Founder Dinner. The right people. Around one table.
Private dinners in Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma for founders, operators, investors and builders who would rather have one meaningful conversation than another hundred connections.
Another room. Another lanyard. Another hundred hellos.
Founder Dinner is the other thing.
One table.
A good room.
An unhurried evening.
Meet people worth knowing.
Six to ten people. One table. No pitches.
Every seat is set on purpose: enough in common to connect, enough difference to keep it interesting. Turn the table to see who might be sitting across from you.
Founder
- Brings
- The view from zero to one, usually on too little sleep.
- Ask them about
- How they found their first ten customers.
Example seats, not actual guests. Every table is different.
An evening in four parts.
Only the first one involves a form.
A few minutes
Apply
Tell us what you’re building, where you are, and the kind of people you’d enjoy meeting. A person reads every application.
Before dinner
We set the table
We choose the restaurant: somewhere worth the trip, with a private table and a menu chosen for the evening. Then we seat six to ten people who should meet.
On the night
Dinner
Your host makes the introductions, then gets out of the way. The rest is conversation.
The weeks that follow
After
Everyone you sat with is on your card, with the dinner noted. Then follow-ups, the introductions that should happen, and an invitation to the next table.
Exceptional people. Exceptional places.
No stage, no panel, no one working the room. A private table in a restaurant we’d go to on our own, and an evening paced for real conversation.
- Six to ten seats
- Small enough to share one conversation, big enough for a few surprises.
- Seated on purpose
- Every guest is chosen with the rest of the table in mind.
- Rooms worth the trip
- Chosen for the food, and for being able to hear each other.
- No pitches
- Leave the deck at home. The evening is better without it.
- Come alone
- Most people do. It’s the fastest way to meet everyone.
- Not a one-off
- The point is to keep seeing good people.
A place card you keep.
Every member gets a Founder Dinner card on their phone. Share it across the table with a tap or a scan, save the people you meet in one touch, and keep every table you’ve sat at: who was there, where it was, and what you talked about.
Your card
Shared across the table
Your tables
Every dinner, everyone there
Someone you met
With the dinner and your note
Guest pass
In your phone’s wallet
- Tap or scan
- Share your card across the table. Nothing to download, nothing to type.
- Saved in one touch
- Their details go straight to your phone’s contacts, with the dinner noted.
- Every table, remembered
- Who was there, where it was, and what you talked about, in one place.
- Yours to control
- You choose what your card shows. Your notes stay yours.
An example card. Names only ever appear for real members.
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Private dinners for people building what’s next.
Curious. Generous. Ambitious. Actually building something.
- Founders
- Operators
- Investors
- Independent builders
- Technologists
- Creatives
- Business owners
- Agency owners
We look for people who add to the conversation. If you’re mainly coming to sell something, this isn’t your table.
Coming soon to a city near you.
The first tables are in Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma. Somewhere else? Apply anyway and tell us your city. It helps us decide where to set tables next.
After dinner.
None of this exists yet. Dinner comes first. Over time, with the people at the first tables, we’d like Founder Dinner to grow into a few more things.
Morning coffee
A quieter, earlier version of the same idea.
Long walks
Two or three people, a long loop, no agenda.
Introductions
When someone at your table should meet someone at another.
Private gatherings
Hosted by guests, for the people they think should meet.
Special dinners
A chef, a place, a reason. A little bigger, same rules.
Fair questions.
Something else on your mind? Ask it in your application.
Who is Founder Dinner for?
People who are actively building or running something: founders, operators, investors, independent builders, technologists, creatives, business owners and agency owners. More than the title, we care how you show up. Curious, generous, and interested in the people around you.
How are guests chosen?
A person reads every application. Each table is put together on purpose, with enough in common to connect and enough difference to keep it interesting. Applying doesn’t guarantee a seat at a particular dinner, and we’ll be straight with you about timing.
How many people are at a table?
Usually six to ten. Small enough that everyone shares one conversation, big enough that you meet someone you wouldn’t have found on your own.
What does it cost?
We’re setting the first tables now and haven’t announced pricing. If a dinner has a cost, you’ll know exactly what it is before you say yes.
Where do the dinners happen?
We’re starting in Seattle, Bellevue and Tacoma, in restaurants we’d happily go to on our own. Somewhere else? Apply anyway and tell us your city. It helps us decide where to set tables next.
Can I pitch, sell or recruit at dinner?
Please don’t. People can tell, and the evening is better without it. If something good comes out of a conversation, that’s what follow-ups are for.
Can I bring a cofounder or a friend?
Come alone if you can. You’ll meet more people that way. If someone you know would be a great fit, send them the link so they can apply for their own seat.
What happens after I apply?
We read your application and email you when there’s a table that fits. Early on that can take a little while. We’d rather get the table right than rush it.
Better conversations start with the right table.
Apply in a few minutes. A person reads every application, and we’ll write when there’s a seat that fits.
Apply for a seatFounding guests help shape what Founder Dinner becomes: the format, the cities, and who sits down next.