about freestyle+
OPEN MINDS. OPEN DOORS.
OUR VISION
We believe everyone should be empowered to build resilience in their minds, confidence in their voice, and communities where they feel seen. Because cultivating awareness of how we think, feel, and find joy creates opportunity—especially for voices that aren’t often heard.
Freestyle+ began as Speechless Inc. and FLS Academy: two entities with a common mission to build authenticity and confidence through improvisation. In 2013, Anthony Veneziale and Sammy Wegent founded Speechless Inc. to show people how to be themselves and be heard through science-backed improv games. In 2018, Anthony Veneziale, Chris Sullivan, and Andrew Bancroft (all members of Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning Broadway show, Freestyle Love Supreme) founded the FLS Academy to foster diverse creative voices using improvised freestyle rap.
GAME RECOGNIZES GAME
Then, the weight of the world got a whole lot heavier. The US Surgeon General declared a national mental health crisis, and a global pandemic brought long-simmering feelings of disconnection, loneliness, and burnout to a boiling point. Speechless and FLSA saw an opportunity to use active mindfulness to make connection, confidence, creativity, and mental fitness a part of people's daily lives—at a time when the world needed a little levity & our brains needed a little love. So, the two merged their talents to create freestyle+: a team with deep industry experience, and an even deeper roster of talent.
SAME PLAYERS, NEW JERSEYS
Today, freestyle+ works to bring mental fitness to the world through active mindfulness approaches based in improvisation and musicality. And, we’re backed by an all-star team of investors and coaches who are as serious about play as we are.
Our team has won a Tony Award, delivered learning experiences on 6 continents to Fortune 500 clients like Google, Apple, and Disney, and performed the first improvised Ted Talk on a global stage. (Okay, enough horn-tooting.)
And, we’re not stopping there. Because, no matter how many trophies we have in our trophy case, when it comes to our mission to strengthen minds and amplify non-centered voices, our work is never done.
humans of freestyle+
THERE’S NO ‘AI’ IN ‘TEAM’
At freestyle+, our entire crew shapes our culture and operating values. The diversity of minds and voices in our company is our greatest strength.
We believe that a positive and supportive work environment empowers everyone to do their best. We also believe that being your full authentic self is essential in this environment. Our values are evident in the way we work together: we are committed to our mission of supporting clients and providing a joyful experience, while always putting our humanity first.
freestyle+ Board of Advisors
-
Naomi Bagodas
Best selling author, Stanford Lecturer, Thought leader on humor in the workplace, TED/Keynote speaker
-
Tarik Davis
Co-Star of the Amber Ruffin Show, Cast member of Freestyle Love Supreme, Improvisation thought leader
-
Charles Limb
Neuroscience rockstar UCSF, Head of Otolaryngology Sound and Music Perception Lab
-
Chet Hasse
Chief Android Advocate at Google, Author, Evangelist and expert on platform graphics software
-
Nicole Johnson
Founder and Creative Director of Harriet Tubman Effect, Internal DEI transformation expert
-
Utkarsh Ambudkar
Star of World's Best on Disney Plus, Co-star of Ghosts on CBS, Cast member of Freestyle Love Supreme, Social media maven
STAY CURIOUS. BE COURAGEOUS.
STAY CURIOUS. BE COURAGEOUS.
GET UNCOMFORTABLE. COMFORTABLY.
GET UNCOMFORTABLE. COMFORTABLY.
A PASS TO PLAY
A PASS TO PLAY
SOME FOLKS WE PLAY WITH
freestyle+ Investors
Brynn Putnam
Co-Founder & Former CEO, MIRROR
Jenny & Jon Steingart
Tony Award Winning Broadway Producers, Freestyle Love Supreme
Steve Johnston
President of freestyle+, Former President & Managing Partner, The Second City
Jill Furman
Tony Award Winning Broadway Producer, Hamilton, In the Heights, Freestyle Love Supreme
Eros Resmini
Former CMO, Discord
Todd Olson
Founder & CEO, Pendo
CATCH THE MIC
In every live show, we throw a ‘catchbox’ mic to the crowd to incorporate audience stories into our show.
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Tell us what you’re interested in, and we’ll find transformative ways to meet your goals. We might even throw in a rhyme about YOU to sweeten the deal…
