CEO Gets Bored of Boring Tools, Decides to Make Slightly Less Boring Ones
KEY POINTS
- •Lidan Liu, an industrial designer, grew tired of her consultancy job in China and yearned to build something on her own.
- •In 2025, she founded iMonkey Technology, later renamed Hoto, aiming to shake up the masculine tool industry.
- •Hoto stands for 'Home Tools' and represents Liu’s vision to create more user-friendly and stylish tools.
- •The Verge covered the story highlighting Liu’s innovative break from traditional male-dominated power tools.
In 2025, CEO Lidan Liu, a hotshot industrial designer from China, finally snapped and decided consulting was too dull, shelving her fancy Designaffairs China gig to start a tool company called iMonkey Technology, soon rebranded as Hoto. Fed up with the overly macho, pro-only tool scene, she promised 'We can start something new' and bravely transformed boring hardware into 'Home Tools' — groundbreaking enough to be a page in the Almighty Manual of Doing Cool Stuff at Home, circa November 2025. The Verge has all the dirt on this revolution led by a workshop warrior sick of sameness.
Share the Story
(1 of 3)Who knew existential tool boredom could birth iMonkey Tech? Next up: fashion tips from screwdriver chic.
Lidan Liu: proving that being tired of your job is basically the startup fuel of the decade.
From macho tool industry to iMonkey, because nothing says innovation like a slightly friendlier hammer.
Source: Theverge | Published: 11/26/2025 | Author: Sean Hollister
More Articles in Technology
Marines Discover Dirt Bikers Outskill Gamers Flying Explosive Toy Helicopters
Molotov Cocktail Misfires on $27 Million Silicon Valley Fort, FBI Not Amused
Sydney Sweeney's $1M Flop, Trump-Approved Jeans & Bathwater Soap Fiasco
Microsoft Finally Lets Windows 11 Fans Stop Pretending to Use ViVeTool
Parents Draft 'Phone Rental Agreement' Before Kids Can Touch Phones
Snap Promises AR Glasses This Year, Because We All Trusted 10 Years of Waiting
Married Couple’s AI Calls 20,000 Gas Stations, Uncovers Price Drama and Profanities
OpenAI Now Charges $100 For ChatGPT To Code You Into Bankruptcy
