The Handstand Story: From Weekend Fun to Team-Building Pros

When Handstand first started in 2014, we had no financial spreadsheets, business plans, or dreams of becoming a "team building events company." We were just four guys going on crazy outdoor weekend trips together, wanting to bring the same feeling to other people. We simply had a mutual craving for adventure.

What we've built since wasn't expected, but it became a natural progression, mixed with blood, sweat, tears, and bears. I’m here to explain how and why we got here (and the bears).

The SF Hunt That Started It All

We simply wanted to put together an epic event. What could be so hard about that?

We designed our first scavenger hunt event in San Francisco. It was a citywide quest that turned the entire city into a treasure map and playground. Little did we know it, but The SF Hunt was going to become our first child (Note: we’ve since gone on to have human children! Those are really great too.).

Along the way, there were sponsored pit stops stocked with goodies, plenty of laughs, and a finale at a food truck party where everyone’s first drink was on us.

This was where the bear costumes got their start, too. We honestly don’t have a direct answer for why we decided to wear full-on bear costumes. But they’re fun, weird, and cozy, so we kept ‘em. 

The SF Hunt was bold, it was fun, and it left us buzzing. Could this be more than just a one-time thing?

Doubling Down on the Scavenger Hunt Chaos

We decided to test it. Our second event was bigger, louder, weirder, and wilder. There were two full days of costumes, an overnight campout, catered meals, and teams racing from checkpoint to checkpoint with barely a moment to breathe.

There were hiccups (of course), but by the end, we knew this wasn’t an accident. We were onto something real — a way to bring people together through play.

The Universe Sends a Signal

While all this was happening, Josh (aka Zip), one of our founders, was weighing whether to leave his corporate job and leap into Handstand full-time. Then the decision made itself: the startup he worked for got acquired in 2016, and his whole team was laid off.

Talk about timing. It felt like the universe saying, “Stop hesitating. Go build this thing.” 

I also point-blank said to Josh, “The only way this fails is if we quit. And I'm not gonna quit.”

That’s all it took. Josh joined me full-time to dig deeper into Handstand.

Growing Beyond Events in San Francisco

From one city, we quickly spread to six: San Francisco, Seattle, Washington D.C., Boston, Oakland, and Los Angeles. We even built iOS and Android apps to help bring the scavenger hunt fun to more people.

Sponsorships scaled too. We elevated from neighborhood shops to national names like Sweetgreen and Lonely Planet.

At this point, we were saying, "Oh s%*#, we're in this thing now." The idea that started with one epic weekend was turning into a movement.

Requests for Team Building Events

We loved throwing wild public events, but our community started asking if we could bring the magic to their workplaces. At first, we resisted…

But when those voices got louder and more convincing, we couldn't ignore them. Give the people what they want, right? There was a want and a need, and we could deliver the fun. That's when we started to share our philosophy of play with the big kahuna companies!

Then the World Flipped

Then came 2020. Offices closed, teams scattered, and suddenly, connection was harder than ever. But instead of shutting down, we found an additional sweet spot.

We reimagined our events for virtual and hybrid teams, creating a virtual puzzle and creativity competition called The Homeschool Hunt that let coworkers connect even when they were countries apart.

The pivot worked. Companies needed playful ways to keep people together, and that’s exactly what we offered. From there, we leaned into the corporate event planning. And boy was it fun!

Our magic brings play to people, building real connections. We got to share that with more people, leaving them wanting more and talking about our events for months.

Escape Rooms Enter the Chat

In 2023, Google came to us asking for an outside-the-box experience that would connect its employees. We'd already planned the Great Assistant Hunt and countless other team building events for them before. We had to do something truly unique. That's when we proposed The Jazz Heist, an escape room set in a 1920s-era heist narrative.

We spent months on the build and couldn't wait to put it in Google's office for them to enjoy.

🏆 Jazz Heist became their highest-rated event of the year.

They loved it so much that the next year, we built another company escape room experience, Journey to Jidara, with a puzzle box included.

Public Pop-Up Escape Rooms

After both Google events, we also decided to share the escape rooms with the public and opened pop-up escape rooms in San Francisco!

What We’re Up To Now

These days, we have a few more coworkers on board! Sam's three-year-old daughter affectionately coined the name for the Jidara escape room (pulling her weight).

Glenn, Kaitlin, Alex, Jack, Mihai, Gabe, Matthew, Lyra, and Ashley are just a few more names that have had their hands deep in Handstand projects since our first SF Hunt in 2014.

Today, we spend our time designing adventures that feel just as bold and playful as those first events — only bigger and better.

The Pillars of Our Events

We like to say that we never set out to create team-building events; rather, team building is the natural byproduct of the experiences we design. People have a great time, which leads to bonding!

Every corporate experience is different, but the goal is always the same: to help people loosen up, laugh together, and feel like a team through lightweight competition.

All of our events include:

💪 Friendly competition: Competition creates opportunities for teams to engage more deeply with the experience.

🌏 Global collaboration: We design with a global workforce in mind, ensuring that remote, hybrid, and in-person experiences are world-class.

🪄 Sense of magic: If you wouldn’t spend your weekend doing it, we don’t want you spending your weekday on it.

From “Weekend Experiments” to Serious Team Fun

A lot in our lives and business has evolved. Looking back, it’s wild to remember we once called this “wild stuff we did on the weekend.”

What hasn’t changed?

🛝 Our belief that adventure and play are the secret ingredients for connection.

Some corporate teams join us for citywide scavenger hunts, others dive into escape rooms or virtual puzzle competitions, and many partner with us to bring a fully custom event to their employees.

👉 If your team could use more play (and who couldn’t?), we’d love to build something unforgettable with you. Reach out.

FAQs about Handstand

We are here to answer any question – even stupid questions.

When was Handstand founded?

Handstand was founded as a company in 2014 in San Francisco. We ran our first event, The SF Hunt, that year. We transitioned into corporate team-building events after that!

What is Handstand's main offering?

We offer large-scale experiences for teams. We have a diverse product line of fun events that include:

• The Hunt: Our app-based city scavenger hunts for corporate teams. Anywhere in the world!
• The Homeschool Hunt: A hybrid and remote puzzle and creativity competition for teams and companies with a distributed or remote workforce.
• In-Office Escape Rooms: Jazz Heist and Journey to Jidara turn your office into a living adventure! Jidara includes a puzzle box (which can be shipped worldwide) as well as physical installations.
• Field Days: A schoolyard classic mixed with Survivor-style challenges. Handstand Field Day is a team-powered showdown where 3 types of fun challenges – creative, physical, and strategic – collide to create an unforgettable day.
• Holiday Parties: We created engaging holiday party experiences and immersive worlds for your most celebratory moments. Party on!
• Custom Events: Got a wild event idea? We can make it happen. We've created real-life Mario Kart, philanthropic scavenger hunts, and other epic team events for large groups and companies.
• Public Events: The SF Hunt is our flagship public event. We also occasionally host public pop-up escape rooms. Keep an eye out for our next public event.

Who are Handstand's corporate customers?

Our client roster includes big names like Google, Airbnb, LinkedIn, Dropbox, Vimeo, Stripe, Apple, and BetterHelp. We deliver custom team experiences ranging from group scavenger hunts to holiday extravaganzas.

Is Handstand a good choice for large companies and groups?

Yes. Handstand events scale from 20 to 20,000. We can even create experiences that connect employees in offices around the world to unify your workforce.

Why choose Handstand for team building?

There are several reasons you should choose Handstand for your team building needs.

1. Versatile formats: Pick a city scavenger hunt, an in-office escape room, or a completely custom team building event. We can do it all with a HUGE smile.
2. Scalable to any group size or location: A sales team of 20, or an entire enterprise corporation. Our events scale and connect.
3. Proven track record: We've worked with exceptional teams like Google, Apple, LinkedIn, Endeavor, Airbnb, and more. Check out some of the stories.
4. Storytelling-driven design: We craft each game and theme to be narrative-driven in order to spark collaboration and excitement. It's a secret sauce to what makes our events memorable!
5. We are genuinely fun to work with. Customer service is top-tier, and we throw in jokes for free.

How much does a Handstand event cost?

• The minimum price for a Hunt or a Homeschool Hunt is $1,500 (for up to 30 players) and scales per your event size. 
• A Field Day is $8,000 for 70 people.
• The Jidara escape room is $50 per puzzle box, and Jazz Heist is $40 per kit, plus $4,000 per week for the installations and operations.
• Custom events are highly dependent on scope and size!

If you’re interested in an event, request a free quote, or reach out to sam@handstandwith.us, and we can help you out with a price estimate.