RaisedinOpa-locka.Builtforeveryroom.
Andrew J. Donaldson, known as AJ and as Mr. EPIC, is a Business Engineer™, educator, entrepreneur and professional speaker from Opa-locka, Florida.
Home
AJ was raised in Opa-locka by his Jamaican mother. She made education, music, entrepreneurship and service part of everyday life, and expected his best in all four.
The U
At the University of Miami he played Division I football and studied engineering. He tutored on the side, and the tutoring kept growing.
United Mentors
In 2012 Donaldson Scholar Mentors became United Mentors, offering tutoring, SAT prep and STEM education. At its peak, United Mentors reached roughly $890K in annual revenue with a network of 65 contractors and five employees. Growing it taught him the parts nobody posts about: stress, debt, thin margins and the real cost of time.
United Mentors history
The EPIC Foundation
In 2014 he founded The EPIC Foundation, short for Experienced Professionals Impacting Communities, to open doors for students and families through scholarships, mentorship and career pathways.
Business Engineering™
His relationships with business leaders turned into Epic Results Enterprises and the discipline he calls Business Engineering™: helping established companies line up strategy, structure and relationships for their next stage.
2023
AJ lost his mother. Grief made him look hard at what success is for. His answer: “Financial freedom matters because it creates time freedom.” Time for family, for being a father, and for the work that matters most.
I am you. I was you.
I am you: the same hopes, pressures and questions about family, purpose, money and time. I was you: the student who needed a way in, the founder carrying payroll and debt, the son learning to grieve. Not everyone's road looks like his. The goal is that everyone gets real access to knowledge, relationships and opportunity.
What keeps him grounded
Faith, family, education and service.
Music
Music came from home too. The saxophone still shows up, sometimes on stage.
Today
Today AJ connects people and organizations with the knowledge, relationships and opportunities that make growth last, through Epic Results Enterprises, The EPIC Foundation, United Mentors and the stage. His long-term focus is education that leads somewhere: learning that connects to real opportunity, at every age.