Find Your Grind Secures $5M to Expand Career Exploration Platform for Students
Nick Gross, formerly the drummer for the early 2000s punk band Goldfinger, is now channeling his passion into empowering students through his career exploration platform, Find Your Grind. This innovative platform introduces students to unconventional career paths often overlooked in traditional education systems, such as roles in pop-punk bands, content creation, social media management, and professional esports.
On November 25, 2025, Find Your Grind announced a successful Series A funding round, raising $5 million and bringing its total funding to $8 million. The round was led by Echo Investment Capital, with additional support from Gross’ investment firm, Gross Labs. This infusion of capital is set to enhance the company’s career readiness programs across the United States.
Gross’ journey into music began at 17 with his high school band, Open Air Stereo, which gained prominence after being featured on MTV’s reality series Laguna Beach. His experiences inspired him to create Find Your Grind after observing the challenges students face when exploring career options, often due to limited exposure in conventional educational settings.
Young people are entering a rapidly changing world of work, Gross shared with TechCrunch. As students prepare to leave school and enter into their professional careers, many are doing so without a strong sense of who they are, what they want, or how to navigate their next steps after school. Find Your Grind gives them the tools to explore not just what careers are out there, but what paths suit their strengths, interests, and visions for what they want their futures to look like.
Traditional career guidance often emphasizes salaries and promotions, which can feel disconnected from the evolving job market that today’s students are entering. Many no longer aspire to conventional roles like doctors, engineers, or lawyers. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts that approximately 92 million jobs will cease to exist by 2030.
Find Your Grind addresses this gap by focusing on four key competencies: self-awareness, career awareness, social awareness, and action awareness. The platform features a Lifestyle Assessment that helps students identify three lifestyle paths aligned with their preferences, such as entertainer, creator, or humanitarian. Based on these insights, students receive tailored next-step plans for post-graduation.
The platform offers a wealth of resources, including videos and interactive lessons. A group of mentors provides practical advice about their own career beginnings and the steps they took to achieve success. Notable mentors include Tony Hawk, Tony Hoffman, and will.i.am, among others.
An AI-powered Reflective Coach provides personalized feedback, encouraging students to delve deeper into their responses for better insights.
Beyond the digital platform, Find Your Grind organizes workforce development initiatives, such as lifestyle fairs, offering students real-world experience. The company is launching its first program in Oklahoma City, collaborating with local schools and training centers to help students discover job opportunities in their hometowns that align with their lifestyle preferences. Plans are underway to introduce similar programs in additional cities.
To date, Find Your Grind has supported 100,000 students. Gross envisions expanding this reach, aiming for over a million students to become more future-ready through the platform.
