🌴 The LA Grind: Week of November 17th

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

Author

Justin Gordon
November 17, 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.

The LA Grind Holiday Party is coming together and it’s shaping up to be the most fun thing we’ve done all year!

I’m hosting it at a beautiful private residence, bringing in a chef, a bartender, a photographer, and aiming to create a night that feels like a celebration of everyone building and investing in this city.

I’m looking to lock in sponsors this week so we can go all-in on making it exceptional. If your company wants be involved and get visibility at the event, on social, and in The LA Grind newsletter, reply to this email and I’ll send details.

I’m planning for around 100 people and want this to be an amazing end-of-year moment for the LA startup community.

Are you planning to come to The LA Grind Holiday Party on December 11th?

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Let’s get to it.

The founder journey isn’t all highlight reels.

Patrick Thompson, CEO of Clarify and repeat founder, knows that better than most. It’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do... and possibly one of the loneliest. Few people truly understand what it’s like to build something from nothing.

That’s why he started Founder Therapy, a weekly Substack exploring the real side of the founder journey: the ups, downs, and everything in between.

The first piece, featuring Andrew Yeung, dives into founder loneliness and how to combat it with community (like The LA Grind 🔥).

Upcoming Events

⭐️ Featured Event ⭐️

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🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴 

🗓️ November 19: Members Coffee Meetup. San Marino. 8 - 9 am.

🗓️ November 19: Members Co-Working. Hollywood. 10:30 am - 1 pm.

🗓️ November 22: LA Startup Community Hike. Hollywood. 8 - 9:30 am.

🗓️ December 3: K1 Race Night. Culver City. 4:30 - 6:30 pm.

🗓️ December 11: Startup Community Holiday Party. Hollywood. 7 - 10 pm. Taking place at a beautiful private residence, this will be one of our biggest events of the year! Looking for 1 or 2 sponsors for this event, reply if interested.

🗓️ December 18: Members Poker Night ♣️ 🃏. Hollywood. 6 - 11 pm.

🗓️ February 2026: Founders Retreat. Temecula. 3 nights. Curated group of founders.

👋 This Week 👋 

🗓️ November 18: Los Angeles n8n Meetup. Venice. 6 - 8:30 pm.

🗓️ November 19: THE AI & CREATIVITY SUMMIT: LA Edition. Hollywood. 9:30 am - 6:30 pm.

🗓️ November 19: AI Policy November Meetup. Mid-Wilshire. 6 - 8 pm.

🗓️ November 20: Demo Day LA. Venice. 3:30 - 9 pm.

🗓️ November 20: LA Health Tech Hang. Sawtelle. 6:30 - 8:30 pm.

🗓️ November 22: Hack Day: llama.cpp. Venice. 11 am - 4 pm.

🗓️ November 22: Sovereign Nights. Hollywood. 9 pm.

🗓️ November 23: LA Founders: In-Person Meetup. Culver City. 11:30 am - 3 pm.

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

Top 5 LA Startup & VC Firm Jobs

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 6,500+ founders, investors, and operators.

I recently met Ishan Patel, founder of JP Consulting Group, who sponsored last week’s mixer for The LA Grind. He mentioned an overlooked way startups can unlock cash flow and extend runway.

What is it?

The R&D Tax Credit.

If your team is building, coding, or experimenting with new technology, you could be eligible for thousands (or even hundreds of thousands) in federal and state credits.

Don’t believe me?

Here’s a success story from Ishan:

One of our newest clients is a Bay Area SaaS company specializing in retail experiences. The company has approx. $1M in annual payroll and $330K in annual contractor spend that we scoped in.

The CEO and CFO were completely unaware of the R&D Tax Credit and how beneficial it could be to the company. Going back to 2022, we were able to claim over $420K in total federal and state credits, flipping the company from a tax-paying position to receiving a significant refund for each of those years.

As this company enters the funding stage, the cash injection from the credits was vital to boost innovation by hiring new people expanding operations cross country.

Ishan Patel

Wild, right?

Reach out to Ishan and tell him Justin sent you to learn more!

Chaos Industries, a defense technology startup specializing in counter-drone radar and communication systems, has raised $510 million in a Series D funding round led by Valor Equity Partners.

Skims, Kim Kardashian’s apparel and shapewear company, raised a $225M round led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives.

Valar Atomics, a defense technology company building advanced drone propulsion systems, raised a $130M Series A led by Snowpoint Ventures.

Neros, an El Segundo-based supplier of FPV drones to the U.S. Army through the purpose-built attritable systems (PBAS) program, raised $75M in Series B funding round led by Sequoia Capital.

Confidein, an AI and Faith technology company, closed its $6m seed funding round, which was led by Christian leaders and venture capital firms.

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

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!

Featured Location

Bavel. This Arts District favorite serves modern Middle Eastern dishes and smart cocktails in a sleek, open space with a lively, unfussy vibe.

Featured Company

Outer. Shoutout to Outer, the Santa Monica-based startup making outdoor furniture you actually want to spend time on. I had co-founder Jiake Liu on my podcast a few years ago and loved hearing how Outer was built. If looking for high-quality outdoor furniture, I highly recommend them.

Fun Events

See you next week,

Justin

P.S. Want to connect? Book a Call.

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