Ambition 2027
Thursday, September 23rd, 2027 · Santa Monica
A curated startup summit. One day with 150 founders, operators, and investors. Every seat is by application.
THE SUMMIT
Not another conference. No casuals.
Ambition is a one-day, application-based summit. Justin Gordon reviews every application and curates the room by hand: founders building interesting companies, operators who have done the work, and investors with a real point of view.
On stage, founders tell their stories and get tactical about what worked and what didn't. The room stays small on purpose, so you leave with relationships instead of a stack of business cards.
DATE Thursday, September 23rd, 2027. 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, then a closing party.
PLACE Santa Monica, California. An intimate private venue, not a hotel ballroom.
THE ROOM 150 founders, operators, and investors, plus a handful of select service providers.
ON STAGE 7 to 10 founders and investors. The 2027 lineup will be announced in the coming months.
NIGHT BEFORE Speaker dinner on Wednesday, September 22nd for VIP ticket holders, sponsors, and speakers.
TICKETS Early Bird from $299. Applications are open now on Luma.
YEAR ONE · SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2026
Over 100 founders, operators, and investors in one room.
100+
in the room on the day
75
founders registered
20
investors registered
8
speakers on stage
Of the founders who registered, 54 had raised outside capital and 20 had raised $1M or more. The day ran with a VIP dinner the night before and a closing party after.
The 2026 speakers
Shivani Siroya Founder and CEO, Tala
Dee Murthy Co-Founder, Ghost
Dara Ladjevardian Founder and CEO, Delphi
Mehul Nariyawala Co-Founder, Matic Robots
Jessica Chang Co-Founder and CEO, Upwards
Jo Phillips Co-Founder, Payabli
Rick Smith Co-Founder, Crosscut Ventures
Shamin Walsh Managing Director, BAM Ventures
Founder and investor counts are registered guests, from what they reported when they signed up.
WHAT PEOPLE SAID
“I’ll take a room of 150 ‘right’ people over a 2,000-person crowd any day.”
Sponsor CEO, on LinkedIn
“One of the top events for me this year.”
Attendee, on LinkedIn
“We enjoyed every bit of the day!”
Year One sponsor
SPONSORS
The companies that backed Year One.
HEADLINE DLA Piper · Citizens Private Bank
SUPPORTING Bailey Glasser · Tax Hack · Ardas · Agora · Venice Inc.
Sponsor Ambition 2027
2027 sponsorships are open now, including one presenting sponsor slot.
Year One sponsors were thanked from the stage in the welcome and the close. Their logos were on the banner, the agenda board, and the street-facing screens. Headline sponsors were on every badge, every lanyard, and the coffee cart. Sponsors were named in The LA Grind and The SF Grind newsletters.
Email [email protected]THE PODCAST
The world’s most ambitious people, one life at a time.
Ambition is a podcast about the world’s most ambitious people from history, and the lessons you can take from their lives and use in your own work and life. Each episode is deeply researched and built around the definitive biography of one person. Hosted by Justin Gordon.
08 Charlie Munger 1h 40m
07 Roy Thomson 1h 50m
06 Sam Zemurray 1h 46m
05 Estée Lauder 1h 33m
04 Steve Jobs 2h 30m
03 Dietrich Mateschitz 1h 28m
02 The Wright Brothers 1h 30m
01 S.I. Newhouse Sr. 1h 20m
Ambition 2027 is September 23rd.
Ambition is built by Justin Gordon, founder of The LA Grind and The SF Grind. Summit design by Venice Inc. Photos by Irina Logra.
Apply to join