There is a number above which a dinner becomes an event, and it is lower than you think. Around eighteen, a table can still hold one conversation. Past that, it fragments into performances: a speaker, a room, and the low-grade theatre of people waiting to talk.

Small rooms fix this by arithmetic, not etiquette. When everyone can be heard without raising their voice, status games get expensive and honesty gets cheap. The best ideas I have encountered as an investor were all said quietly, to six people, none of whom were taking notes.

Design for the second hour

The first hour of any gathering is introductions and armour. The second hour is where the real material lives — but only if the room is small enough that nobody has an exit that looks like an upgrade. Build for the second hour and the first takes care of itself.