🌴 The LA Grind: Week of October 20th

Upcoming events, venture deals, LA opportunities, and more in Los Angeles this week.

Author

Justin Gordon
October 20, 2025

👋 I’m Justin. I run The LA Grind and scout for Headline. I’ve lived in LA since 2018, earned my MBA from USC (✌️), and I’m probably out running when I’m not writing this.

A big thanks to last week’s sponsors for my second year in a row of hosting events during LA Tech Week:

If you need legal help, are hiring, developing AI products, or looking for PR assistance, they’ve got you covered.

Also, I’m actively looking for companies to partner with on events and in this newsletter the rest of this year and for all of 2026. 

If interested, please fill out my sponsorship interest form.

I’ve also created a self-serve ad portal for featured events, job postings, and classifieds to help you reach the nearly 6,000 readers of The LA Grind!

Finally, I’m considering launching a vetted founder community designed for ambitious founders who want to connect, grow, and have more meaningful experiences together. Your input will help shape what this becomes.

If we launched a vetted founder community in the next few months, which of these would make it most valuable to you?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Want to be the first to hear when it launches? Join the waitlist here. 

Let’s get to it.

Safeguard Your Startup’s IP Now.

I’ve gotten to know Marc Hankin from HPL Law in the past few months and can say he is one of the most genuine, supportive people you will meet. While I have not worked with him as my attorney yet, I have seen firsthand how much he cares about helping founders protect what they are building.

Marc and his team at HPL Law advise inventors, startups, and growth-stage companies on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing across California, the US, and beyond.

Their IP Check-Up helps you:

  • Confirm ownership is in your company’s name

  • Make sure assignments are signed and recorded

  • Stay on top of renewals and maintenance fees

  • Get one clear dashboard of assets, numbers, evidence, and owners

Before your next fundraise, launch, or M&A conversation, know exactly where you stand.

Email Marc E. Hankin at [email protected] to get started. Learn more at HPL’s website.

Upcoming Events

⭐️ Featured Event ⭐️

Want your event featured here with a longer blurb? Sign up here.

🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴 

🗓️ October 21: Members Breakfast. Santa Monica. 9 - 10:30 am. Become a member to attend.

🗓️ October 22: Members Coffee Meetup. San Marino. 8 - 9:30 am. Become a member to attend.

🗓️ November 12: Seed to Series B Founder Dinner. Reach out of you’d like to sponsor this dinner.

🗓️ November 16: Founders LA Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks Game. Thanks to Weinberger and Logan PC for sponsoring! We’ll have a curated group of founders who get a free ticket to the game thanks to our sponsor! Room for one more sponsor.

🗓️ December 11: Startup Community Holiday Party. Taking place at a beautiful private residence in West Hollywood, this will be one of our biggest events of the year!

👋 This Week 👋 

🗓️ October 20: SoCalSec Happy Hour. Anaheim. 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

🗓️ October 23: Tech Thirsty Thursdays. Calabasas. 3:30 - 6 pm.

🗓️ October 23: Terminal Executive Dinner. Beverly Hills. 6 - 9 pm.

🗓️ October 26: SoCal Columbia & Friends Hollywood Hike. Los Feliz. 10:30 am - 2:30 pm.

👀 Coming Soon 👀 

🗓️ November 7: League of Originals Summit. DTLA. 11 am - 6 pm.

Want to submit an event for consideration in the next edition? Fill out this form.

Top 5 LA Startup & VC Firm Jobs

Director of Operations @ GrayMatter Robotics

Product Manager @ Hadrian

Marketing Associate @ Varda Space Industries

Community Resources

Need an accounting team? I’ve partnered with Pilot to get you a discount on their services.

Need cutting edge AI tech built? AE Studio has been building AI for ten years, working with companies like Salesforce, Berkshire Hathaway, Dapper Labs, and more.

$50/hour off legal services with Weinberger & Logan PC, who offer legal support for small businesses, start-ups, and investors. (LA Grind Club members only).

15% discount on engineering design services with Austin Allen. Austin offers by-the-hour hardware prototyping services for entrepreneurs and startups, specializing in electrical + mechanical design, and firmware development. (LA Grind Club members only).

3 months free with an annual subscription to CloudGo.ai, your AI-powered backend engineer, giving you fully customizable infrastructure from the start. (LA Grind Club members only).

Investment Opportunity

Know a founder or investor in Los Angeles who is raising capital or searching for a co-founder? Reply to this email with more details that I could share in this newsletter for 5,700+ founders, investors, and operators.

The LA Grind’s first Community Partner is Marc Hankin of HPL Law!

Marc advises inventors and high-growth teams on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing. Before your next fundraise, launch, or M&A chat, know where you stand by talking with Marc, who you can reach at [email protected].

Marc can often be found at startup events in LA and has been one of the biggest supporters of The LA Grind since its inception!

Pelage Pharmaceuticals, a biotech developing regenerative treatments for hair loss, raised $120M Series B co-led by ARCH Venture Partners and GV.

Second Nature, an AI role-play training platform for sales and service teams, raised $22M Series B led by Sienna VC.

Launchpad, an AI-first robotics company for factory automation, raised $11M Series A co-led by Lavrock Ventures and Squadra Ventures.

Mythical Games, a Web3 gaming company, raised a Series D round with a strategic investment from Eightco Holdings alongside ARK Invest and the World Foundation.

Electric Entertainment, the L.A. studio behind “Leverage,” “The Librarians,” and “The Ark,” raised $20M from Content Partners Capital.

The Plug, a plant-based liver health brand, raised $5M in a venture round of equity and debt to fuel marketing and retail expansion.

Send any fundraising news for LA-based companies or funds, including your own, to [email protected].

Featured Location

Si! Mon. This restaurant looks amazing and I can’t wait to host an event here for The LA Grind sometime in the very near future!

Fun Events

See you next week,

Justin

P.S. Want to connect?

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Reply

or to participate.