🌴 The LA Grind: Week of March 9th

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

Author

Justin Gordon
March 09, 2026

👋 I’m Justin. I run The LA Grind and The SF Grind and scout for Headline.

Happy Monday! I've been getting a ton of questions lately about how I use events to grow and monetize The LA Grind and The SF Grind, so I'm running a workshop.

Over the last 10 months I've crossed $100K in revenue, driven mostly by events. I've hosted 50+ events, big and small, across LA and SF. I’ve figured out what works, what doesn't, and what moves the needle.

In this 90-minute virtual session I'll cover everything I’ve learned: how to structure events, handle RSVPs, manage operations, land sponsors, what to charge them, and more. Real numbers, screenshots, and I'll answer every question you have.

This is for newsletter operators, founders, business owners, and GTM leaders who want to use events as a growth and revenue channel.

It’s happening on Tuesday, April 7th from 8 to 9:30 am PT. Cost is $499.

Let’s get to it.

​Hiring for your startup?

RJR Partners are experts in helping startups scale their teams with high quality hires and they’re the go-to U.S. recruiting partner for The SF Grind and The LA Grind.

They specialize in startup talent acquisition from entry-level to C-suite, with a 5% candidate fall-off rate and 5-to-1 submission-to-placement ratio.

Their team of tech industry veterans sources directly through personal networks, so you only interview candidates who are genuinely well-suited for your roles. Contingency and retained search options available.

Upcoming Events

⭐️ Featured Event ⭐️

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

🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴  

🗓️ March 17: Members Coffee Meetup. Santa Monica. 8 - 9:30 am.

🗓️ March 24: Pre-Seed to Series A Founder Dinner. Westside. 6 - 8:30 pm.

🗓️ April 3: Members Poker Night. Hollywood. 6 - 11 pm.

🗓️ April 25: Members Potluck Dinner. Hollywood. 6 - 10 pm.

🗓️ May 9: Startup Community Hike. Hollywood. 8 - 9:30 am.

👋 This Week 👋 

🗓️ March 12: Kinn Entrepreneurship Council. Venice. 1:30 - 3:30 pm. 🗓️ March

🗓️ March 14: LA Tech Women Coffee. Santa Monica. 10:30 am - 12:30 pm.

Top 5 LA Startup & VC Firm Jobs

Investment Associate @ Clocktower Ventures

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 9,500+ founders, investors, and operators.

Talk Shop Media is an independent integrated communications agency based in LA that helps venture-backed companies define the category, own the conversation, and win the comparison. They turn technical advantage into authority through PR, corporate communications, and social programs built for velocity, proof, and repeatable coverage.

Marc Hankin of HPL Law 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!

Vast, a commercial space station company, raised $500M in debt and equity in a round led by Balerion Space Ventures.

PartsPulse, a unified AI platform for parts businesses, raised $3M led by UP.Partners.

Procode AI, an AI-powered surgical billing company, raised $4M in venture funding.

Smack, a frontier AI lab built for national security, raised $32M in Seed and Series A funding led by Geodesic Capital and Costanoa Ventures.

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

LA Grind Club

Monthly members-only events, priority RSVPs, and discounted tickets are just a few of the perks of becoming an LA Grind Club member.

Join 70+ founders, operators, and investors gathering weekly to build real relationships in LA (And have a lot of fun doing it).

Featured Location

The Night We Met. Intimate, cocktail-forward spot with pan-Asian plates and great ambiance.

Fun Events

See you next week,

Justin

P.S. Want to connect?

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