🌴 The LA Grind: Week of June 8th

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

Author

Justin Gordon
June 08, 2026

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

Happy Monday! It’s kinda crazy to say this, but even with the Ambition Summit less than 4 months away, I’m starting something new. I can't say much more just yet, so yes, this is a tease, but I'll be sharing more soon, including some behind-the-scenes in my personal newsletter. It ties into ambition, fits within my interests, and is something I’ve been thinking about for a very long time. More to come.

Sponsorships. I currently have sponsorship opportunities available in this newsletter (10,000+ subscribers), for Ambition (Curated 150-person summit), and for upcoming events. I'm prioritizing ongoing partnerships over one-offs, as this is more aligned for both parties. If interested, reply to this email and I'll share more.

Let’s get to it.

Turn your ambitious concepts into reality at Silicon Beach Maker Space, Los Angeles’ premier destination for creators, engineers, and hardware startups.

Whether you need professional-grade prototyping tools or a dedicated workbench, our state-of-the-art facility has everything you need to build and innovate without limits.

Join us for our official Launch Party on July 5th at 12 PM! Enjoy food, drinks, music, and free exclusive t-shirts while touring the space.

Limited Time Offer: Get 20% OFF your membership for an entire year. Offer ends June 8th.

Upcoming Events

⭐️ Highlighted Event ⭐️

The LA Grind Dinner Club. Take a quiz, book your seat, get matched with 5 people in the LA startup community for dinner. We have upcoming dinners in Venice (June 10th), Pasadena (June 24th), and Sherman Oaks (June 25th). The last one we did was so much fun. We had about 30 people signed up, multiple dinners happening in different locations in Santa Monica, and we met up afterwards to meet the other groups. It's a great time. Try it out!

🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴  

🗓️ June 16: K1 Race Night. Culver City. 6 - 7:30 pm.

🗓️ July 10: The LA Grind: Poker Night. Hollywood. 6 - 11 pm.

👋 This Week 👋  

🗓️ June 11: Aerospace Meetup. El Segundo. 6 - 8 pm.

👀 Events Coming Soon 👀 

🗓️ June 16: Health2Tech Los Angeles. Marina del Rey. 5:30 - 8:30 pm.

🗓️ June 17: LA Health Tech Hang. Santa Monica. 6 - 9 pm.

🗓️ June 25: LA Tech Summer Soiree. Santa Monica. 6 - 8 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

Project Manager @ Motivo

AI Researcher @ MindFort

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.

  • Relay Human Cloud: Deploy dedicated global teammates. Fully supported, ready fast, no long-term commitment. Relay handles everything behind your teammates so you just manage their work. Every seat comes fully provisioned; your teammates show up ready, supported, and embedded in your workflows from day one.

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.

This week’s LA Grind Club Member Spotlight is on Tom Dorwart, Managing Partner of Dorwart Law and Co-Managing Partner of Omaha Phoenix Capital.

What are you working on right now professionally?

Growing my startup legal practice.

Biggest win so far in your career?

Helped a startup raise funds.

Favorite LA Neighborhood?

Santa Monica or West Hollywood… I like the urban vibe of Santa Monica and then the nice neighborhood feel of West Hollywood.

Favorite LA Restaurant?

Too new here to know a favorite restaurant but I’m loving trying new ones.

Favorite weekend activity?

Farmers markets and going on runs or playing basketball.

How did you end up in LA?

My wife got a job here.

What is a book worth reading?
What are you obsessing over right now?

How to start a venture capital fund.

What is the kindest thing that anyone has ever done for you?

My parents having been there and just their being supportive my whole life. They’ve supported my goals and my career path and I’m building the law practice with my Dad. I also have great friends that are always there for me.

Anything else you want to share?

I am an attorney with 15 years of experience and work with startups and VCs. I speak fluent French. I’m also trying to start a fund.

Interested in joining 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.

Tavo Biotherapeutics, a developer of novel therapies for glaucoma and retinal disease, raised a $17M Series A led by Pureos Bioventures.

Impulse Space, a developer of in-space mobility vehicles and orbital propulsion infrastructure, raised a $500M Series D co-led by 137 Ventures and BANNER VC.

Picogrid, a defense technology company building the open integration layer for modern military systems, raised a $45M Series A led by Bessemer Venture Partners.

inCharge Energy, a provider of EV charging and energy solutions, raised a $46M round led by S2G Investments.

Mach Industries, a developer of advanced unmanned defense systems and manufacturing infrastructure, raised a $300M Series C led by Infinite Capital and Ribbit Capital.

California Naturals, a clean personal care brandsold in 15,000+ doors nationwide, closed a Series B led by Align Ventures.

Just Women’s Sports, a women’s sports media company, raised a seven-figure round led by Bolt Ventures.

GammaTime, a microdrama streaming app, received a minority Series A investment led by Versant Media Group.

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

Featured Location

Ospi. Energetic neighborhood Italian spot with great pasta, cocktails, and a relaxed-but-polished crowd.

Fun Events

See you next week,

Justin

P.S. Want to connect?

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