Jonathan Jacobs

Co-Founder

Jonathan is a grown-up kid. He’s never stopped building with LEGO, loves to tinker, and has made sure his three daughters know how to use power tools, as well as change a flat tire on a car. He holds an engineering and computer science degree from Brown University, an MBA from Columbia University, ran his own web development company for years, and is a proud member of the Etch-A-Sketch Club. As the family legend goes, when Jonathan was a toddler, he managed to take apart a whole piano while left to his own devices. His father ran to his mother screaming, “he’s a genius…look what he’s done”. His mother walked into the living room, rolled her eyes, and said, “let me know when he puts it back together.”

Like so many engineers, Jonathan grew up without a place in the community to meet other kids like himself who loved building things, and taking them apart. Later as a dad raising creative daughters, he realized there was still no maker space for kids. The Robot Garage began in 2011 to help fill that void. Like Tom Hanks in “Big,” Jonathan has very strong feelings about what kids find fun vs. what adults think kids will enjoy. He dedicates much of his time at The Robot Garage to keeping the team focused on the kids’ version of fun, with a conviction that as long as it’s fun, kids will continue to be interested in the world around them, how it works, and what role they can play in making it better. One of his greatest joys is hearing from teachers on field trips that they have never seen 100% engagement from their class until The Robot Garage came along.