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The LA Grind: Week of July 28th

The LA Grind: Week of July 28th

Upcoming events, founder spotlight, venture deals, investment opportunities, and more.

Justin Gordon
July 28, 2025

👋 I’m Justin. I run The LA Grind, host the Just Go Grind podcast, 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.

A few weeks back, I ran a poll about the idea of opening a clubhouse for The LA Grind on LA’s Westside.

Since then, I viewed a very interesting building in Marina Del Rey, where there are units available on the 5th and 8th floor. The location is amazing, near a bunch of restaurants and with a great view of the marina. The building is pictured below:

With this building in mind, I’d love to know your interest below on becoming a member or buying a day pass if The LA Grind opened a clubhouse there.

If The LA Grind Clubhouse opens on LA’s Westside this fall, what is the highest monthly price you would pay to join?

Thank you!

Let’s get to it.

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Email Marc E. Hankin at [email protected] today and protect what you have in mind.

Learn more at HPL’s website.

🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴

🗓️ July 29: LA Startup Community Mixer. This event is made possible thanks to our partners, AE Studio and Weinberger & Logan PC. We’re already near capacity!

🗓️ August 1: Founder Poker Night. The event is now at capacity, but if there are cancellations, I’ll add a few people from the waitlist. Thank you to AE Studio and HPL Intellectual Property Law for sponsoring this event!

🗓️ August 9: Startup Community Basketball. Basketball with LA founders, operators, and investors. Amazing indoor court in DTLA. <10 spots available. Full-court 5 on 5 games.

🗓️ August 19: Dawn Patrol. I’m excited to co-host with Jason Yeh! Dawn Patrol is a morning founder event series focused on bringing together people and ideas that support startups on their journeys to raising capital. I’m looking for one more sponsor for this event - reply if interested.

This Week

🗓️ July 28: Female Founders Evening Reset. Join for a sunset yin yoga session on the beach, created for female founders to pause, breathe, and reset kicking off the second half of the year.

🗓️ July 29: AI LA Salon with n8n. The first-ever n8n Community Meetup in Los Angeles, co-hosted by n8n's community manager, Dylan Watkins.

🗓️ July 29: LA Health Tech Hang. Join fellow health tech entrepreneurs, physicians, AI engineers, and early stage health tech employees chatting about the intersection of tech and healthcare!

🗓️ July 30: Tech That Tastes Different: AI, Restaurants, & the Founder’s Playbook. Join for July's Tech on Tap to hear Abhi's journey as the founder of Famished, an AI food search engine and commission-free ordering platform.

🗓️ July 30: WeAreLATech: LA Tech Community Walk 🚶 Beverly Hills Edition. WeAreLATech has been hosting LA tech beach walks for two years and now they're expanding beyond the beach!

🗓️ July 30: WeAreLATech: LA Tech Community Walk 🌊🚶 Manhattan Beach Edition. Conversations breezy, and the vibes are as warm as the SoCal sun. See you there, where the palm trees sway, and the ideas play!

🗓️ July 31: Pitch & Run LA: Run Club for Founders, Investors, and Tech. My favorite run club, filled with great people.

🗓️ July 31: [Climate Circuit] Summer Meetup for Climate People. Join to talk about what's next for the climate movement, hopes for the future, and actions you can take to keep the dream of a sustainable future alive.

🗓️ July 31: Cars & Capital | Presented by CarClub & Maserati. This monthly event series brings out LA's venture ecosystem for an evening with cocktails, innovation, luxury cars and tasteful conversation.

🗓️ July 31: LA Startup and Tech Mixer 2025. Bringing founders, operators, and investors together for rooftop drinks and high‑energy networking.

🗓️ August 2: Venture Social Club | Pool Party by GiveMagix. Join for a pool party at a private residence in West Hollywood.

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

Jessica Chang is the Co-Founder and CEO of Upwards, the nation’s largest tech‑enabled childcare network.

Upwards followed its recent rebrand by closing a $21 million Series B led by Alpha Edison, lifting total funding to about $43 million. The platform now powers childcare benefits for more than 520 employers, including Chobani, JCPenney and the U.S. Army Reserves, serving nearly 3 million families and cutting absenteeism by 30 percent for workers who use the service.

Jessica’s own scramble to find care while pregnant pushed her to build the marketplace in 2017 (then called WeeCare). A former investment banker turned preschool operator, she wants flexible childcare to be as common as health insurance; the new capital is hiring engineers and expanding Upwards beyond California as the company partners with cities and states to weave subsidies into its product.

Connect with Jessica on LinkedIn, check out Upwards, and tell her The LA Grind sent you!

LA Tech Walks are here!

Presenting the 2025 Summer Series powered by WeAreLATech.

A curated community of tech professionals exploring LA's most stunning landscapes while building meaningful connections.

Walks span across all areas of Los Angeles, north to south and east to west.

Learn more and sign up here.

Nevoya, an AI‑native electric‑trucking carrier modernizing freight with an all‑EV fleet, raised a $9.3M seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital.

Capitalize, an AI‑powered data and deal‑sourcing platform for commercial‑real‑estate lenders and brokers, raised a seed round from Lerer Hippeau, Sway Ventures, FJ Labs, and Treasury.

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

Top 5 LA Startup & Investment Jobs

Corporate Development & Strategy - Principal @ Beast Industries

Manager, Business Development @ Whatnot

Senior Robotics Hardware Engineer - Rapid Development @ Anduril

Analyst, Diligence (Fall 2025) @ K1 Investment Management

AI Research Intern (PhD) @ HeyGen

👋 Hiring? Job board coming soon!

💼 Looking for a job? I’ll be curating more LA-based roles soon.

Investment Opportunities

I know of a few founders who are raising capital right now and I’m always meeting more. If you’re an investor, let me know what type of deals fit your thesis, your check size, and stage you invest in. Simply reply to this email.

If you’re a startup founder raising capital, fill out this form to get started.

Featured Location

Criterion Coffee. A hidden gem in Old Pasadena, serving up organic coffee, scratch-made pastries, and laid-back creative energy in a modern, light-filled space. Thanks Mari Davtyan for the suggestion!

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