- The Five Club
- Cities
- Lausanne
An entrepreneurs club in Lausanne, around one table.
Lausanne has a lot of founders for its size, and few places to meet them without a badge. The Five Club brings them together at tables of five or six.
Updated on November 9, 2026
Apply in five minutes. An answer within five days.
- 5 to 6
- founders at every table
- 8 cities
- where the club is open
- 1,500+
- founders accepted into the club
- 1 in 4
- applications accepted, roughly
In short
Looking for a business club in Lausanne? CVCI remains the main business network in the canton of Vaud. Executives International runs a monthly English-language business meetup. The Five Club brings founders together at table, by application.
What happens in Lausanne.
Lausanne is one of 8 cities where the club is open, forty minutes by train from Geneva, where the club is also present. Your circle works for both.
A Founders Dinner is an entrepreneur dinner of five or six, at a different restaurant each time. You pick your date in the app, we build the table, and you see the profiles and the address shortly before. No pitches, no forced icebreakers, nobody to work the room.
Depending on the city, the club also hosts Banquets, private cocktails and brunches. After each one, you add the founders you want to see again to your circle. That’s how a real founders network gets built.
What members say about it.
“Sometimes something clicks in a conversation that has nothing to do with your work, and it makes the difference on a problem in your business.”
“Meeting people who have the same mindset as you. […] Hearing each other’s experiences, and being able to learn from one another.”
“I didn’t know what to expect, and when I got there I said: wow, this is really, really cool. It’s completely relaxed.”
Excerpts from interviews with club members, recorded in French and translated here.
How to join the club in Lausanne.
You apply
Tell us about your company, your numbers and what you’re really looking for. Five minutes, and an answer within five days.
You pick your date
Once you’re a member, you join a table in Lausanne from the app.
We build the table
We look at where you are and what you’re building. After the dinner, you stay in touch with the people you want to see again.
Entrepreneurs clubs in Lausanne, compared.
This page is written by The Five Club, which is one of the clubs compared. Details come from each club’s website or the press, with sources at the bottom of the page. Checked on November 9, 2026: they can change, so confirm them with each club.
| Club | In Lausanne | Who it’s for | How to get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Five Club | Founders Dinner of 5 or 6, at a different restaurant each time | Founders of a launched company with revenue | Application, roughly 1 in 4 accepted |
| CVCI | Training, advice, events, Business Club | Companies in Vaud | Membership |
| Executives International | Monthly English-language business meetup at Hôtel de la Paix | Executives, entrepreneurs and business leaders in the region | Open to members and non-members |
| IMD Alumni Lausanne | Alumni gatherings | Past participants in IMD programs | Alumni only |
| Club des 100 | A gathering held since 2004 | Heads of the 100 largest companies in the canton | Those leaders only |
Want contacts and services for your company? CVCI. Prefer an open format in English? Executives International. Went through IMD? Its alumni network. Want a circle of founders? That’s what we do.
Building a company in Lausanne.
Startup Genome ranks the Lausanne region 13th among Europe’s emerging ecosystems. It has around 35,000 students, including EPFL, and several specialist campuses: Biopôle for life sciences, with 180 companies, and unlimitrust for digital trust, with more than 80 resident startups.
EPFL Innovation Park alone hosts 150 startups and scale-ups. So meeting entrepreneurs here isn’t the problem. What’s rarer is a table where a biotech founder and a retail founder can talk about what they’re going through.
The questions we get asked.
Is there an entrepreneurs club in Lausanne?
Yes. The Five Club hosts dinners for founders in Lausanne, by application. CVCI also runs a Business Club for companies in Vaud.
Which business club should I join in Lausanne?
CVCI if you want services and company contacts, Executives International for an open monthly meetup in English, The Five Club for a private founders club.
How do I meet entrepreneurs in Lausanne?
Campuses like EPFL Innovation Park and CVCI events are a good start. For a founders network across sectors, join a table of five or six.
How do I join The Five Club in Lausanne?
You apply online: your company, your numbers and what you’re looking for. We read every application ourselves and answer within five days. We accept roughly one in four.
Where do the dinners take place in Lausanne?
Always at venues we choose ourselves, in easy-to-reach neighborhoods. You get the exact address shortly before.
Can I come alone?
Please do. Most people come alone. The whole experience is designed to make that feel natural.
How is this different from a business club?
A business club exists to generate contacts and referrals. The Five exists so you meet founders you’ll want to see again. Business is part of the conversation, but it isn’t the whole conversation.
Your next table is in Lausanne.
Tell us what you’re building. We’ll take care of the rest.