Deal density is Larry’s term for how many actual conversations worth having happen per hour in a room, not how many people are in it. A packed bar with high volume and no eye contact has low deal density. A half full bar where three different tables are visibly working has high deal density.
Larry’s own ranking puts hotel bars above nightlife bars every time, because hotel bars are quieter, better lit, and full of people already dressed for a meeting. The LINE Austin at 111 E Cesar Chavez St ranks high on his list for exactly that reason, sitting right on the water with a crowd that skews toward people in town for work. The Driskill ranks high too, but for the opposite reason: it’s old enough that everyone in the room already knows it’s a serious place to be seen.
Lighting matters more than most people think, because Larry’s SuperModel logic only works if the other person can actually see you taking notes. That’s the whole point of keeping a pen in hand and holding a real listening position instead of slouching into a phone.
The pen-drop close needs a table too, so a bar with only standing room ranks lower no matter how nice it looks. A high deal density bar also tends to have staff who leave a table alone once the conversation gets serious.
Rank the bars in your own city the same way: quiet enough to hear, lit enough to be seen, staffed by people who know when to disappear. The nicest bar in town is not automatically the one with the highest deal density.
Details: See the LINE Austin’s bar · 111 E Cesar Chavez St, Austin, TX 78701
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