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- 🌴 The LA Grind: Week of June 22nd
🌴 The LA Grind: Week of June 22nd
Upcoming events, venture deals, LA opportunities, and more in Los Angeles this week.
Justin Gordon
June 22, 2026
👋 I’m Justin. I run The LA Grind and The SF Grind and scout for Headline.
Happy Monday! I’m headed back to LA this afternoon after hosting a few events in SF. In the next week or two (I think), I’m announcing a new project, and I’m spending most of the rest of my time on Ambition. Busy summer! For those of you interested in attending Ambition, the 150-person startup summit I’m hosting in Los Angeles on September 24th, there are only a few more days left to get early bird tickets. We’re announcing a few more speakers soon as well, so stay tuned!
Let’s get to it.
At our largest event in the last year, with 250+ attendees, a private chef, open bar, and curated artwork, who got guaranteed access?
Members of The LA Grind Club.
The LA Grind Club is where the LA startup community comes to life. We’re a community of 70+ founders, investors, and operators in LA who gather multiple times per month through basketball runs, poker nights, coffee meetups, dinners, and other member-only events.
🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴
🗓️ June 26: Members Potluck Dinner. Hollywood. 6 - 10 pm.
🗓️ June 28: The LA Grind: Startup Community Beach Day. Santa Monica. 2 - 7 pm.
🗓️ July 1: Members Coffee Meetup. Santa Monica. 8 - 9:30 am.
🗓️ July 7: The LA Grind: Startup Community Mixer. Santa Monica. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ July 10: The LA Grind: Poker Night. Hollywood. 6 - 11 pm.
🗓️ July 11: The LA Grind: Startup Community Basketball. DTLA. 1 - 3 pm.
🗓️ July 16: The LA Grind: Founder Topgolf. El Segundo. 6:30 - 9 pm.
🗓️ July 21: K1 Race Night. Culver City. 6 - 7:30 pm.
🗓️ September 24: Ambition 2026: A Curated Startup Summit. Santa Monica. 9 am - 10 pm.
👋 This Week 👋
🗓️ June 23: Night Before VidCon 2026 | Hosted by Quartermast Advisors & The Lighthouse. Oakwood. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ June 23: Night Before VidCon | Official Creator Exec Mixer | By RockWater. Santa Monica. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ June 23: S’HAMPAGNE Conversations with Meta World Peace. Beverly Hills. 6:30 - 8:30 pm.
🗓️ June 24: HeyGen’s “Infinitely Me” pop-up is coming to Los Angeles! Culver City. 11 am - 3 pm.
🗓️ June 24: HeyGen Hangouts - A happy hour & networking event coming to Los Angeles! Culver City. 5 - 8 pm.
🗓️ June 24: VidCon 2026 Kickoff with Agentio. Anaheim. 8 - 11 pm.
🗓️ June 25: AI Cafe: The New Physics Of Brand Visibility: How AI Decides What To Recommend. Venice. 8:45 - 10:30 am.
🗓️ June 25: AAF LA Summer Mixer 26'. Marina del Rey. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ June 25: LA Tech Summer Soiree. Santa Monica. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ June 25: Women in Space Socials: Culture Brewing Co. Manhattan Beach. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ June 26: Responsible AI Symposium 2026. Marina del Rey. 1 - 6 pm.
🗓️ June 26: Female Founders LA Meetup. Venice. 2 - 5 pm.
👀 Events Coming Soon 👀
🗓️ June 30: Build Your Raise Strategy. Venice. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ July 1: AI Policy July Meetup. Mission Junction. 6 - 8 pm.
🗓️ July 5: Silicon Beach Maker Space Launch Party. Westchester. 12 - 5 pm.
🗓️ July 9: LA Agentic AI Meetup hosted by Pinecone. Playa Vista. 5 - 7 pm.
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!
Top 5 LA Startup Jobs
Senior Robotics Software Engineer @ Sorting Robotics
Account Manager @ Mongoose
AI Creative Strategist @ O Positiv Health
Junior Creative Strategist @ Wildcard
Hiring?
Feature your job in The LA Grind newsletter or reach out to our partners:
RJR Partners: Experts in helping startups scale their teams with high quality hires. Their team is comprised of tech industry veterans, allowing them to source and vet candidates directly through their personal networks. Their industry expertise also enables a deeper understanding of the needs of clients and candidates on a level unmatched by other firms.
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Additional Opportunities
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 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators.
Invisible Narratives, a developer of a digital media studio and creator-led franchise platform, received a $25M growth capital investment backed by Verance Capital and BC Partners Credit and more.
Critical Energy, a company is adapting rocket-engine-style turbomachinery for modular geothermal power plants, raised a $19M Seed round co-led by Upfront Ventures and Susa Ventures.
Send any fundraising news for LA-based companies or funds, including your own, to [email protected].
Featured Location
Hatchet Hall. A rustic California restaurant centered around live-fire cooking, seasonal ingredients, and Southern-inspired flavors. Known for its wood-fired meats, vegetables, and house-made dishes, it combines a warm, farmhouse-style atmosphere with thoughtful, ingredient-driven cooking.
Fun Events
See you next week,
Justin
P.S. Want to connect?
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