An invitation-only evening where you are introduced, by name, to the people worth meeting — so the night starts somewhere better than small talk.
Meeting someone in the Bay Area has quietly become the hardest easy thing there is.
Everyone is on the apps and nobody is enjoying them. The alternative is a loud bar on a Friday and the hope that something happens on its own, which it rarely does. We wanted a third option: an evening you are invited to rather than one you turn up at, where the awkward part has already been handled for you.
A name tag, a crowded room, and a lot of strangers. You repeat the same opening line ten times and leave remembering none of it.
You tell us a little about yourself on arrival. Over the evening we walk you over to three or four people worth meeting and tell you both why — then get out of the way.
Sold until the room is full. Whoever turns up, turns up.
Guests are invited and the room is held evenly, so it stays balanced and you are never working a crowd.
Every other mixer in this city hands you a name tag and wishes you luck. Ours runs to a shape, and the shape is the reason people come back.
Doors open, the bar is open, and there is no rush. Come when it suits you.
A couple of minutes, in your own words — what you are into, and the sort of person you would actually like to meet. Nothing formal, and nobody sees it but us.
Have a drink, talk to whoever you like, let the room fill up. In the background we are working out who ought to meet whom.
Three or four introductions over the evening, each one chosen for you. We bring you across, tell you both why we thought you should meet, and then leave you to it.
This is not speed dating, and it is not a room of strangers in name tags.
Nothing runs on a timer, nobody rotates, and you never repeat your opening line to the whole room. The introductions are what you are paying for — the rest is a good bar on a good evening.
These are kept deliberately small and they do not run often. When an evening is full it is full, and the next one is some way off.
We asked everyone how the San Jose evening went. Three things came back again and again.
The comparison guests kept drawing was with mixers where you are left to your own devices in a crowded room. Being walked over to someone, with a reason, was the difference they noticed.
Not small talk and not an interview. People told us they met others they genuinely connected with, and that the conversations were worth having on their own terms.
The most common response by some distance was asking when we are doing it again, and whether they can bring a friend.
A summary of what guests told us after the last evening, in our words. We are collecting theirs for next time.
Nearly everyone does, and the format assumes it. You are introduced to people by name over the course of the evening, so there is no point where you are standing on your own working up the nerve.
From what you tell us about yourself on the night — a couple of minutes, in your own words. We work out who ought to meet whom and then make three or four introductions for you. It is done by hand, which is why these evenings stay small and why admission is by invitation.
No. Nothing is on a timer and nobody rotates. You are introduced to a few people chosen for you and then left to talk for as long as you like, or to go and talk to someone else entirely.
No. Every room we book has a proper non-alcoholic list, and a good number of people stay on mocktails all evening. Nobody notices, and nobody asks.
Working adults from across the Bay, generally mid-twenties through late thirties. Seats are held evenly on both sides so the room stays balanced.
We name the quarter when seats open and send the address and arrival details to guests the week of.
Yes, we bring a photographer. Say the word at the door and we will keep you out of all of it, no explanation needed.
Seats open to the list first. One letter per evening, nothing in between, and we do not pass your address to anyone.
Noted. You will hear from us first.