"Who's coming to Brigadoon?" (And why that's the wrong question)

It's the question I get most often: "Who's attending?"

I've borrowed a page from the Telluride Film Festival playbook here. I never publicly announce the participant list, and attendees don't find out who else is coming until a week before we gather. But I can give you a sense of the mix.

This year's Sundance gathering includes a cardiologist, robotics and automation entrepreneurs, technology founders working in AI and cybersecurity, a state-wide elected official, a C-Suite executive from a leading MLS franchise, a small-business marketing advocate, and a global public affairs CEO. One of our featured speakers leads a branding and marketing strategy consultancy and holds a Ph.D. in branding—one of the few people in America with that distinction.

But here's what matters more than any title on that list.

The magic of Brigadoon has never been about collecting business cards from people who do what you do. It's not another industry conference where you swap war stories with your peers and leave with the same perspectives you arrived with.

The real value is in hearing how a cardiologist thinks about process optimization in high-stakes environments, how an elected official navigates complex stakeholder conflicts when everyone wants something different, how an automation entrepreneur approaches scalability challenges that look nothing like yours—but everything like yours.

It's about sitting across from professionals operating at the top of their fields, in disciplines completely outside your wheelhouse, and discovering that their frameworks solve your problems. Their mental models reshape how you think about your work.

I've watched a venture capitalist completely reframe their investment thesis after a conversation with a surgeon about risk assessment. I've seen a marketing executive transform their approach to brand strategy after hearing a chef discuss how they think about designing a restaurant for human behavior.

The problems worth solving don't respect industry boundaries.

They require perspectives you don't have yet. Frameworks you haven't been exposed to. Ways of thinking that don't exist within your professional echo chamber.

That's what happens when you bring together 50+ high-caliber professionals from radically different domains and give them three days to think together—without PowerPoints, without panels, without the performance theater of traditional conferences. Just fireside conversations, family-style dinners, and the kind of unstructured time that lets genuine dialogue emerge.

Under Chatham House Rule, people share what they actually think, not what they'd say on a panel. They bring their genuine questions, their real challenges, their unfiltered insights.

And yes, spending three days at Robert Redford's resort in the shadow of Mount Timpanogos doesn't hurt either.

Brigadoon | February 22-24, 2026 @ Sundance Mountain Resort

If you're tired of industry conferences that feel like echo chambers, if you're ready for conversations that actually change how you think about your work, the full agenda is here: www.brigadoon.live/brigadoon-sundance-2026-agenda.

Come to Utah, you'll have fun and leave smarter.

-Marc

Marc A. Ross

Founder + Chief Curator @ Brigadoon

In 2013, I banned PowerPoints, panels, and name tags. Here's what happened

Brigadoon exists because I was frustrated spending too much time with the same people, thinking the same way.

So in 2013, I started something different.

I began gathering entrepreneurs and thought leaders from different industries, different geographies, different perspectives—united only by curiosity and a belief in the power of conversation. A venture capitalist sitting next to an architect. A tech founder learning from a doctor. A journalist trading insights with a retail executive.

Thirteen years later, it's become something larger than I imagined.

But the core remains: connect people who are shaping commerce and culture, create space for real dialogue, see what emerges.

Why Brigadoon works?

The magic happens when you remove people from their areas of expertise.

Put a successful founder in a room full of other successful founders, and you get pattern recognition. Everyone's solving similar problems, facing similar challenges, speaking similar languages. It's comfortable. It's validating. And it's limiting.

Put that same founder in conversation with someone who thinks completely differently, a designer, an athlete, a scientist, and something shifts. The questions change. The assumptions get challenged. The insights come from unexpected angles.

I've watched a private equity executive rethink his entire approach to talent after a dinner conversation with a cardiologist. I've seen a robotics founder completely reframe a product strategy based on insights from a restaurateur about how people move through spaces.

These aren't networking moments. They're perspective shifts.

What makes Brigadoon different is that I have broken every conference and curation rule.

No PowerPoints. If you can't have the conversation without slides, you're not ready to have the conversation.

No panels. No one is sitting on stage while everyone else passively watches. Everyone participates equally.

No name tags. Your title or organization doesn't matter here. Your ideas do.

No recordings. Brigadoon operates under the Chatham House Rule. So, you can share what you learned, but you can't attribute it. This simple agreement creates permission for radical honesty. People say what they actually think, not what they'd say if it might end up on LinkedIn.

Deliberately small. This Brigadoon gathering will have a max of 100 people. Not because I can't fill more seats, but because intimacy is the point. At 100 people, you can't hide in the crowd. You can't perform networking theater. You're actually there.

Cross-disciplinary by design. Brigadoon curates for diversity of perspective, not similarity of background. About the only thing everyone has in common is that they're all doing something meaningful in their field.

The format is simple. Three days at Sundance Mountain Resort with constantly burning fires, family-style dinners, mountain and wellness activities, and conversations that start at breakfast and continue through the evening. No agenda beyond creating conditions for connection.

Who attends?

Past attendees include VCs, founders, journalists, doctors, designers, attorneys, architects, lobbyists, diplomats, marketing strategists, and athletes, all united by the belief that engaging with different perspectives enhances your work and thinking.

Why Brigadoon matters?

We live in a moment of increasing specialization and tribal sorting. It's easier than ever to spend all your time with people who validate your existing worldview. To build networks of people who already agree with you.

That's why gatherings like Brigadoon are more critical than ever, offering a space to challenge your worldview and address complex problems beyond industry boundaries.

The problems worth solving—in business, in society, in your own work—don't respect industry boundaries. They require perspectives you don't have, questions you haven't asked, frameworks you haven't considered.

Brigadoon creates space for that.

I invite you to be part of this exclusive gathering at Sundance Mountain Resort on February 22-24, 2026, to connect with diverse thinkers and expand your perspective.

If you're building something meaningful and believe in the power of perspectives different from your own, I'd love to have you join us.

Brigadoon isn't for everyone.

It's intimate by design, cross-disciplinary by intention, and we maintain high standards for who participates, making you feel valued and respected.

More at www.brigadoon.live/utah.

—Marc

What Brigadoon actually feels like

I’m glad to share a sharp talk with my friend Paula Ashley, a marketing strategist who joined us for her second Brigadoon gathering at Sundance Mountain Resort.

In this video, Paula walks through what makes Brigadoon feel unlike any other event she has joined.

She explains how it has grown from a focus on culture and strategy into a space where people can be honest, share their own stories, and connect on a deeper level.

Paula’s take is a good reminder of why Brigadoon matters.

It is not just about ideas on a whiteboard.

It is about people, honest talks, and the room we give each other to look back on who we are and where we want to go next.

I’m grateful for this community we have built, and for moments like this that help us all grow in how we see the world and our place in it.

If you want a sense of what it feels like to be part of Brigadoon, watch Paula’s interview below.

-Marc

The origin story

In 2013, I put 8 entrepreneurs in one house at Sundance Mountain Resort.

No agenda. No PowerPoint. Just conversation.

Thirteen years later, Brigadoon has become something I never imagined: a gathering that people return to year after year—not for what they learn, but for who they meet and how those relationships reshape their thinking.

February 22-24, 2026 marks our eighth Sundance gathering. We've grown to 100 participants, but the principle remains: quality over scale, connection over content.

If you're building something that matters, this might be your year.

More @ brigadoon.live/utah.

-Marc