October 20, 2025 | Nick Gross
EdTech Digest: Empowering a Generation to Find Their Grind
Nick Gross is a musician, entrepreneur, and founder of Find Your Grind, a student-led learning and self-discovery platform that’s reimagining how young people explore their futures. As the founder and CEO of Gross Labs, his family office and incubation firm launched in 2019, Gross oversees a diverse ecosystem spanning technology, education, music, and sports. Gross Labs’ portfolio includes more than 50 investments—from X Games, 100 Thieves, and Breakaway Music Festival to Beatbox Beverages—and operates The Noise Nest, a state-of-the-art recording and content facility in Los Angeles. Before his ventures in education and investment, Gross toured the world as the drummer for Open Air Stereo and the pop-punk duo girlfriends, sharing stages with artists like Avril Lavigne and Machine Gun Kelly. His experience in entertainment, combined with his passion for youth empowerment, led him to launch Find Your Grind and the Find Your Grind Foundation, which help students discover who they are, where they’re going, and how to build meaningful lives around what drives them.
What does the ESSA Tier 2 recognition mean for Find Your Grind, and how does this impact the schools and districts you partner with?
In education, we know how critical it is for schools to see products backed by proven research. Going through the process of validating Find Your Grind was incredibly rewarding because it confirmed what we’ve always believed—our curriculum truly drives future-ready outcomes. The study showed significant gains in student confidence, career readiness, and engagement, which are top priorities for today’s districts. Achieving ESSA Tier 2 recognition gives schools even greater confidence in our solutions, knowing the impact we promise is backed by real research and results with actual students and districts.
‘Achieving ESSA Tier 2 recognition gives schools even greater confidence in our solutions, knowing the impact we promise is backed by real research and results with actual students and districts.’
You often talk about shifting the focus in education from “What do you want to be?” to “Who do you want to be?” How does this philosophy show up in the Find Your Grind experience for students?
Times have changed. Students today need to understand the why behind their future choices—not just the what. At Find Your Grind, we make that possible from the very beginning of their journey through our lifestyle assessment, which gives students a relevant framework for discovering who they are before deciding what they want to do. In just five minutes, a student might learn they’re an Explorer, Entertainer, or Humanitarian—and suddenly, career pathways feel endless, exciting, and deeply personal. We know careers are no longer fixed, linear trajectories; they shift frequently and fluidly. That’s why it’s more important than ever to give students fresh ways to think about the world and who they want to become, as early as possible.
