Dialogue In The Dark

What Dialogue In The Dark does

Dialogue in the Dark (黑暗中对话中国) is a Shanghai-headquartered, certified social enterprise that operates under an exclusive 2011 license from German parent Dialogue Social Enterprise (DSE) to run the global "Dialogue in the Dark" experiential methodology in mainland China. The company operates three physical experience halls — in Shanghai (flagship, Huangpu District), Chengdu (Taikoo Li, first mainland China site, opened 2013), and Shenzhen (South China first, opened 2015) — where participants are guided through 65–75 minute journeys in recreated real-world environments (parks, markets, crossings) conducted in complete darkness, led by 60+ certified visually impaired and hearing impaired trainers.

The business model is a hybrid of direct-to-consumer ticketing (¥100–¥150 per individual experience, differentiated by city and peak/off-peak) and enterprise sales of corporate training workshops (¥400–¥800 per person for team-building variants, quote-based for standard 4-hour corporate workshops with a minimum of 12 participants). Additional revenue streams include educational workshops for middle schools and universities (minimum 25 participants), and customized special events (dark dates, dark birthday parties, dark concerts, dark wine tastings, dark running). Shanghai alone has served over 200 Fortune 500 corporate clients including McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Microsoft, Tencent, Alibaba, HSBC, Deutsche Bank, GE, Pfizer, AXA, IKEA, GM, DHL, and CEIBS. Cumulative participants in mainland China exceed 50,000.

The social mission — creating employment for China's visually impaired population (a stated 7 million-person addressable community) as professional trainers — is structurally integrated into the product and brand, and the company became one of the first seven certified social enterprises in mainland China in September 2015. Distribution is primarily offline via on-site reservations (phone and WeChat), supplemented by TEDx talks, international forums, and corporate CSR partnerships. No external venture or growth equity funding rounds are disclosed; the only recorded capital event in the source data is a $468,816 investment from OwerLaw Capital in December 2015.

Name

Dialogue In The Dark

Legal name

黑暗中对话（中国）社会企业

Website

https://dialogueinthedark.com.cn

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Dialogue in the Dark (黑暗中对话中国) operates licensed immersive experience halls in Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen, conducting guided 65–75 minute journeys in complete darkness led by visually impaired trainers for corporate training, educational, and individual consumer markets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Experiential Training Services

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Conflict Resolution & Negotiation (EDABAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Collaboration, Teamwork & Conflict Resolution (EDAAAKAF)

Keywords

• Experiential training services
• Sensory immersion experiences
• Corporate leadership workshops
• Social enterprise training
• Team building programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Huangpu

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Experience Hall Tickets: Individual ticket sales for 75-minute dark journey experiences at Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen locations. Tickets priced differently for peak vs off-peak times.
2. Corporate Workshops: Enterprise training workshops for leadership, teamwork, communication, and innovation skills. Priced per person with minimum participant requirements. Target market includes Fortune 500 companies and government organizations.
3. Educational Workshops: Life education workshops for students from middle school to university, focusing on empathy, teamwork, and self-discovery in complete darkness.
4. Special Events: Customized dark-themed events including blind dates, birthday parties, team-building activities, concerts, and corporate functions. Priced per person or as custom quote.
5. Dark Running Program (黑暗跑团): Visually impaired running companionship program and team outdoor activities, combining sports with social mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dialogue in the Dark China operates dark journey experience halls and experiential training workshops in Shanghai, Chengdu, and Shenzhen, led by visually impaired and hearing-impaired trainers. The company delivers 75-minute guided dark experiences for individual consumers and customized corporate training workshops (3 hours to 3 days) targeting leadership, communication, team-building, and innovation skills for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and educational institutions. It is a certified social enterprise that creates employment for visually impaired individuals while delivering behavior-change training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 黑暗中对话工作坊 (Dialogue in the Dark Workshop): Corporate training workshop conducted in complete darkness, designed to improve leadership, collaboration, communication, and innovation skills among participants.
• 无声中对话工作坊 (Dialogue in the Silence Workshop)
• 教育工作坊 (Education Workshop)
• 黑暗跑团 (Dark Running Group)
• 黑暗中对话视障公益学院 (Dialogue in the Dark Visually Impaired Public Welfare Academy)
• 黑暗中对话视障公益基金 (Dialogue in the Dark Visually Impaired Public Welfare Fund)
• 隐形任务 (TB1)
• 暗中挑战 (TB2)
• 黑暗多人行 (TB3)
• 暗中约会 (Dark Date)
• 暗中生日会 (Dark Birthday Party)

Products and services

• Dialogue in the Dark Experience Hall (黑暗中对话体验馆) A 75-minute guided journey through purpose-designed dark rooms recreating real-world environments (parks, markets, crossings, cafés), led by visually impaired guides. Offered to individual consumers via ticketing at three China locations (Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenzhen), with pricing varying by peak/off-peak times and location.
• Dialogue in the Dark Workshop (黑暗中对话工作坊 WSD) Corporate training workshop conducted in complete darkness where participants are led by visually impaired trainers through role-reversal scenarios. Develops leadership, collaboration, communication, and innovation skills. Standard 4 hours (customizable from 3 hours to 3 days), minimum 12 participants, maximum 27 per session, quote-based pricing. Targeted at Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and organizations.
• Dialogue in the Silence Workshop (无声中对话工作坊 WSS)

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% of participants say they would recommend to others
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• 世界经济论坛 (达沃斯)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Presented at Dalian World Economic Forum 2009, introducing Dialogue in the Dark leadership workshops to global leaders. Also participated in WEF Latin America Summit and Middle East Summit.
• WWF 地球一小时minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2015Shenzhen experience hall partnered with WWF Earth Hour to launch 'Dark Ambassador' (黑暗大使) activity, promoting environmental awareness and disability inclusion.
• 中国（深圳）女子马拉松minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2015Shenzhen experience hall partnered with Shenzhen Women's Marathon to launch 'Dark Running' (黑暗奔跑) event, combining sports with sensory experience.
• 成都锦江区残联coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013Chengdu Jinjiang District Disabled Persons' Federation provides venue for Chengdu experience hall in Taikoo Li commercial area, sponsors first Academy training for 80 students, and designs Chengdu experience hall. Partnership includes sponsoring visually impaired employees for Sichuan marathon.
• 对话社会企业 (Dialogue Social Enterprise, Germany)flagshipOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 March 2011German headquarters granted exclusive license to operate Dialogue in the Dark, Dialogue in Silence, and Dialogue with Time programs in mainland China. DSE developed original methodology in 1988 and now operates across 40+ countries. Licensed operations since March 2011.
• 宝马基金会 (BMW Foundation)minorOthersCEO Cai Shiyin selected as BMW Foundation Global Young Leader for 2010 and 2011, participating in global leadership network that provides access to corporate partnerships and visibility.
• 全球青年总裁组织 (YPO)minorOthersCEO Cai Shiyin is member of YPO Sea Dragon chapter, providing access to global chief executive network and business connections.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• Center for Creative Leadership (CCL): Global leadership development provider offering experiential executive education programs including feedback-intensive workshops and outdoor leadership challenges. Comparable in targeting Fortune 500 leadership development budgets with research-backed experiential methodology.
• Outward Bound China: Experiential outdoor leadership and team-building organization with operations in China, focused on adventure-based learning for corporate teams. Comparable in the experiential learning methodology and enterprise leadership development target market, though delivered outdoors rather than in darkness.

Broad incumbents

• Dialogue Social Enterprise (DSE) Germany: The original franchisor of the Dialogue in the Dark methodology, founded in 1988 in Germany and now operating in 40+ countries with 170+ cities and 10M+ global participants. The China entity operates under exclusive license from DSE; DSE is the parent company and brand owner, making it the closest comparable for scale, methodology, and global unit economics.
• FranklinCovey China: Operates in China offering leadership, execution, and trust-building training programs to large enterprises including Fortune 500 multinationals. Comparable in serving corporate leadership development budgets with structured, methodology-driven training, though delivered via classroom rather than immersive darkness.
• Dale Carnegie Training China: Global leadership and professional development training franchise with strong China presence, focused on communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills for enterprise customers. Comparable in delivering soft-skills corporate training to multinational corporations in China.
• DDI (Development Dimensions International) China: Global leadership development and talent management consultancy with significant China operations serving multinational and large domestic enterprises. Comparable in targeting enterprise leadership development budgets with research-validated assessment and training methodologies.

Emerging players

• Teddy Mountain (泰迪熊之家) Shanghai Social Enterprise: Shanghai-based social enterprise operating a teddy bear museum and inclusive employment programs for people with disabilities. Comparable as a fellow first-batch certified mainland China social enterprise serving consumer experience and social mission in a similar experiential format.
• Dr. Kang Group (拓展培训): One of China's largest domestic experiential training and team-building providers, offering outdoor and indoor experiential programs to corporate clients. Comparable in the China enterprise team-building and experiential training segment, though differentiated by lower price points and broader portfolio vs. Dialogue's premium niche.
• Empauer: Asia-based corporate training and team-building specialist offering experiential programs across multiple Asian markets. Comparable in the Asia enterprise experiential training segment and in working with Fortune 500 multinational clients for team-building offsites.

Others

• CEIBS China Europe International Business School: Top-tier China-based business school offering executive education programs for senior corporate leaders. Mentioned in Dialogue's customer list as a workshop participant; comparable in addressing China-based enterprise leadership development needs through structured professional development.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/dialogindark_in
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dialogueinthedarkmelbourne

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dialogue In The Dark