Decom - What is it?

In the most simple words - Decom is about decompressing from real world if only for a short time - giving you and your friends a safe space to decompress from the business world, the social scene, the family interactions - a concept often lost to the reminiscences about salons of old, but returning here with a 21st century twist.

Decom got its start after a particularly stifling business networking event in London. After an evening of shaking hands, networking profusely, and creating leads, Sanford found himself rather burnt out on business talk after spinning conversations about "founders equity", "enabling technology" and chances for "synergies from similar paradigms". After being invited to an after-event dinner, he expected more of the same - and was pleasantly surprised to find his dinner companions in London had no interest in talking business at the table. Conversation ranged from British and American politics, international affairs, sporting events, recent literary topics - anything other than the standard business fare. This was not a group of old friends who had been gathering regularly - this was a group of fifteen people enjoying the conversation of the moment. The experience was so rejuvenating, Sanford decided to see if he could offer a similiar opportunity to people in the entrepreneural industry - a "third-space" to enable others to enjoy conversations that did not revolve around celebrity or sales - and allow networking to benefit from a different bond: on common interests and learning between others rather than purely potentially finanical gain.

The Decompression Chamber of Commerce - as it was ungainly called in 2001 - started with an Italian dinner on the Thames with six people - focusing on similar veins of discussion - but without discussing the job title, company names or even last name of any individual. At the end of the dinner, the ex-pats (Americans we were) found a new set of Brits to connect with - and the premise of Decom was born.

Today, Decom in London sports a membership of over 350 members who are invited to a monthly dinner with a price fixe meal and a guarantee of three rules:

No last names, business cards or titles are used at the dinner
No significant others are brought to the dinner, unless the other is the kind of person who would come to these kind of events, and
Be prepared to move from your seat half-way through the dining experience.

While these rules seem unusual, the goal has been to create a space where people can talk about interesting topics that define themselves and their interactions beyond the standards of job, title and company. By returning to share interests outside of the work world, friendships are formed - that often become longer lasting business and social relationships. To our credit, we have had two marriages come from introductions at our dinners and countless business opportunities form from breaking bread.

In the four years Decom has been operating, the dinners have grown (one now operates in New York with a list of 250), the personalities have changed - but the premise remains the same: bringing interesting people together for the common good of getting to know one another. At a Decom, you might meet an aspiring writer or novelist, a CEO of a tech company, a civil rights attorney, a barrister working for the Labour party, a strategist working on delivering the next stage of MTV or BBC - but their names will be Rana, Mark, Tracy, Ryan and Fred. At this dinner, you learn that Rana likes brand politics between countries, Ryan speaks of stories in the Labour paty and Fred, well - he discusses the life of being a Swede in London.

If business or social opportunities happen, so be it. But for the three hours of Decom, the space is free of the normal trappings - and yours to share.

Welcome to Decom - and be sure to tell others about it.

To see photos of previous Decoms - please check out: http://www.decom.photocache.com