Avocado Electronics is a small electronics retailer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We sell component kits targeted for beginners interested in building Arduino microcontroller projects. Our aim is to help you learn how fun electronics can be.

We strive to make educational technology accessible to everyone. At Avocado Electronics, our products are priced to cover manufacturing expenses and profits are reinvested in the community through Green Chile Labs.

We were founded in 2013 with the introduction of the Young Person’s Guide to Arduino & Avocado Beginner Board on Kickstarter. Our successful Kickstarter sold over 100 units.

About Our Founder

Our founder, Mike Lopez has acquired over 20 years of experience in experimental physics, system engineering, and cybersecurity.  For fun, he experiments with amateur radio and electronics. An entrepreneur at heart, Mike designed the Young Person’s Guide to Arduino to spark the love of engineering in young people. He has also taught engineering courses the University of New Mexico for several years.

ENTREPRENEUR

Mike designed the Avocado Beginner Board and wrote the Young Person’s Guide to Arduino in 2013 after seeing how difficult it would be for his young children to learn computer programming with microcontrollers. More interactive than programming on the screen, he wanted them to see how computer programs can affect things in the real world, like make lights shine and buzzers sound. Filled with entrepreneurial spirit, Mike submitted the Young Person’s Guide to Arduino project twice before it was funded. He produced and shipped the first lot by Christmas 2013, as promised to his Kickstarter backers. Since then, Mike has continued to sell the Young Person’s Guide to Arduino and build other interesting devices.

TECHNICAL PROGRAM & OPERATIONS MANAGER

Mike has worked in variety of technical environments. Most recently, he has managed research and development projects in the computer science and cybersecurity areas. Prior to this role, he focused on system engineering for technical product qualification to ensure highly reliable products that met customer requirements. Before that, he started his career working at a world-class science facility, where he gained experience in the scientific, engineering, and operational activities necessary to operate small, medium, and large scale, high hazard, research laboratories.