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- 🌴 The LA Grind: Week of December 29th
🌴 The LA Grind: Week of December 29th
Upcoming events, venture deals, LA opportunities, and more in Los Angeles this week.
Justin Gordon
December 29, 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.
Happy Monday. I hope you’re enjoying the holiday season. It’s another light week of events in LA, but there are some fun ones coming up in January!
On my mind: Growing The LA Grind Club to 200+ members, expanding this newsletter from one edition per week to two editions per week, potential sponsor partners across The LA Grind and The SF Grind, and fundraising for all of this 👀
Event shoutout: Cassidy McDonnell is hosting a Women in STEM comedy show January 30th in Silver Lake. Check it out!
Let’s get to it.
A few weeks back, we took a bunch of founders to the LA Rams game. Who got priority access? LA Grind Club members.
We have multiple member experiences happening every month, from coffee meetups and co-working to Go-Kart racing and happy hours, where you’ll meet people like:
A venture-backed founder who just raised a multi-million dollar seed round
A bootstrapped founder doing hundreds of thousands in revenue and another doing millions
An investor who has made 100+ investments into athletes, creators, and entrepreneurs
Operators and executives with experience at public companies and high-growth startups
More than 50 members and growing. Join us!
⭐️ Featured Event ⭐️
Want your event featured here with a longer blurb? Sign up here.
🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴
🗓️ December 29: Members Coffee & Co-Working. Hollywood. 8 am - 12 pm.
🗓️ January 9: Members Coffee Meetup. San Marino. 8 - 9 am.
🗓️ January 13: Members Coffee Meetup. Santa Monica. 8 - 9:30 am.
🗓️ January 14: Founder Co-Working & Free Lunch w/ Polsinelli. Century City. 10 am - 3 pm.
🗓️ January 20: Pre-Seed to Series A Founders Dinner. West Side. 6:30 - 9 pm.
🗓️ January 21: Members Coffee & Co-Working. Hollywood. 8 am - 12 pm.
🗓️ January 27: Startup Community Mixer. Santa Monica. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ January 29: Q&A with Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital. Santa Monica. 8 - 10 am.
🗓️ January 30: Members Poker Night. Hollywood. 6 - 11 pm.
🗓️ February 7: LA Startup Community Hike. West Hollywood. 8 - 9:30 am.
🗓️ February 12: The LA Grind x Long Angle: NBA All-Star Weekend Kickoff Dinner Party. Hollywood. 6:30 - 10:30 pm.
🗓️ February 19-22: Curated Temecula Founder Retreat. Looking for 1 or 2 sponsors. Reply to this email if interested.
🗓️ February 27: Members Poker Night. Hollywood. 6 - 11 pm.
👀 Coming Soon 👀
🗓️ January 4: WeAreLATech: LA Tech Community Beach Walk. Santa Monica. 11 am - 12:15 pm.
🗓️ January 7: LA Female Founders Lunch. Culver City. 11 am - 1 pm.
🗓️ January 8: Launchpad Session (In-Person). El Segundo. 12 - 1 pm.
🗓️ January 8: Kinn Entrepreneurship Council. Venice. 1:30 - 3:30 pm.
🗓️ January 8: Los Angeles Design & Development Meetup No.15. Mid-Wilshire. 6:30 - 9:30 pm.
🗓️ January 9: Women's Connection Hour. Venice. 5 - 7 pm.
🗓️ January 10: HeyClimate Group Hike. Griffith Park. 10:30 am - 12:30 pm.
Want to submit an event for consideration in the next edition? Fill out this form.
Top 5 LA Startup & VC Firm Jobs
Test Engineer @ Approach Venture
Senior Robotics Engineer @ Yondu
Lead AI Agent Engineer @ Myria
Founding GTM Leader @ Pure
Graphic & Web Designer (Mid-Level) @ Splash Inc.
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 7,500+ 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!
222, a startup founded in LA, that uses an AI model to match people into small, curated gatherings, has raised a $10.1M Series A.
Send any fundraising news for LA-based companies or funds, including your own, to [email protected].
Featured Location
Bestia. A well-known Italian restaurant in the Arts District, famous for its handmade pastas, wood-fired dishes, and rich, bold flavors. It has a lively, industrial setting and is a favorite for both locals and visitors.
Fun Events
Before you go, a quick question:
If I add a 2nd weekly edition to The LA Grind, what should it focus on? |
See you next week,
Justin
P.S. Want to connect?
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