The LA Grind: Week of September 29th

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

Author

Justin Gordon
September 29, 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.

This newsletter just passed 5,300 subscribers in only 4 months. We’re growing by 1,000 every month with a 63% open rate and 9% click rate. Primary ad placements are already booked through November, and now I’m lining up annual sponsors for 2026.

Every week I host events bringing together LA’s most ambitious founders, operators, and investors. It is a unique way for sponsors to connect directly with their ideal customers both online and in person.

Annual spots are limited, with category exclusivity available. If you want to reach LA’s startup community at scale, now is the time to get involved.

To help me land the right sponsors, including real estate or lifestyle partners, please take 20 seconds to answer this quick poll:

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Let’s get to it.

Safeguard Your Startup’s IP Now.

I’ve gotten to know Marc Hankin from HPL Law in the past few months and can say he is one of the most genuine, supportive people you will meet. While I have not worked with him as my attorney yet, I have seen firsthand how much he cares about helping founders protect what they are building.

Marc and his team at HPL Law advise inventors, startups, and growth-stage companies on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, and licensing across California, the US, and beyond.

Their IP Check-Up helps you:

  • Confirm ownership is in your company’s name

  • Make sure assignments are signed and recorded

  • Stay on top of renewals and maintenance fees

  • Get one clear dashboard of assets, numbers, evidence, and owners

Before your next fundraise, launch, or M&A conversation, know exactly where you stand.

Email Marc E. Hankin at [email protected] to get started. Learn more at HPL’s website.

Upcoming Events

⭐️ Featured Event ⭐️

🗓️ *October 7: Los Angeles Franchise Pitches. Venice. 6 - 8 pm. Franchising is the silent giant powering many of America’s self-made millionaires. They’re running “boring but wildly profitable” businesses in garment cleaning, fast food, pet care, youth enrichment, and more.

Learn how franchising really works and how franchisees are financing up to 90% of new businesses with SBA loans, while connecting with competitive brands in an intimate setting, meeting high-profile guests like NBA and NFL players and business executives, and networking with seasoned multi-unit franchisees.

🌴 Upcoming Events I’m Hosting 🌴 

🗓️ October 1: Members Coffee Meetup. Santa Monica. 8 - 9:30 am. Become a member. 

🗓️ October 14: Curated Beachfront Dinner. Join us during LA Tech Week for an intimate evening connecting 60 top founders and investors at a stunning private beachfront residence in Santa Monica. Thanks to Polsinelli, AE Studio, Relay Human Cloud, and Talk Shop Media for sponsoring!

🗓️ October 16: The LA Grind and Polsinelli's Curated Coffee & Tech Mixer - #LATechWeek. Room for 1 more sponsor. Santa Monica. 8-10 am.

🗓️ October 21: Members Breakfast. Santa Monica. 9 - 10:30 am. Become a member. 

🗓️ October 22: Members Coffee Meetup. San Marino. 8 - 9:30 am. Become a member. 

🗓️ October 28: Seed to Series B Founder Dinner. Thank you to Kind Heart, Trinet, and Clarify for sponsoring!

🗓️ November 5: Curated Founder & Investor Dinner. More details still being finalized. Tentative date. This is a special dinner experience with a private chef and curated group. Looking for 1 or 2 sponsors.

🗓️ November 12: Seed to Series B Founder Dinner. Reach out of you’d like to sponsor this dinner.

🗓️ December 11: The LA Grind: Startup Community Holiday Party. Early bird tickets now available!

👋 This Week 👋 

🗓️ September 30: Orrick's LA Happy Hour Series. Arts District. 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

🗓️ September 30: AI LA Salon w/ Lindy.ai. Venice. 6 - 8:30 pm.

🗓️ October 1: AI x AEC Meetup. DTLA. 5 - 8 pm.

🗓️ October 3: The LA Breakfast Club. Beverly Hills. 8:30 am - 11 am.

🗓️ October 3: LA Female Founders Lunch. Culver City. 11 am - 1 pm.

🗓️ October 4: Opportunities in Next-Gen Nuclear Energy. Pasadena. 10 am - 12:30 pm.

🗓️ October 4: The 2025 Healthspan Summit. Sawtelle. 9 am - 5 pm.

👀 Coming Soon 👀 

🗓️ October 15: The Best of Live @ LA TechWeek. Santa Monica. 9 am - 5 pm.

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

*This is sponsored content.

Top 5 LA Startup & VC Firm Jobs

👋 Hiring? Message me about featuring your role in this newsletter.

💼 Looking for a job? Job board coming soon!

Investment Opportunity

Perfy, founded by Vasa Martinez, is a soda brand crafted to boost mood and keep blood sugar stable without sacrificing taste. Built from a personal need and now in 2,200+ stores across North America (with H-E-B launching next month), Perfy has grown with zero employees and a passionate community behind it. The company is now raising capital to keep expanding and bring its better-for-you soda to even more people.

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 5,000+ 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!

Genstore, an AI-native e-commerce platform that lets merchants launch and run online stores using conversational prompts, raised a $10M seed round led by Weimob with participation from Lighthouse Founders’ Fund.

Salt AI, a contextual AI / life sciences platform, raised $10M led by Morpheus Ventures with participation from Struck Capital, Marbruck Investments and CoreWeave.

Bonsai Health, an agentic AI startup automating front office healthcare workflows, raised a $7M seed round led by Bonfire Ventures and Wonder Ventures.

TransAstra, a space technology company developing asteroid capture systems and space infrastructure tools, secured $5M in partnership with NASA.

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

Featured Location

Bottega Louie WEHO. I went here with my mom when she visited me a couple of years ago. Quite the vibe. I honestly don’t even remember what I ate then, but I do remember the desserts made me want to come back.

Fun Events

See you next week,

Justin

P.S. Want to connect?

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