# Joey Grassia

> Joey Grassia is the co-founder and CEO of Shef, a US marketplace connecting local cooks with customers. A former Facebook employee and UCLA graduate, he founded KUTOA and Steamm Espresso and sold both in 2017. He co-founded Shef with Alvin Salehi, drawing on their immigrant-family backgrounds and a desire to help talented cooks earn income through their food.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Shef
- **Organizations:** Shef, KUTOA, Steamm Espresso, Facebook
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, International Development and Chinese Language, University of California, Los Angeles
- **Known for:** Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food & Drink for 2017., Founded and sold KUTOA and Steamm Espresso., Co-founded Shef, a Y Combinator Winter 2019 company.

## Career timeline

- **2010-2013** — Worked at Facebook in marketing and client services.
- **2011** — Founded KUTOA, a packaged food brand.
- **2016** — Founded Steamm Espresso; public career profiles differ on whether its operating start was 2016 or 2017.
- **2017** — Sold KUTOA in June and Steamm in December, according to his Wellfound profile.
- **2018** — Met Alvin Salehi at a Forbes Under 30 gathering and developed the idea for Shef.
- **2019** — Shef launched in the Bay Area and participated in Y Combinator Winter 2019.
- **2020** — Helped launch Shef in New York.
- **2023** — Shef announced a $73.5 million Series B financing package, closed the previous year, including $7 million in venture debt.

## Achievements

- Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Food & Drink for 2017.
- Founded and sold KUTOA and Steamm Espresso.
- Co-founded Shef, a Y Combinator Winter 2019 company.
- Led Shef through financing that brought company funding above $100 million by its March 2023 announcement.

## Latest updates

- **2026-02** — In an interview published February 17, Grassia discussed Shef’s early iterations, its smaller management structure, and working between San Francisco and New York offices.

## Links

- Website: https://www.shef.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeygrassia/
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/joeygrassia
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joey

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/joey-grassia
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24