In partnership with

Hey, Justin here! Welcome to a free edition of Just Go Grind, a newsletter that shares the lessons, tactics, and stories of world-class founders! I read Rich Cohen’s amazing book, “The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America’s Banana King” for today’s deep dive on Sam Zemurray and I hope you enjoy it.

Also, I’m re-launching a paid subscription for this newsletter. I’ll be sharing more on that soon, but if you’d like to be one of the first paid subscribers and support the work I do each week, subscribe below:

Free Notion and Unlimited AI

Thousands of startups use Notion as a connected workspace to create and share docs, take notes, manage projects, and organize knowledge—all in one place. We’re offering 3 months of new Plus plans + unlimited AI (worth up to $3,000)! To redeem the Notion for Startups offer:

1. Submit an application using our custom link and select Beehiiv on the partner list.

2. Include our partner key, STARTUP4110P67801.

Apply Here

📅 Upcoming Events

I’m hosting a mixer for founders, operators, and investors on November 19th at one of my favorite spots in Santa Monica that should be a lot of fun: Just Go Grind: LA Startup Community Mixer

I’m also hosting a small Village Lane founder dinner on Tuesday in Culver City for pre-seed to Series A founders.

Finally, I’m planning a holiday party for December which I should have more details on this week!

If you want to get involved as a sponsor, please reply to this email. 

💰 Want to invest in an awesome startup?

I just caught up with the founder of a consumer brand with a large community and subscription component.

They landed national distribution with Target, have an experienced team that’s grown another company public before, and are raising a seed round that’s moving quickly.

Reply to this email for an intro!

The Banana King, Sam Zemurray

Sam Zemurray’s journey from a Russian immigrant to one of America’s wealthiest, most powerful men is legendary.

How did he do it?

By spotting gold where others saw garbage, overthrowing a Central American government, and going head-to-head with an industry giant.

This is a tale of raw ambition, a true David vs. Goliath, of death and bananas.

Let’s get to it.

Subscribe to Premium to read the rest.