Founding Principles

Established in San Francisco in 2012

• Refuge A fulfilling human life is balanced between time spent problem solving, focused on goals, and time spent exploring and discovering.  Good People is a refuge from our relentless pursuit of our own ambitions. We come together to wander across the landscape of ideas with no destination, a love for novelty, the joys of unexpected learning.
• Connection Community and friendship are vital human needs.  Most modern cultures do a poor job meeting those needs.  Good People builds connection between strangers through vulnerable and sincere conversations about a wide range of important and timely ideas.
• You Be You What you may own or what you may have achieved isn’t that important to us. We do our best to leave condescension and hierarchies at the door.  We are interested in the contents of your character, in the opinions you carry and in sharing them in a spirit of civility.  All kinds of people from all walks of life, all ages, all ethnicities, sexual and gender identities, political and religious ideologies are welcome at our table.
• Curiosity We ask that you temporarily put down the things you are most ardently pursuing.  Through curiosity, we build trust and rapport.  Do your best to let go of your agenda, listen and offer what you sincerely think and feel.  Whatever you want most, from a romance to an investor or donor, to hiring or getting hired, is not why we’re here.  You can pick that up again tomorrow.
• Civil Discourse Our community is built on inquiry. Civil discourse across real differences is vital to a thriving civilization.  Our societies will remain resilient and peaceful only if we can find ways to break bread and disagree with friends across the table.  Community does not require us all to hold identical views or even reconcile our differences of opinion. At our gatherings we express strong opinions lightly held and our tone is one of respect.
• Freedom of Expression Feel free to express your thoughts and understanding.  What is shared at our gatherings will be kept in confidence.  Nothing revealed here may be broadcast for the general public, at least not without explicit permission from the person who opened up.
• Food and Drink All people eat.  Amazing feasts are a timeless way to connect with those we don’t know, to move people quickly from strangers to friends.  Food and drink can connect us in ways few other shared activities can.  We give our chefs a lot of creative freedom, but ask them to accommodate your dietary needs. Most of them work with small, local and organic producers whenever possible.  This results in family style meals, innovative seasonal menus that express an evolving mixture of culinary traditions. 
• Welcome Home Our philosophy of hospitality breaks with conventions; we are not a restaurant, hotel, cafe or social club as you’ve known these things.  We don’t have waiters.  Our host pours drinks.  We all help a little with passing around food at meals and with tidying up.  At our GP gatherings, please help yourself and be at home, as you would in the kitchen of family or a good friend.

Who are we?

Good People is a community built around meaningful conversations and delicious feasts, a moveable social club for those who value authenticity, a better way to connect with each other.  

Most of our events are family style dinners, in major cities throughout the world, at Camp Earnest near Yosemite and occasionally with foraged ingredients out in the wilderness.

So far, thousands of locals and visitors have attended our dinners, overnights and retreats, nearly 400 of them and counting. We come together to put down our agendas, and delve into the topics that fundamentally shape our world.

Our community was born from a simple insight: When we are invited to show up as whole curious human beings and drop into deep sincere conversations, magic happens. Even the most luxurious event, perfectly executed, can feel unbearable if the people present are stuck in traditional networking. No one likes to be treated like a transaction center. And the simplest but lovingly crafted meal, connecting with warm-hearted, open and inspiring friends, can alter the course of our entire lives.

We host anywhere from 2 to 6 events per month, in the Bay Area, at Camp Earnest or at private homes in cities throughout the world.  Here's a sampling of our dinners for just one client, Lohika and Capgemini in 2022.

We typically serve a family style dinner for about 40 guests, prepared by a professional chef.  Each also includes a speaker on a particular topic of wide ranging interest.  Our largest events have served over 100 guests and we're excited to stretch the possibilities for bringing depth and connection to even larger groups in the years to come.

Who are good people?

​They are our best selves, when we rise above tribalism and explore big ideas. Join us for incredible food, meaningful conversations and lots of laughter.