No Question About It, the Hub LA Community Rocks

This is a blog post I wrote for the Hub LA blog regarding our second Founding Member Mixer.

This time the magic happened at Caña Rum Bar, in Downtown Los Angeles.  To quote a Hub LA Founding Member in attendance, “…walked into a room with a few dozens strangers, left a few hours later feeling I was leaving friends I’m honored to know.”

This was the second Hub LA Founding Member Mixer hosted at the end of September in Downtown Los Angeles. The format was a casual cocktail mixer resulting in a low-key, yet high-energy atmosphere. With about 40 people in attendance, there was a good mix of Hub LA Founding Members and their guests. In advance, we asked four Founding Members to share with us some of the exciting things they’ve been working on.

Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal, is one of a handful of lawyers in Los Angeles who specializes in working with social enterprises. She spoke a little about the legal nuances important for for-profit social enterprises that aim to find a double bottom line – both profit and positive social impact. We’re very excited that Shaheen is a part of the Founding Member community and look forward to learning more about the various legal structures available for social entrepreneurs.

Founding Member, Sean Arian, Founder and President of Eos Consulting, spoke about his experience building Los Angeles’ clean tech strategy while serving as Director of Economic Development for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The Clean Tech Corridor is the cornerstone of the Mayor’s vision to put Los Angeles at the forefront of the clean tech revolution and to transform the old, downtown industrial core into an incubator for green jobs, technology, and the growth of LA’s economy. Starting with resources such as the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator, The Clean Tech Corridor will bring together researchers, designers and manufacturers dedicated to the development of clean technology products and solutions to climate change challenges.

Athena Demos is the LA Regional Coordinator for Burning Man, an annual event where tens of thousands of people travel from the world to Black Rock Desert to create a temporary city dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance. They depart one week later, having left no trace whatsoever. She shared with us the story of Burner’s Without Borders, a global community of people who share the values of Burning Man by working together to help others.

Last but not least, was another Hub LA Founding Member, Alex Lightman, who gave us a sneak preview of the National Innovation Strategy he’s drafting at the request of President Obama’s Deputy Director for Science and Technology Policy. Alex Lightman was recently named a Klout Star and is the author of Brave New Unwired World: The Digital Big Bang and the Infinite Internet , the first book on 4G wireless, and Reconciliation: 78 Reasons to End the US embargo of Cuba. Recently, The Economist honored him with the first Reader’s Award on behalf of 4G wireless as “the innovation that will most radically impact the world over the next decade.”  We’re thrilled to have him join the Hub LA community.

It was a truly inspiring evening and the ambiance was just right (thank you Cana!).  As Hub LA gets ready to open, we are thrilled to envision what it will be like to run into people like this daily and have a space to connect and collaborate.

Pictured above (from left to right): Alex Lightman, Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal, Brady Hahn


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