Founder's Background
Meet our founder, Angela Perez. A woman with big dreams and a strong passion for helping others through building new things. Angela’s passion for building and engineering began when she was a child and built a functioning marble track for a school project. Seeing something she made from start to finish and having it work as intended was an incredible joy for her.
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“I always want to build with my hands. When I was younger, I was tasked to make a marble track with what you have at home. At home, I work on it all night, bringing it to school made me happy because I can show people what I did.” – Angela Perez
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The success of her marble track sparked her drive to build and create, but it was not her only inspiration. The hero of the big screen Tony Stark, the genius inventor and philanthropist, was another engineering role model for her.
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“Couple years later, when the movie "Iron Man" came out; I loved the scenes where he was in his workshop in the basement just designing, manufacturing, and testing.”
– Angela Perez
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This love for inventing and building things from the ground up with her hands would lead her to attend Purdue University Northwest (PNW) as a Mechanical Engineering student where she would learn many skills of the trade. Picking up valuable experience with using manufacturing equipment during the Baja vehicle project. She learned of the fundamentals of product design and safety, and her personal favorite tool Solid Works®. Solid Works® is a computer program that allows engineers to design and virtually assess any device they can come up with. This design software became Angela’s prized tool and skill for part designing.
During her time at PNW she took on a student job as a Design & Development Technician at the university’s small business incubator, the Commercialization Manufacturing & Excellence Center (CMEC). ​Angela’s time at CMEC gave her a taste of what it was like to be her very own Tony Stark. Collaborating with clients to design and prototype their inventions and ideas, she found a job where her passions for helping others and building coincided.
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“I wanted to help people, make new things, and create something that people would use for their everyday lives.” — Angela Perez​
This would be the starting point for Angela that would lead to her founding her company AJ Mechanical Designs LLC. A company where innovation, creativity, and exploration of ideas are possible. A company to help the community and give entrepreneurs a fighting chance with their incredible inventions. Angela pours her heart into helping the community and small businesses grow and travel through a roadmap of product development. She has made a name for herself, and her business being featured in a local article by Canvas Rebel, a local pod cast by Hace Más, and recognized by the "Marquis Who's Who" magazine.
Experience
2017-2021
Purdue University
Gave me a strong foundation in engineering and allowed me to build-up connections I would not have been able to do alone.
2019-2021
Joined Baja Team
Greatly helped in developing hands on building skills I did not have, when I first start college. Overall I had little to no skill on using fabrication tools prior to this project. Now I can use CNC machines, Plasma Cutters, weld, and 3D Print. Thanks to the people from the PNW Baja Team I can do more.
2022-2023
Worked for CMEC
Worked as a Design & Development Technician. This helped me learn how to talk to people in real world problem solving, how to communicate effectively, and collaborate with others who may not understand technical aspects of product development.
Nov 14, 2023
Founded AJ Mechanical Design LLC
The importance of building my networking and company branding through word of mouth as well as refining my services, pricing, and company elevator pitch.
Spring 2024
1st Prototype Completed
This validated the need and purpose of my business by establishing a baseline for the quality, services, and customer foundation.
Summer 2024
Welding Class
Refining my welding skills and gaining certification in welding allows for greater versatility in prototype development for customers.