1The Challenge
What was the challenge?
BCG's GSD office is home to a growing community of women in technology — people who spend their days solving complex problems, often inside project teams that rarely overlap. The brief was a teaming event dedicated to this community: fun first, but with a clear purpose underneath. BCG wanted the day to build collaboration, strengthen networks across teams, and reinforce a culture of women supporting women.
Three things shaped the design: every one of the 40 participants was new to the experience; the Women in Tech theme needed to be felt, not lectured; and the brief came with a firm commitment — 40 BCG-branded bags, one for every participant, to be created during the programme and given away as gifts at the end.
2Our Solution
What solution did we design?
The Thought Bulb designed a two-act indoor programme — the Indoor AR Treasure Hunt followed by the Vegan Vogue Challenge — closing with a musical gifting circle that brought every participant together in one room and one moment.
Act 1 — Indoor AR Treasure Hunt. Participants were split into 4 teams and sent through the BCG office on an augmented-reality treasure hunt, using their phones to uncover digital clues, solve challenges and race against the clock. For a room full of technologists, it rewarded exactly what great tech teams run on: clear communication, quick division of roles, and trust.
Act 2 — Vegan Vogue Challenge. Each team received a BCG-branded tote bag and a collection of vegan craft materials: fabric paints, stamps, stencils, eco-friendly dyes and natural embellishments. The goal was to design a bag that represented the Women in Tech community — with purpose, creativity and sustainability at the centre. The closing musical gifting circle meant every participant gave their bag to a colleague, and took home a bag made for them.
3How We Did It
How was the programme delivered?
Two Thought Bulb facilitators managed the full session across both activities. The treasure hunt ran first and fast — teams moved through the office in parallel, phones out and energy high. As one team finished, they moved directly into the Vegan Vogue zone without a gap.
The Vegan Vogue phase opened with a short brief on sustainable fashion and what the Women in Tech identity meant to the community. Teams then had time to design and personalise their bags — some painting, some stamping, some building layered patterns that told a story. Facilitators kept the energy up and the pace moving, ensuring every team had a finished, decorated bag before the session ended.
The musical gifting circle brought everyone together: bags were passed around to music, and when the music stopped, whoever was holding a bag kept it. Every participant left with a bag made by a colleague — a personal, handmade gift from inside the community.
4Key Outcomes
What were the results?
The BCG Women in Tech event delivered something a standard team-building day rarely achieves: a ritual. The closing gifting circle wasn't a nice-to-have — it was the moment that gave the whole day its meaning. Everyone left with something made for them by a colleague they may not have known well before the day began.
The AR treasure hunt built the initial energy and connection fast. The Vegan Vogue challenge asked for a different kind of creativity — slower, more reflective — and the combination of the two gave the day a natural arc that matched the community's spirit: technically sharp and deeply human at the same time.
