Room Escape Artist

Part of running an escape room business is being able to step away from it… to play escape rooms, visit RECON, or take some time for yourself and your family. That’s hard to do. However, to build a sustainable industry, it’s important that we all grow sustainable businesses that can last into the future.

Is your business running you?

Kim and Will Rutherford have empowered their team to tend to the everyday tasks, allowing them to focus on the big picture and – gasp! – go on vacation. They will share their approach to developing a stronger team and freeing themselves from their escape room… while producing the top-rated game in the United States.

We’re thrilled to welcome Will and Kim to the RECON stage!

About Will

Will Rutherford, together with his wife Kim, started Escape Artist Greenville in a tiny office space in a small South Carolina town and over the past 10 years have grown it to a prime enthusiast destination. Escape Artist has been awarded a TERPECA Top Room award for 4 different experiences, including the Chimera Corp Saga which is currently ranked #1 in the country. Will is also a part-owner and designer for Keepers of Balance in Charlotte, NC which has been awarded a TERPECA Top Room award and Golden Lock award in its first year of operation.

As a game designer, Will is obsessed with developing methods to tell better stories with the escape room medium. He attributes much of Escape Artist’s success to empowering his team to make creative decisions and is proud to be building more careers for creative professionals.

About Kim

Kim Rutherford has been the co-creator and co-owner of Escape Artist Greenville for the past 10 years. Along with husband, Will, they have designed and built 11 escape rooms, 4 of those being awarded a TERPECA Top Room Award. Kim’s specialty is world-building, which shines through in Escape Artist’s Chimera Corp Saga, an over three hour experience which spans multiple stories and genres into one epic conclusion. She is also a part-owner and designer at Keepers of Balance and loves the opportunities this allows to work alongside other amazing creators and story-tellers.

Kim is happiest covered in sawdust, fabricating one of the many props and set pieces that can be found in all of the award-winning escape rooms.

Listen to Will & Kim on REPOD

They were guests on REPOD S10E3: