Who is in the room.
And how to be in it.
Invite-led. Approval-based.
Decision-makers only. If you came only to observe, this is the wrong room.
We review every seat, because the value of this room is who else is in it. A commitment only carries weight if the person making it has the authority to act, so that is the test: can you move something, and will you.
The room is built backwards from the conversations that need to happen, not forwards from how many tickets we can sell.
Five ways into the room.
Every pass includes the capital floor for the full day. Roundtable applications open a month before the edition, and we aim to place everyone in at least one. Pricing is confirmed with your acceptance.
Capital, by thesis.
Build conviction faster. Founders are reviewed against your cluster and stage before the room opens, and the closed rooms put you with the operators and corporates who tell you whether the market is real. At Edition I the demand side went on the record: corporates on what they would buy, public capital on what it would de-risk, published within two weeks.
- Founders surfaced by cluster, stage, and live need
- Roundtable applications across your cluster
- Visible to founders inside every roundtable you join
- Optional booth for full-day floor presence, capped at 20
- Nominate one founder for review, subject to fit
The market, before it is priced.
For family offices, LPs, pension funds and endowments deciding where to commit. You sit with the corporates who would have to buy and the operators who would have to build, which is where a thesis holds or does not. The format follows the cluster: sometimes mixed, sometimes allocators only.
- Demand-side validation direct from corporates and procurement leads
- Constraints named before they are priced, in rooms capital rarely sits in
- Fund economics discussed openly, including where fee structures obstruct the work
- Nominate one manager or co-investor for review, subject to fit
Raising, or about to.
You are preparing capital, scaling a team, or building deployment options. We filter the investor side to your stage and cluster. Routing is by fit, not by pitch, so you leave with a second call booked rather than a stack of cards.
- Matched to investors active in your cluster by thesis and stage
- Curated routing rather than a pitch queue
- Eligible for the closed-door rooms by stage
- Nominate one investor or buyer for review, subject to fit
The system around the capital.
The procurement lead who can commit, the innovation director who can pilot, the underwriter deciding what stays insurable. Corporates, insurers, policy leaders, infrastructure builders and scientists whose decisions shape what scales. Nestlé, Roche, Holcim, EY and Zurich Insurance were in the room at Edition I.
- Placed by procurement, innovation, or strategic relevance to your cluster
- Roundtable presence on sector constraints alongside investors
- Asked what the next edition should work on
Shaping the room itself.
Bring a question rather than attend one. Partners co-design the themes, the sessions and the live case the work is built on.
- Host or anchor a closed-door room
- Bring your network as a delegation
- Shape a cluster across editions
Venture capital investors, entrepreneurs, corporations and policymakers. Not on a stage. At a table. Literally bringing a diverse stakeholder group into one conversation.
Markus Fischer · EY & NEOS · ex-Ørsted, Tesla, UN
The room opens after the fit is clear.
Closed rooms · active theses · limited seats
A short list of commitments.
Come to work, not to present
Come knowing what you have to give, not only what you came to find: capital, companies, infrastructure, insight, or partnerships. In the closed rooms you build credibility by naming the constraint you actually face, not by performing a deck.
Phones away in the closed rooms
Presence is the price of a real contribution. Everyone here was considered as carefully as you were, so assume the person opposite you is worth your full attention.
Anonymous in the record, except the host
The rooms run under the Chatham House Rule. What is decided is published; who said it stays in the room. Only the host of a session is named.
Things people ask before applying.
How does the application work?+
Fill out one form. We review in waves as the edition takes shape. If there is fit, we send confirmation and payment details. If not, we tell you. We respond to every application.
How do roundtable applications work?+
One month before the event, we publish the programme. From that moment, every confirmed attendee can apply for the closed-door roundtables they want to be in. Spaces are capped at twenty per room. We aim to place every attendee in at least one roundtable, but we cannot guarantee it. Last-minute applications run against rooms that are already filling. If a roundtable is full and a space opens on the day, the attendees waiting at the door get in. If you cannot accept this, this is not the room for you.
What does my pass give me access to?+
Every ticket and invite includes full access to the capital floor and all networking areas across the day. Closed-door roundtables are by application after the programme drops. Booth holders and sponsor tiers get additional access beyond this.
What does the day actually look like?+
One day, two layers. The Capital Floor where intent is visible and the room moves with it. The Backroom where the constraints get worked, capped at twenty per session. The full schedule confirms with your acceptance.
How does nomination work?+
Confirmed attendees can nominate one person whose presence would sharpen the room: a founder, investor, buyer, or operator they want in their cluster. Nominations are reviewed against the same criteria as direct applications. Acceptance is not guaranteed. Nominees who pay for their own pass keep their nominator's right intact.
Can I send a colleague instead?+
We accept named individuals, not transferable seats. If a colleague is a better fit, ask them to apply directly.
Apply to be considered for The Decision Room.
Edition II runs in Zürich on 11 May 2027. We review in waves as the edition takes shape.