JoelPilger.com is a proud sponsor of Making Midwest 2026.

Fuse is a private founder dinner. 12-20 seats. One long table. Real talk about running a creative studio.

No stage, no agenda slides, no networking. The format is simple: we eat, we talk, we leave with sharper thinking and a few new peers worth knowing.

Who's at the table.

Studio founders, managing directors, and creative leaders running production companies, design studios, motion shops, and post houses. Most run businesses between $1M and $10M. Some bigger, some smaller. All operating, all curious, all generous with what they know.

How it works.

RSVP holds your seat. Closer to the date you'll receive logistics with the venue, time, and any pre-dinner gathering details. Cost is split equally among attendees on the night, typically $150 to $300 per person depending on city and venue. No profit, no markup. Just shared cost, shared stories.

The spirit.

Honest. High-trust. What's said at the table stays at the table. The conversations that strengthen your business for the next five years rarely happen on a stage. They happen at dinners like this.

Hosted by Joel Pilger.