A Founding Manifesto

In ages of rapid progress, the driving force is usually found in unscalable places.

Athens. Baghdad. Florence. Industrial Britain. In each case, the breakthroughs that defined an era were first dreamt up, argued over, and set in motion by small groups of people meeting — mostly over dinner — before the world knew what they were doing.

We are living in just such a moment now. And we think this is missing.

In the late 18th century, an extraordinary group met every full moon at a house in Birmingham. Many were in their twenties. Between them: the steam engine, the discovery of oxygen, the foundations of evolutionary theory, the invention of the consumer brand. They brought wild schemes and real problems and helped each other fix both. Darwin wanted to tow icebergs to the equator. Had Watt not met Boulton at one of those dinners, his engine might never have left Birmingham. The butterfly effect, writ large.

What gave those evenings their strength was not genius alone. It was the informality, the inefficiency, and the focus on relationships over outcomes.

We are attempting to recreate the conditions.

Dinner

is a monthly gathering of experimenters, builders, and thinkers early in their journeys. Ten to fifteen people, highly curated, one remarkable guest. People around our table have been working on reversing brain ageing, building rocket ships, and developing infrastructure across emerging markets.

Invite only. Deliberately informal. Moving between cities — London, Paris, Berlin, Stockholm, and further — because the best thinking has never respected borders.

We think our age needs this. We’re ready to find the people who will define it.

If we haven’t already found you, you can find us: here

Dîner. Cena. Abendessen. 晚飯. عشاء. Ужин. The word changes. The idea does not.

Joseph Wright of Derby · An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump · 1768 · National Gallery, London