01/14/2021
Dearest, Toolbox LA Community,
On December 31st, after more than 3 years, Toolbox LA closed its doors.
It is too easy to focus on the heavy loss we are experiencing. This has been a deeply transformative year for all of us in the community building world. Everyone has experienced some sort of challenge in their lives in 2020. Toolbox LA was not immune.
Make in LA launched Toolbox LA as an inclusive community occupying some of our extra office space between accelerator cohorts. Many of the members who joined were attracted to the toys for building hardware, but many others were looking for a community of like-minded souls in their neighborhood. We realized quickly that we had the opportunity to create an innovation hub not just for hardware entrepreneurs but for all types of coworkers across the entire San Fernando Valley, and with that realization, our journey evolved.
A few of our successes:
✨ Creating an independent ecosystem in the San Fernando Valley. We succeeded to date and hope Toolbox LA will continue to have ripples across the region.
✨ Making entrepreneurship more accessible to the community. With hundreds of events attracting tens of thousands of people, we know we made a mark on people of all ages.
✨ Having a place where people doing interesting things could collaborate serendipitously.
Thomas Edison understood that an experiment ending in failure is not a failed experiment—as long as constructive learning is gained. We learned so much along the way. We gained friends, and will forever remember the conversations, the laughter, the experiences.
"That is the surprising, compelling mathematics of innovation: if you want more success, you have to be prepared to shrug off more failure.”
May you all continue to conduct experiments and keep the spirit of innovation and curiosity alive. Thank you for your business, but most importantly, thank you for believing in our vision and being a part of the journey.
