Condoleezza Rice and Satya Nadella spent last weekend inside this elite startup retreat

Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

Last weekend, many of the tech industry's big shots gathered in the Santa Cruz Mountains to talk startups.

Venture-capital firm Sequoia invited more than 100 startup founders, CEOs, and alumni for what it called "Base Camp."

During the two-day event, founders and CEOs talked business and spent their nights sleeping in tents.

Here's what it was like inside the elite camp for startup founders:

More than 100 startup founders and business executives came to the Santa Cruz Mountains for Base Camp.

Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

Some founders and VCs even mountain-biked to Base Camp for the weekend's festivities.

Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

Flags flew over the camp representing what Sequoia looks for in founders: "The creative spirits. The underdogs. The resolute. The determined. The outsiders. The defiant. The independent thinkers. The fighters and the true believers." For the two-day weekend, founders were split into groups based on each ethos.

Molly DeCoudreaux Photography

See the rest of the story at Business Insider