By Shayler Richmond
Photo by Philip Elugbemi
Legacy MMG is made up of three members each with their own specialty they bring to the design group; Mercedes Pergande specializes in digital marketing and consulting; Stephen Elugbemi specializes in graphic design; Ajong Ekokobe (AJ) specializes in web development lead.
This group represents representation because of their diverse backgrounds. Mercedes is Mexican, German and Native American. Steven is Nigerian. AJ is from Cameroon. They all blend their cultural influences with their individual influences to manage Legacy MMG.
The group came together through a shared a mentor group at Eastern Michigan University. Legacy MMG began at the kitchen table whenre they spent hours unpacking their purpose and how to brand themselves.
“Being in the creative space of Legacy MMG is rewarding because you feel accomplished knowing that you started from completely nothing and every bit of progress made is because of the work you put in,” said Steve.
Starting a business young has benefits for the long-term growth, but Legacy MMG has also endured challenges.
“Getting people to take our time that aren’t around our age has been a challenge. Getting people to look past our age and see that work that we are doing and the work that we have put in,” said Mercedes.
Despite growing pains, Mercedes and Steve expressed confidence in the longevity of Legacy MMG due to their strong foundational purpose that each member has found through creating and running their company.
“Creativity advances culture because it allows for the artist to push their vision back on to the culture,” said Steve.
“When you have the opportunity to create something that hasn’t been done before then you are putting something into the world and pulling the world in that direction, which is important because our culture has been pulled in so many directions, and tapped by so many people that are not from our culture so it is important that we swing it back in our direction,” he continued.
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legacymmg.com