the business challenge

Toronto — and Canada — overflow with brilliance: founders, artists, journalists, civic builders, and innovators shaping the country’s cultural and commercial fabric. Yet their paths rarely cross in ways that spark true collaboration. The city needed a catalyst — a reason for its brightest minds to slow down, sit down, and dream together.

the solution

Enter the Lucky 12 Dinner Series (L12) — a first-of-its-kind, invitation-only dining platform connecting Toronto’s most dynamic thinkers and doers around one shared table.

No tickets. No sponsorships. No business cards. Just twelve extraordinary people, carefully curated by us and a box of Gravitas, a thought starter game to break down some walls.

The Experience Design

Curated Chemistry: Every guest list was architected for creative collision — CEOs beside choreographers, journalists beside designers.

The Power of the Table: Hosted at iconic venues like Kultura and Victor at Hotel Le Germain, where cuisine met conversation and ideas flowed as freely as the wine.

Purpose with Heart: $10 from every dinner supported The L12 Fund, giving twelve under-resourced individuals access to their own transformational experiences.

The Continuum: What started as dinners evolved into quarterly salons and cultural reunions featuring acclaimed artists and innovators — transforming a table into a movement.

the resultS

From Dinner to Network to Movement.

L12 became Toronto’s benchmark for intimate, purpose-driven connection long before “salon culture” or “belonging economy” became buzzwords.

Impact Highlights

• 100 + leaders engaged across media, design, business, sport, and culture attended

• Sparked new cross-sector collaborations in arts, hospitality, and philanthropy

• Earned press acclaim as “one of Toronto’s most exclusive and purpose-driven tables”

• Reframed Toronto as a city that celebrates its own stars rather than exports them

• Built lasting social capital that influenced future experiential movements

Notable Guests Included:

Aliya Jasmine Sovani, Ashleigh Dempster, Amy Verner, Mark Breslin, Amada Alvaro, Amy Burstyn, Jeffrey Remedios, Jason Dehni, Andrew Coyne, and Russell Smith, to name a few.

our role

As Creator, Curator & Host, Marcello built Lucky 12 from vision to legacy. He conceived the brand architecture, shaped the guest chemistry, and partnered with Toronto’s top culinary venues and chefs to deliver immersive storytelling through taste and conversation.

Marcello designed and moderated every experience — orchestrating flow, tone, and impact — while embedding purpose through The L12 Fund. His stewardship of communications, partnerships, and follow-up experiences kept the momentum alive long after the final course was served.

Legacy

Before “curated networking” was a trend, Lucky 12 Dinner Series © proved that intimacy fuels impact. It reset how Toronto’s creative class connects — showing that when the right twelve people share a table, entire new chapters of a city’s story can begin.