Find Your Grind Secures $5 Million to Expand Choice Career Exploration

If you’re a fan of the punk scene from the early 2000s,you may recognize Nick Gross,the drummer for the band Goldfinger.

Now he’s empowering young people to pursue thier passions through his career exploration platform, Find Your grind. The platform highlights alternative professions not usually emphasized in schools, including being a pop-punk band member, content creator, social media manager, and even a professional esports player.

The company announced on Tuesday a $5 million Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $8 million. The round was led by Echo Investment Capital,with support from Gross’ investment firm,Gross Labs. The investment will help expand the company’s “career readiness” programs across the U.S.

Gross began his music career at 17 when his high school band, Open Air Stereo, gained meaningful exposure after being featured on MTV’s hit reality series “Laguna beach.” Inspired by his experience, Gross came up with the idea for Find your Grind after bringing students into his studio and seeing firsthand the challenges they face when exploring career options, often due to a lack of exposure in customary schools.

“Young people are entering a rapidly changing world of work,” gross told 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,” he said.

Conventional career guidance frequently enough focuses on salaries and promotions, but this can feel disconnected from the rapidly evolving job market that the new generation is entering. Many of these students no longer aspire to become doctors,engineers,or lawyers. In fact, the World Economic Forum predicts