
Thanks for the end of the year party, Findem! I enjoyed learning from other users of the platform and discovering some similarities between the attendees and myself. Maisha was hostess extraordinaire and Gatheround is such a fun platform.
A nip in the air and Mariah Carey on the radio? 🎵
🎉 ❄️ 🎁 It must be time for the company holiday party! 🎁 ❄️ 🎉
If you’re looking for a thoughtful, simple way to celebrate, why not try:
🎊 Our classic Team Holiday Party: Try some seasonal trivia, dust off your most eye-popping festive sweaters, and get cozy! Available as a 30 or 60 minute event, eggnog not included.
⌛ The End-of-Year Retro: For teams that prefer to keep the focus on appreciation and accomplishments. Look back on all the great work you did in the past year and toast the team.
🥳 New Year Intention-Setting: January 1 is just a few weeks away! This intentional agenda is all about helping your team or community get set up for success in the year ahead.
Check out these great templates and more, linked in the comments below and in our template library.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year! ✨
Here’s the thing—remote events often get a bad rap (Zoom fatigue, anyone?).
But when they’re done right, they can connect people across the globe, spark meaningful interactions, and keep communities thriving.
Trust me, I've hosted hundreds of them in the past 4 years. 👑
So, what makes a virtual event work?
Earlier this year, I joined a panel hosted by Marcie Walker with two virtual event pros—Maisha L. Cannon and Brandon Cestrone.
We tackled a hot topic in community building: how to capture the magic of in-person events in virtual spaces.
Here are the most spicy and unique tips from our conversation:
😴
1. Is your event WORTH showing up for?
Let’s be honest: not every virtual event needs to exist.
Ask yourself: would you take time out of your busy day for this?
If the content can be a pre-recorded video, a quick email, or a downloadable PDF, skip the live session.
The golden rule: create a need to be there live. For example, networking, problem-solving, or sharing something that can only happen in real time.
🥴
2. Set the VIBE early.
Your attendees are likely juggling work emails, their pets, and leftover lunch plates while logging in. Help them arrive mentally.
Start with music, icebreaker polls, or even a funny meme to gauge the group’s energy.
Acknowledge their mood. It’s okay if someone’s running on low energy; meeting them where they’re at makes them feel seen.
Bonus points if you keep it real: “Yes, I’m hosting this in my PJs, coffee in hand—let’s go!”
🤗
3. Flexibility > Over-Scripting.
Not everyone engages the same way, and that’s okay.
Let attendees choose how they participate: chat, reactions, speaking, or just listening.
Build moments into your agenda where attendees can express their needs.
😮
4. Make your event flow like a MOVIE.
Break content into bite-sized chunks with interactive moments.
Change up the “scenes” often: think polls, breakout rooms, quick role-playing, or Q&A.
Keep engagement purposeful: tie every activity back to the event’s core goal.
🤓
5. Anchor your event with a TAKEAWAY.
Great events leave a lasting impression. Make sure attendees walk away with something valuable and tangible.
A framework, a resource, or even a follow-up email with a summary.
Bonus idea: a “digital swag bag” packed with useful goodies like templates or guides.
TL;DR
Virtual events aren’t “less than” in-person ones—they’re just different. They thrive on intentionality, creativity, and a little magic. ✨
👉 Want more details? Catch the full panel here. https://lnkd.in/e85H5e_4
What’s your secret sauce for hosting unforgettable virtual events? 🌶️
Ready for something 🤯?
🚀 3.2M tasks automated. Countless connections made…👇
Donut Digested 2024 is here — and we can’t believe some of the incredible things teams achieved this year with Donut. Check out the highlights:
👥 Almost 2 million introductions helped nearly half a million coworkers connect, collaborate, and boost productivity.
🎉 Nearly 30,000 new hires hit the ground running—one team achieved an impressive 94% average onboarding score!
💡 Over 60,000 employee Journeys powered learning and growth. One award-winning team automated over 14,000 tasks, messages, and actions!
I first met Lisa Conn at a convening she hosted at Facebook; I instantly knew she was someone I wanted to keep close.
When she moved to LA, I immediately asked her to join the Advisory Board of Facing History, knowing we could benefit immensely from her brilliant mind and deeply compassionate heart. No surprise to me or anyone that just a few years later, while building her company, Lisa stepped into leadership as the Chair of that board!
When Gatheround first launched as Icebreaker, I was proudly one of those early users who Lisa onboarded personally. The platform was a game changer for my team especially in the early days of the pandemic.
"Digital approximation of human warmth" is an accurate way to describe the user experience - I simply say it feels like the opposite of Zoom.
I've loved watching Lisa's star continue to rise as the company has grown. She always puts connection first, and at the center, of how she leads.
Huge congrats to Lisa and the teams at Gatheround and Donut! I can't wait to be part of whatever you create next!
Co-Founder/Former CEO at Gatheround (acquired by Donut)
✨ Gatheround has been acquired by Donut! 🍩
Six years ago, I left Facebook, teamed up with Perry and Alexander, and covered my San Francisco apartment in sticky notes, because that's what you do when you're starting a company. We had this wild idea that maybe technology could actually bring people together instead of slowly driving them apart.
We started as something called Icebreaker, became Gatheround, survived a global pandemic (not in the original business plan), became fierce advocates of flexible work, and helped hundreds of thousands of people stay connected. A customer once described us as “a digital approximation of human warmth” and I’ll never stop being proud of that.
In the early days, I personally onboarded every single new user. Fifteen minutes at a time, one after another, until my voice was hoarse and my coffee was cold. If you were one of those early users: yes, I remember you.
The thing about startups that nobody told me is that they grow up with you. While Gatheround was growing, I moved to LA, got married, bought a house, had a baby named Gigi who now "works" at her own tiny keyboard (in unconscious mimicry of my choices), and realized that life has this funny way of happening while you're busy building something you believe in.
Today, I’m overjoyed to share that we've been acquired by Donut. Donut, beloved by tens of thousands of companies, is adding Gatheround to its product suite to expand what employee programs can be. It’s a match that just makes sense: the 📖 to our ✏️ , the 🍩 to our ☕.
I’ll be stepping into an advisory role while many of our incredible team members and the brilliant minds at Donut carry this thing we built to new heights.
💌 To our customers who've been with us through every evolution and product update: thank you. You're in great hands. To the entire team, past and present: you are the best people I’ve ever known. And to every investor, advisor, and friend who's supported us along the way: I'm really, so very grateful.
🥂 🥂 🥂 Here's to growing up, workplaces that actually work for everyone, and technology that keeps getting warmer ❤️
📣 Big news from Team Donut 🍩
🎉 We’re excited to announce that Donut has acquired Gatheround, an interactive live video platform that makes it easy to host dynamic, engaging live sessions and boost participation.
This is a big next step in our vision for what employee programs can and should be.
We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional outcomes to the 20,000+ teams that use Donut today to automate key workflows throughout the employee lifecycle. Together, we’ve:
✅ Made over 16 million connections
🎢 Enrolled more than 400,000 employees in onboarding, mentorship, and learning Journeys at companies like Okta, Slack, and Axios
⏰ Saved teams countless hours by automating over 4 million employee communications and tasks
Along the way, we’ve learned that most Donut customers run live sessions as a key part of their programs. Acquiring Gatheround — a structured tool for creating engaging live sessions — gives us the opportunity to do even more to support your success.
Gatheround combines a state-of-the-art agenda builder with an interactive video interface to provide an industry-leading live session experience, with a verbal participation rate of over 80% — nearly 2.5x higher than other video platforms.
Billy McMillan, Director of Learning and Development at Huntress, says he looks forward to building on the success of his team’s partnership with Donut by adding live sessions hosted through Gatheround.
“Donut Journeys already play a vital part in Huntress' L&LD programs like manager training and new hire onboarding by allowing us to prep learners, reinforce takeaways, and collect feedback.
We’re excited about leveraging Gatheround to host more engaging live sessions for our fully remote team. The flexibility of the agenda builder and interactive activities we can include will make for more impactful experiences and will help us continue to achieve excellent eNPS scores.”
Here’s what you can expect as Gatheround becomes part of Donut:
✨ Even more value for you: We’ll continue building on the Donut features you already know and love, with Gatheround as part of our product offering.
⚖️ Continuity and commitment to our customers: Continue using Donut as usual. As always, we welcome your feedback, ideas, and insights.
🔮 Much more to come. Stay tuned for further updates as Donut welcomes Gatheround and we embark on this exciting next chapter.
Learn more about the acquisition on our blog, linked in the comments.
📣 Big news from Team Donut 🍩
🎉 We’re excited to announce that Donut has acquired Gatheround, an interactive live video platform that makes it easy to host dynamic, engaging live sessions and boost participation.
This is a big next step in our vision for what employee programs can and should be.
We pride ourselves on delivering exceptional outcomes to the 20,000+ teams that use Donut today to automate key workflows throughout the employee lifecycle. Together, we’ve:
✅ Made over 16 million connections
🎢 Enrolled more than 400,000 employees in onboarding, mentorship, and learning Journeys at companies like Okta, Slack, and Axios
⏰ Saved teams countless hours by automating over 4 million employee communications and tasks
Along the way, we’ve learned that most Donut customers run live sessions as a key part of their programs. Acquiring Gatheround — a structured tool for creating engaging live sessions — gives us the opportunity to do even more to support your success.
Gatheround combines a state-of-the-art agenda builder with an interactive video interface to provide an industry-leading live session experience, with a verbal participation rate of over 80% — nearly 2.5x higher than other video platforms.
Billy McMillan, Director of Learning and Development at Huntress, says he looks forward to building on the success of his team’s partnership with Donut by adding live sessions hosted through Gatheround.
“Donut Journeys already play a vital part in Huntress' L&LD programs like manager training and new hire onboarding by allowing us to prep learners, reinforce takeaways, and collect feedback.
We’re excited about leveraging Gatheround to host more engaging live sessions for our fully remote team. The flexibility of the agenda builder and interactive activities we can include will make for more impactful experiences and will help us continue to achieve excellent eNPS scores.”
Here’s what you can expect as Gatheround becomes part of Donut:
✨ Even more value for you: We’ll continue building on the Donut features you already know and love, with Gatheround as part of our product offering.
⚖️ Continuity and commitment to our customers: Continue using Donut as usual. As always, we welcome your feedback, ideas, and insights.
🔮 Much more to come. Stay tuned for further updates as Donut welcomes Gatheround and we embark on this exciting next chapter.
Learn more about the acquisition on our blog, linked in the comments.
