Greater Philadelphia · By Invitation Only
A private network of genuinely fascinating people. Small lunches, quarterly Summits, and real conversations. No agenda, no pitch, and no name tags that reduce anyone to a job title.
A few years ago, we built something we were genuinely proud of. The idea was simple: gather a small group of fascinating people for lunch, with no agenda and no pitch, and see what happened.
What happened was remarkable. We had an Eagles president in the room days after the Super Bowl. A legendary Philadelphia chef pulling back the curtain on how he built an empire one table at a time. A battery expert explaining the future of energy to a room that forgot to eat lunch.
Then COVID happened, and we paused.
There is an old saying in this group: to be interesting, be interested. We have been interested for a while. Now we are back to being interesting.
The Interesting People Network is back. The lunches, the quarterly Summits, and soon, a podcast. If you were part of the original network, you are re-invited. If you are new here, welcome. This is probably the best invitation you will get this month.
The Interesting People Network is exactly what it sounds like. An exclusive community of interesting people across Greater Philadelphia: entrepreneurs, executives, founders, and community leaders, diverse in age, industry, and experience. What they share is that they are successful and, more importantly, genuinely interesting.
Throughout the year, we bring members together at events designed to be worth your time. That might mean a fireside chat with a Super Bowl winning team president, drinks somewhere you have walked past a hundred times and never been inside, or a quick lunch with four diverse minds.
The network is private and membership is by invitation only. There are no fees. The only application is a short phone conversation with one of us.
To be interesting, be interested.Dale Carnegie
After a brief conversation with one of us, membership opens up four ways to connect with the network.
Your first experience with the network. A small group lunch with four other members where you make real connections, share the goals and challenges that actually matter, and find concrete ways to help each other. It is also your chance to get to know the network and decide your level of involvement.
Four times a year, the full network gathers. Exclusive venues sourced from within the group, an insider conversation with a remarkable speaker, and one standing rule: you cannot leave until you have helped at least one person with something specific.
Monthly conversations with the most interesting people we know, telling stories they have not told anywhere else. Know someone who belongs in that chair? When you join the waitlist, you can nominate a guest.
Your hub between events. A members-only space to stay connected with the other high achievers and connectors in the network, share what you are working on, and ask for the introduction you need.
A few moments from the network. No keynote slides, no rubber chicken, no name badges. Just interesting people in a remarkable room.
The Shooting Lodge · Philadelphia Country Club
Shortly after the Super Bowl victory parade, the Eagles president joined us for an insider’s look at the organization and an unforgettable season.
JG Domestic · The Cira Center
The chef and founder behind Philadelphia’s acclaimed Vetri Cucina, with his business partner, on building a restaurant empire one table at a time. The evening supported the Vetri Community Partnership.
Hilltop House
An intimate evening with the wine expert and former Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board chairman, Wine Enthusiast’s Man of the Year, and the mind behind the Chairman’s Selection program.
Terrain Gardens · Devon Yard
Genlith president John Mitchell on the future of battery technology and what it means for everything else, in partnership with Tesla. A beautiful evening that ran long.
No fees. No formal application. No complicated requirements. Just a conversation and a lunch.
A brief phone conversation with one of us. We just want to make sure the network is a good fit, in both directions.
Your first event. Four other members, one good conversation, and a real sense of what the network can do for you.
There are no requirements beyond joining us at least once a year. The members who give the most tend to get the most back.
The waitlist for our next revival lunch is forming now. Tell us a little about yourself and one of us will reach out personally to set up a quick call.
Stay Interesting, my friends.
We keep this simple. No fees, no unwanted solicitations, no complicated requirements.
All events are by invitation only.
Members may occasionally bring a guest, introducing other interesting people to the group.
We ask every member to attend at least one event a year.
Members should live close enough to join events across Greater Philadelphia.
Out of respect for everyone’s privacy, the member directory is for members only and is never to be used to solicit other members.
The Interesting People Network is the brainchild of Erik and Paul Strid, Founding Partners of Concentus Wealth Advisors. They kept meeting fascinating people across Philadelphia and built the IPN to bring everyone into the same room.
Founding Partner
Erik co-founded Concentus Wealth Advisors and serves high-net-worth families as both fiduciary and friend. He started the IPN with Paul because the most interesting hours of his year kept happening at small tables with people who would never otherwise have met.
Founding Partner
Paul co-founded Concentus Wealth Advisors with Erik and has spent his career helping families build wealth strategies that go well beyond investments. He has been bringing interesting people together over good meals for longer than the IPN has had a name.
