-- - Kristen Buttery
Recruiting Coordinator, Investment Banking
Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation
About Venture Up's Company Story & History
Venture Up was conceived in a snowbound chalet in Chamonix, France, in 1983. After six months of climbing and skiing in the Alps, the two founders—fresh out of graduate school at the University of Arizona—decided to create a company that would support the lifestyle they valued: challenge and shared experiences. The goal was simple: introduce people with little or no outdoor experience to activities that felt high-stakes, structured, and undeniably fun.
Back in Arizona, they began guiding “first-timers” rock climbing on Camelback Mountain, mountaineering on the volcanoes of Mexico, and trekking in the Himalayas. Participants returned to work energized and told their bosses. Soon, companies began calling, asking for what they described as “team building.”
The shift was organic. What worked on a rope line translated into the workplace: clear direction, shared challenge, and structured participation. When Venture Up called the Yellow Pages to streamline its listing, they created one. “Team Building” first appeared in 1985.
In the early years, the founders took on a range of unexpected assignments, from rigging fashion model shoots, assisting with film projects, and even climbing a church tower to repair a bell. Adaptability became part of how the company operated. As demand increased, the work extended beyond Arizona to national and international programs, including executive assignments for Shell Oil on Sakhalin Island in Russia and programs in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Early publicity brought wider attention. Invitations followed, from conference organizers, corporate leaders, and government agencies. The expansion happened without advertising. People experienced the programs, returned to work, and asked for more.
More than 500,000 participants have taken part in Venture Up programs since 1983. Their feedback refined the work. Their return business sustained it.
Testimonials
Philosophy
Venture Up has a long-standing track record, serving more than 500,000 clients since we began in 1983. As corporate training technologies began shifting toward integrated learning models, Venture Up was on the forefront as one of the pioneers in corporate experiential learning.
The Venture Up experience integrates cognitive, emotional and physical awareness and perceptions. Our philosophy is rooted in the power of the individual in creating a high performance team and hence a successful organization.
At Venture Up we deal with large and small scale issues affecting organizations of all types and sizes. In motivating people toward optimum performance as team players, Venture Up provides programs to make people more aware of their abilities to effect change.
Our programs are flexible enough to be combined with existing corporate training programs, or may be designed to target clients’ objectives. The exercises of a typical program establish trust and create a positive learning environment that enables people of all professional levels to become more creative and innovative in their thinking and problem solving. We aim to remove barriers that blocked them from trying something new and inspire them to look at problems from many points of view.
Programs are designed to be fun and challenging but geared for success. Our goal is to build relationships through positive feedback, recognition and reward. The result: team players leave with an action plan and are willing to try new ideas and look for new solutions back on the job.
Quality Service
Venture Up’s focus on quality is here to stay. In an age of global competition, quality and service will remain top priorities for successful
organizations for many years to come.
We view quality as a vision of doing things right the first time for the ultimate purpose of creating and keeping customers. We adhere to the principles captured by the Harvard Business Review that caution against false goals of many activity-driven quality programs. We believe strongly in the need for measurable long-term results on the job. Anything short of exceeding customers’ expectations and impacting organizational performance is activity for activity sake and not part of the quality process.
The success of any organization is dependent on the individual commitment of each employee to a common goal. Research has overwhelmingly demonstrated the need for individuals to feel a sense of ownership and pride in their work.
We work with organizations to help them maximize individual and organizational performance. It is through the accomplishment of common goals, through combined individual talents that teams are forged and true quality is achieved.
Vision
Our vision is a workplace with individuals committed to a common goal contributing their talents with self-motivated initiative, ownership and organizational pride.
Mission
Our mission is to provide realistic job-related learning experiences which empower individuals to contribute to common goals through effective individual and team behaviors; to work with organizations and individuals to ensure long term change and applications to the job.
Results
Our success is measured by the results of our clients, and is reflected in the quality of our staff. We practice our beliefs.
