v11 Escape Room, Startup Edition

This week, our team did an escape room together.
One hour. One locked room. One goal: get out.

Five minutes in, I had a moment.
I looked around—chaos unfolding, clues flying, people shouting theories—and it hit me:

“This isn’t just like startup life. It is startup life.”

That’s when I had the realization: This was Escape Room, Startup Edition.

And suddenly, I started seeing more and more parallels between the two.
Not just metaphorically. Emotionally. The pressure. The scattered momentum. The breakthroughs. The disagreements. The quiet person who solves something no one else saw. The moment when everything feels stuck—until it’s not.

This wasn’t just a game. It was a reminder: Startups don’t teach you to avoid chaos. They teach you how to move through it.

And sometimes? That’s the best kind of clarity.

Getting Out

Quarterly goals = 60-minute escape missions

Early-stage startups often operate around milestone-based events. Each quarter, we’re all pointed at one clear goal. The details? The roadmap? Often unclear. It’s “here’s the room, now get out.”

We don’t have the luxury of formally planning everything out. Roles shift, strategies evolve. But the team has one shared purpose: move the company forward this quarter.

In the escape room, we didn’t have a detailed plan either. We were dropped into a locked room and told: go. No one paused to assign roles or build a timeline. We just started solving. Together.

What it reminded me of:

Progress doesn’t require perfection—just a shared purpose and urgency to start.

Figuring Out

Roles aren’t fixed. Contributions are situational.

In startups, people wear multiple hats. You fill gaps not because it’s your job title—but because you can.

In the escape room, we didn’t strategize around each other’s strengths. But those strengths emerged. Tall people noticed high clues. Bookworms cracked riddles. People brought their quirks, experiences, even hobbies—and it made us better.

One clue said “look through with a mirror.” A few teammates tried. Nothing. “There’s nothing there,” they said. I asked to take a look—and I spotted the clue immediately.

Not because I was smarter. Just different eyes. Different angle. A different way of looking.

What it reminded me of:

This is why diversity of thought matters so much in early-stage startups.
It’s not just about background. It’s about vision. Your blind spot might be someone else’s superpower.

That moment reminded me why I love working on teams where people don’t think the same. Where someone new, or quiet, or differently wired sees what everyone else missed.

Because in the end, we don’t figure things out despite our differences—we figure them out because of them.

Alignment

Stuck? Regroup. Unstuck? Run.

In the escape room, people naturally formed mini working groups. We were solving different parts of the puzzle in parallel. But when we got stuck—we regrouped. Shared what we’d seen. Pieced things together.

At work, we often move like this too: async, chaotic, full-speed ahead. But when alignment drops? We pause. We talk. We ask: what are we missing?

And just like in the game, we don’t ask for help (or clues) until the whole team agrees we’re stuck.

What it reminded me of:

Alignment doesn’t have to be constant. But it has to happen at key moments—or progress stalls.

Conflicts

We all see the same thing—until we don’t.

One teammate said confidently, “It’s the fifth word on the page—that’s our clue.” I paused. “I think it’s the fiftieth.”

He was louder. More certain. But I decided to quietly count. It was the fiftieth. And it unlocked the next puzzle.

In early-stage startups, this kind of micro-conflict happens all the time. People bring different assumptions, experiences, and instincts to the table. Not because they’re wrong—but because they’re looking at the same problem from different angles.

What it reminded me of:

Not all conflicts are arguments. Sometimes, they’re just perspective mismatches. The win often goes to the one who keeps looking, not the one who talks louder.

Distractions v.s. Nonlinear Progress

Some clues are just… noise. You don’t need to solve everything to get out.

After we escaped—with 8 minutes and 30 seconds to spare—the staff told us something surprising:

“You completely skipped two puzzles—and still made it out.”

Wait—what?!

We’d been obsessing over certain props and patterns, assuming they had meaning. Turns out, they didn’t. We didn’t need them. On the flip side, there were actual meaningful clues, we didn’t even notice we skipped them.

And somehow, that felt... familiar.

In startups, we often chase every shiny clue. Every “maybe this will work” idea. But sometimes, the path forward is nonlinear. You don’t need to follow every breadcrumb. You just need to find a path that works.

What it reminded me of:

Success doesn’t require solving every puzzle. It requires knowing which ones actually matter.
And sometimes? Skipping is a strategy.

Priorities

Someone has to decide when the lights stay on—or off.

In the escape room, half the team needed lights off to find glow-in-the-dark clues. The rest needed them on to keep solving another puzzle.

So the lights flipped. On. Off. On. Off.

Eventually, someone gently asked, “Can we turn the lights back on now?” That question created a pause. And the team that needed darkness said, “We just need a bit longer.” Everyone adjusted.

That’s prioritization.
It’s not about being right. It’s about listening, choosing, and moving forward—together.

What it reminded me of:

Competing priorities are part of the startup experience.
The goal isn’t to shut one down—it’s to understand both, create space for investigation, and move forward with shared buy-in.

Celebration

Small wins = big momentum

Every time someone cracked a clue, the room lit up. Cheers. Fist bumps. High fives. We kept saying, “We’re a great team.” And we meant it.

It wasn’t just the puzzle-solving—it was the energy we created together. Someone would spot a hidden symbol or decode a riddle, and others would instantly respond with, “Great job!” or “You crushed that.” We gave each other props, literally patted each other on the back. And each time we solved something, we got louder, faster, better.

But there were also moments of quiet brilliance. One person had discovered a key clue earlier on—but never announced it. They just kept searching, quietly. Turns out? That clue ended up being the final missing piece. The thing that got us out of the room.

What it reminded me of:

Celebration isn’t just about recognition—it’s about energy.
It lifts the team, fuels belief, and gives everyone the spark to keep going—one puzzle at a time.

Leadership

Let the team figure it out—but help them stay focused.

In early-stage startups, leadership looks different. You don’t always have the answers. Sometimes your best move is to step back and create space.

In the escape room, imagine one person barking orders the entire time. Not only would it kill the vibe—it would block progress. Because no one person can see everything.

But leadership isn’t about disappearing, either. When distractions pop up—when the team fixates on a “puzzle” that might not matter—leaders have to help the team zoom out.

Remember those two puzzles we completely skipped in the escape room? A leader who insisted on solving everything might’ve slowed us down. Instead, we stayed focused on what was working.

What it reminded me of:

Great leadership means trusting the team to figure things out—
and stepping in just enough to ask, “Is this puzzle actually worth solving?”

It’s not about having all the answers.
It’s about helping the team stay on the right puzzle.

Which Zone Are You In?

As we worked our way through that escape room—solving clues, stumbling over distractions, cheering through breakthroughs—it dawned on me.:

Startups don’t just feel like escape rooms.
They function like them too.

That’s when I created the Startup Escape Room Quadrant—a simple way to understand where your team might be right now… and what you might need to move forward.

Here’s how it works: X-axis: Level of Chaos → Low to High; Y-axis: Level of Progress → Slow to Fast

• Speeding Zone (I): You’re moving fast—but it’s messy, reactive, and hard to sustain. -> Strategy: Slow down to sync up. Re-align roles, reduce noise, and refocus energy.
• Gearing Zone (II): The team is in sync. There’s clarity, momentum, and minimal friction. -> Strategy: Protect this zone. Minimize distractions and double down on what’s working.
• Loading Zone (III): It’s peaceful… but too quiet. Progress is slow and motivation is low. -> Strategy: Inject urgency. Set small wins or new challenges to restart momentum.
• Spiraling Zone (IV): Everyone’s spinning. Nothing’s landing. Priorities are unclear. -> Strategy: Stop. Breathe. Pick one problem to solve. Create a quick win and rebuild clarity.

Typically Early Stage Startups are in Zone I or IV while Late Stage Startups are in Zone II and Zone III. Of course, there could be exceptions.

💡 Try this with your team:

Ask: “Which quadrant are we in today?”
Then ask: “What would it take to move one square up… or one square left?”

Final Thought

Escape rooms don’t teach you to avoid chaos. They teach you how to move through it. Same with startups. Stay curious. Listen closely. And always check behind the painting.Final Thought

Escape rooms don’t teach you to avoid chaos. They teach you to navigate it—with intention, trust, and persistence. And that’s exactly what early-stage startups require.

Every section of this experience brought its own insight:

• Getting Out: Urgency drives momentum—but shared purpose keeps you moving in the same direction.
• Figuring Out: People will surprise you. Their background, quirks, and perspective are the strategy.
• Alignment: You don’t need perfect coordination—but you do need regular regrouping.
• Conflicts: Same problem, different angles. Respect the quiet perspectives.
• Distractions v.s. Nonlinear Progress: Not every clue is worth solving. You don't need to solve everything to get out.
• Priorities: At some point, someone has to decide where we focus.
• Leadership: You don’t need all the answers—but you do need to ask the right questions.
• Celebration: Small wins are what move us forward. And often, they’re the glue.

It’s messy. It’s uncertain. But it’s always figure-out-able.

Together. One clue at a time.