It’s quite a shame that my resumes and cover letters and even my LinkedIn profile paint a very small picture of who I am and the effort I put into my projects or work.
Whether it’s to give homage to my blood, sweat and sleepless nights for the work I put in or for any other reason, I am creating a list of the “real life” cost of my experiences. This version might take you 21 minutes to read.
Mario Sultan
Create courageously.
Projects
Mario Sultan Designs (Aug 2022, Ongoing)
- Check out all My Inventions, Designs and Other Cool Creations
DesignedLocally.com (May 2024 – Present)
- DesignedLocally.com
- 3D modeling in Creo Parametric CAD since undergrad (2016-present)
- 3D printing with and for others starting in 2022
- Being a teacher and distilling information, asking the right questions, encouraging creativity and building tools for those purposes since 2022
- Teaching 3D printing to my students since 2022
- Validation of the idea for 1.5 years prior where I posted my custom design and 3D printing services on Facebook
- Working with real users during this time, learning about needs and pain points
- Documenting projects on social media and my website
- Defining the users I had and the ones for this new type of marketplace
- Learning about multi-sided marketplaces
- Determined that I could build on WordPress
- Determine what my MVP options would be
- Finding and researching white label marketplace websites or plugins
- Determining that a modified job board plug-in could work for the MVP
- Hooks and filters for coding within the website to achieve the desired functions
- Logo creation, using Canva, brainstorming name and a domain name
- Domain and hosting management
- Subdomain research and testing
- Learn WordPress and its CMS interface and systems
- Learn plug-ins how to implement them
- Learn how to create my own plug-ins
- Work within themes on WordPress
- Learn how to modify HTML, on-page, embedded and as a widget
- Learn how to add and modify CSS
- Custom headers and footers
- Learn about custom Javascript for specific functions and styling
- User management and user privileges
- Custom menus and pages based on user type
- Authentication methods, yet keeping it at an MVP level
- User signup and registration (as user and creator)
- Creating custom contact forms
- Contact form to blog post code and feature so users can post and bring in more traffic
- Determine key features of the tool
- Determine features for the MVP and for the future of the product
- Figure out a way for us to communicate
- Determine safe, communicating tools within my site – email encryption like
- Craigslist or internal messaging system
- Privacy laws
- Privacy statements and protection for users
- Terms of conditions – how to write it and how to protect myself and my users
- Constantly determine the simplest way to achieve certain functions given the skills I have
- Determining my monetization strategy in a simple way
- Contact creation
- Blog posting
- Search engine optimization
- Keyword research
- Linking and back-linking
- Attended an SEO seminar to learn more
- Google search console and using metrics for site visibility improvement
- Accessibility for my users, guidelines and standard procedures
- Copywriting within my website
- User interface research
- Research on how how my tool will be used
- How to use AI to build and maintain
- How do use AI to troubleshoot
- Reading books related to the efforts of this project (list of books)
- Going to entrepreneurship events and networking functions
- Strategizing for my marketing plan
- Strategizing and setting the website up for future growth and migration to a full stack app
- Trying to find (a) cofounder(s)
- Constant improvements to the sites layout and UI
- Monetization mechanisms part 2 – Stripe integration and APIs
- Researching different payment platforms within WordPress like Woocommerce and other multi-vendor marketplace tools
- Stripe Connect or PayPal for Marketplaces as an MVP – simple onboarding and usage
- Connecting with users on social media, and within Facebook groups and Reddit threads
- Posting my designs to Reddit in order to gain credibility and bring attention to the platform
- Business legal establishment and documentation
- Business taxes
- Finding and learning tools for running the business
- Exploring open source CRM and accounting software
- Documenting what I’ve done to help others create courageously.
MarioSultan.com (May 2024 – Present)
- MarioSultan.com
- Built my personal website, Mario Sultan .com, the one you are on right now
- Literally every skill and learned experience from DesignedLocally.com but applied to a portfolio site
- […]
- Adding my project experiences and a reflection of my skills and efforts of each
- Custom styling and effects
- Custom widget for showing my resume and downloading it.
- Creating a space I designed from scratch
- SEO and EVERYTHING that it entails!
- Building my personal brand. This is enough of a project artifact that I can stop here.
- Shaping and discovering and rediscovering who I am and how I want to impact others.
- Sharing my path and story to others in the hope that some may find value in it
- Sharing my website to the world through different social avenues
- Adding a blog and sharing my wisdom and experience
- Newsletter signup system
- Website design services form and onboarding system
- Reaching out to businesses in New Haven offering my services
- Documenting what I’ve done to help others create courageously.
Building Digital/Software Tools/SaaS (Aug 2024 – Ongoing)
- Learning how to build applications using nextjs and other tech stacks
- Using VS code
- Learning Wasp aka OpenSaaS framework
- WSL
- Using GitHub as a repo
- Using GitHub to fork open source and other projects and modifying them for my application
- Using ai to guide me through the development process
- Learning what full stack development means!
- Micro-SaaS development
- A SHIT TON of reading
- Entrepreneurial events in New Haven and online
- Goal setting
- Time management even without a job-dictated routine
- UI using wireframe drawings made in Draw.io
- Exporting a mind-map and embedding it on a website
- Documenting what I’ve done to help others create courageously.
3DPrinterMentor.com (February 2024, Ongoing)
- 3DPrinterMentor.com
- 3D modeling in Creo Parametric CAD since undergrad
- 3D printing with and for others starting in 2022
- Teaching 3D printing to my students since 2022
- Being a teacher and distilling information, asking the right questions, encouraging creativity and building tools for those purposes since 2022
- Validation of the idea for 1.5 years prior where I posted my custom design and 3D printing services on Facebook
- Working with real users during this time, learning about needs and pain points
- Documenting projects on social media and my website
- Ideation for this effort starting in January 2024
- Figuring out 3D Printer Mentor and the value I can add through 3D printer support
- Reading and interacting with people in Facebook groups about pains and questions
- Identifying the needs of my user
- Learning about troubleshooting methods
- Machine learning and neural networks for troubleshooting applications
- Writing basic Python scripts for troubleshooting
- Working with a school is Kenya to offer 3D printer guidance and CAD design lessons
- MVP development- figuring out what it can look like
- Planning and building the outline of key features both in the MVP stage and during full blown production
- Mind-mapping using Draw.io
- Trying to connect with 3D printers serially using Arduino and usb host shields
- Arduino troubleshooting code
- Connecting and programming a Raspberry Pi to Ender 3 for troubleshooting purposes and interface (for the purpose of this platform)
- Literally every skill and learned experience from DesignedLocally.com but applied to a portfolio site
- […]
- Documenting what I’ve done to help others create courageously.
Work Experience
Physics, Engineering and Algebra 2 Teacher – Cristo Rey Richmond High School (Aug 2022 – July 2024)
- 7:30a – 4:30p (was 5:20p) plus evenings and nights of work
- Developed full curriculum and instruction from scratch for 11th-grade algebra-based Physics course, Engineering as well as Algebra 2.
- Created tools for my students to learn (3D printed hand-helds, diagrams, visual images and tools to help with hard concepts to abstract them)
- Created an Introduction to Engineering elective, aligning the course structure with the dynamics of an engineering firm.
- Integrated industry-relevant projects and engineering methodologies into the instructional process, including typical SOPs.
- Sequoia Engineering Initiative within my engineering classroom
- Provided guidance and hands-on instruction to students in the areas of design, Computer-Aided Design (CAD), 3D printing, and other design-related processes.
- Taught students how to use hand tools for the first time.
- Guided my students through the engineering design process
- Helped students see the design process in products they use regularly
- Built trebuchets in small teams
- Built solar ovens in small teams
- Facilitated the design and manufacture of Capstone design project teams
- Mentored students
- Helped distill information and reframe it in many ways to ensure understanding; helped my students exercise this muscle of thinking as well
- Classroom behavior management, the best I could do
- Facilitated group projects, enabling students to contribute
- Showed students how to prototype their ideas or thoughts
- Provided a framework for solving complex problems – Givens, Unknowns, Diagram, Equations, Solve, Check. A framework we used constantly
- Substitute taught whenever needed
- Drove the school van whenever needed
- Weekly staff meetings, quarterly all-staff meetings
- Professional Development days throughout the year
- Attended and chaperone school retreats
- Attended and chaperone school service day
- Wrote many letters of recommendations for my students
- Still connect with some of them today.
- Participated in work much larger than I could imagine.
- Learned how to be more human and vulnerable
Corporate Work Study Program Assistant – Cristo Rey Richmond High School (Aug 2021 – July 2022)
- Service Year Volunteer through the Sisters of Bon Secours (Bon Secours Volunteer Ministry) in Richmond, VA
- Year-long, intentional community working towards building community within our house and within the city of Richmond and beyond.
- Work towards social-justice
- Retreats throughout the year, community events in Richmond, volunteering our time
- Supported the Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP) at Cristo Rey Richmond High School (the school was 3 years old at this point)
- Worked closely with the CWSP Director and the CWSP teacher (we had a team of three and at some point two, including me)
- Cultivated relationships between students and corporate partners.
- Regularly called corporate partners to ensure good relationships between the school, the partner, and the student
- Met with students to ensure their well-being and growth
- Managed the operation of a custom-built Salesforce application
- Added students and corporate partners to the CRM
- Created ad hoc reports for my supervisor
- Took attendance on Salesforce every morning
- Checked student timecard entries daily
- Followed up with concerns as needed
- Managed the CWSP phone all day and arranged transportation if a student needed to leave work
- Ensured every student made it back to school at the end of the day, communicated with our bus drivers (basically in charge of releasing the school once everyone was back)
- Data reporting and analysis on student performance, partner surveys, paid/unpaid jobs, and other metrics
- Optimized key processes through scripting within spreadsheets (VBA/Google Scripts)
- Organized the Central Drive folder
- Substitute taught whenever needed
- Drove the school van whenever needed
Systems Engineer I – Leonardo DRS, EOIS (Sept 2019 – Feb 2021)
- Electro-Optical Imaging Systems (EOIS) line of business
- Intern => Part-time => Full-time
- Supported the Family of Weapon Sights-Crew Served project
- Worked on the software release process
- Worked with quality and reliability engineers to release software versions, per our SOPs
- Drafted software verification documents (software test plans)
- Redlined testing documents
- Redlined and corrected system requirements in IBM DOORS
- Requirement traceability
- Conducted software verification tests to ensure we were meeting our system requirements
- Analyzed test data
- Documented issues in JIRA
- Assisted with root cause determination
- Would dedicate time to find software bugs, to replicate and document them for our software engineer to correct
- Worked closely with project leadership, software systems and quality engineering departments to coordinate efforts and report software findings
- Developed systems to increase the efficiency of troubleshooting and testing processes such as VBA and MATLAB scripts
- Managed and organized our project SharePoint
- ITAR certification
Marine/Camping Dept. Sales Associate – Bass Pro Shops (Aug 2017 – Oct 2019)
- My personal goal was to meet and/or exceed daily sales targets for the departments I ran during my shift: marine, fishing, and camping departments, each day I worked there.
- Used our POS system
- Learned the backend of the POS system to understand manufacturing costs, sales margins, and other metrics necessary to offer discounts, to understand the business and beyond (which I find useful now as an entreprenuer)
- Implemented efficient solutions that brought value to the way we maintained and sold our products and with our process
- Customer service and adding value during every interaction
- Customer first, needs first, sales second
- Supported customers no matter what department they were looking in
- Stepped in to fill roles in any department whenever needed
- Organized and setup department end caps, side kicks, other product display features
- Managed sales and pricing, ensured it was up to date
- Restocking of merchandise
- Inventory management (official yearly inventory and on a regular basis)
- Earned Associate of the Months for both May 2018 and June 2019
- Rewired the marine electronics displays
- Warded off racism or some form of discrimination from a “supervisor” – the reason I desperately sought a new job
Undergraduate Research Assistant – Florida Institute of Technology (Jan 2019 – May 2019)
- Under the guidance of my academic advisor and mechanical engineering professor, helped conduct requirement analysis for a project with Lockheed Martin.
- The task was focused on the systems engineering aspect of a design system
- Helped provide information of the connectedness of system requirements
- Created Design Structure Matrices based on part of speech and component analysis
- Used the tools embedded in MATLAB to pull more information
- Requirement engineering and the connectedness of requirements.
- Used different graphical analysis techniques such as betweenness, connectedness, degree for undirected graphs as well as other statistical techniques to analyze networks
- Greatly expanded my MATLAB skills
- Learned the importance of and process for good research
- Learned how to receive criticism from other people
- Completed tasks on time – the project involved weekly tasks/deadlines that needed to be finished so that the industry representative can discuss it with the team
- Participated in conference calls with head of the department and several key engineers trying to justify findings
- Overall, we produced great information that helped fulfill the task goals
- Weekly meetings and many emails came out of the experience
Customer Service Representative – U-Haul Moving & Storage of Palm Bay (July 2016 – Sept 2017)
- First job!
- Exceptional customer service and communication
- Communication over the phone and in person with often challenging customers (let’s be real, not many are happy moving)
- Helped with the development and transition of the new center, since I joined right after they opened
- Started in the garden section of an old Kmart (makeshift office)
- One of the original employees
- Installed trailer hitches and wiring harnesses on all sorts of vehicles
- Managed rental contracts on vehicles; Processed rental agreements, managed paperwork, and maintained customer records
- Managed storage unit contracts
- Cleaned rental vehicles as they came in/were dispatched
- Cleaning the facility, the lot, storage units
- Assisted customers with rentals, returns, and reservations for trucks, trailers, and storage units
- Answered customer questions and provided guidance on product options
- Resolved complaints and ensured a positive customer experience
- Promoted and sold rental options, storage units, and moving supplies like boxes, packing tape, and blankets.
- Suggested additional services (e.g., insurance coverage, truck add-ons) to meet customer needs
- Conducted inventory checks on vehicles, equipment, and moving supplies; Updated records on the availability and condition of vehicles and supplies
- Inspected trucks and trailers for safety, fuel levels, cleanliness, and readiness before and after each rental
- Coordinated minor repairs or reported maintenance needs to ensure safety and quality standards
- Administrative and Cash Handling. Counting the register when closing, taking deposit to the bank
- Scheduled reservations and managed cancellations or delays efficiently
- Assisted with minor issues on vehicles or equipment, such as checking fluid levels, lights, or tires, conducting routine repairs
- Helped onboard new employees or provided guidance on customer service and operational tasks as needed
- Promote and sell additional services and products
- Used the POS system functions
- Problem-Solving: Quick thinking and adaptability to resolve customer issues and logistical challenges
- Moved on from a manager that did not respect their staff
Business Development Experience
Creative Design & Ideation Specialist – Mario Sultan Designs (Aug 2022 – Present)
My Inventions, Designs and Other Cool Creations
- 3D Printing and Rapid Prototyping solutions for customers in my community
- Creo Parametric CAD design and iteration
- 3D slicing in CURA, PrusaSlicer, Dremel Slicer, FlashPrint slicer software applications
- Software development for various projects
- CSS, HTML, JS
- coding in php
- Using AI to develop features
- AI for business development
- Web development in WordPress and learning how to code with a full-stack framework/tech stack
- SaaS development
- User Interface Design and User Experience Design (UED)
- Design in Canva.com, logo development
- Creative Problem Solving
- Creative Strategy and Creative Concept Designs
- Social media presence and posting designs, community building
Founder, Visionary – Sultan Engineering Enterprise (Sept 2024 – Present)
Company that encompasses my prototyping and creative efforts and early startup artifacts.
- Everything learned from previous experiences, Mario Sultan Designs efforts
- Brainstorming and Developing a value proposition for the company. Established the focus areas for the future
- Business legal structure in CT
- Business taxes research
- Website development
- Google business console and putting it on the maps
- Google SEO/Search Console
Co-Founder – Gryphem Concepts (July 2020 – Dec 2021)
- Brainstorming and Developing a value proposition for the company. Established the focus areas for the future
- Vision planning
- Understanding how Amazon selling works
- Keyword research/ Product-Market Fit analysis/ SEO
- Business legal structure in FL
- Business taxes research
- Branding development
- Contracted a designer to design logo
- Communicated with manufacturers abroad to develop the product, work with our requirements
- Managing multiple aspects of the design such as the product, the packaging, shipping logistics, safety and compliance.
Books/Courses
Books I’ve read since April 2024:
- The 22 Laws of Marketing – Al Ries and Jack Trout
- How Rich People Think – Steve Siebold
- The Personal MBA – Josh Kaufman
- The Psychology of Money – Morgan Housel
- Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
- How to Become a Rainmaker – Jeffrey J Fox
- Richest Man in Babylon – Samuel Clason
- The Magic of Thinking Big – David J. Schwartz
- The Four Agreements – Don Miguel Ruiz
- No Excuses – Brian Tracy
- The War of Art ** – Steven Pressfield
- The E Myth Enterprise – Michael E. Gerber
- The E Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber
- The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferris
- How to start a business text book
- $1000 and an Idea – Sam Wyly
- Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Alchemist ** – Paulo Coelho
- Originals – Adam Grant
- The Design of Everyday Things **
- Creative Confidence – David M. Kelley and Tom Kelley
- Million Dollar Weekend – Noah Kagan
- No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention – Erin Meyer and Reed Hastings
- The Art of Innovation – Tom Kelley
- Change by Design – Tim Brown
- Steve Jobs ** – Walter Isaacson
- Zero to One: Notes on Startups… – Blake Masters and Peter Thiel
My Current books:
- Crowdsourcing **
- The Cold Start Problem **
- The Ten Faces of Innovation
- Positioning
- Business Model Generation **
- Financial Intelligence for Entrepreneurs
- Getting Things Done
- The Valkyries – Paulo Coelho
- Making Ideas Happen
- Millionaire Next Door
- Thinking fast and slow
- and more…
Skills
3D Printing/Rapid Prototyping
- FDM 3D Printing on various open-platform and closed-platform machines, manual and automatic bed leveling, direct drive and Bowden tube setups (3+ years)
- Design for manufacturing in the context of machining
- 3D Printer Mentor Project
- Using Pronterface/Printrun to control and monitor Ender 3 Printer using custom .gcode scripts for troubleshooter
- Raspberry Pi boards for sending .gcode commands automatically from sensors on GPIO pins and based on conditions
- Automatically establish a serial connections with the 3D printer through its micro-usb port
- Folding 3D Printer Project
Mechanical/Manufacturing
- CAD (see above)
- Ansys Workbench Failure Analysis (FMEA)
- Static structural
- Limited dynamic analyis
- Limited thermodynamic analysis
- Spreadsheet functions, etc…
- Strong mechanical/construction skills
- Using tools such as screwdrivers, wrenches, pliers, saws, and hammers for assembly, maintenance, and repairs
- Accurate use of measuring tools such as calipers, rulers, and tape measures
- Experience with levels, squares, and protractors for precise layout and alignment
- Expertise in working with wood, metal, and composite materials
- Knowledge of fasteners, adhesives, and joinery techniques
- Experience with drills, saws, grinders, sanders, and other power equipment
- Some welding experiences
- Knowledge of safety procedures and maintenance for tools
- Ability to read and interpret engineering drawings/schematics
- Troubleshooting and fixing mechanical issues effectively.
- Some fabrication/machining experience
- Brief use of lathes, milling machines, and drill presses for precision part creation (Senior Capstone Design Project)
- Cutting, shaping, and forming metals using saws, shears, and torches
- PPE and best-practices
- Design for manufacturing in the context of machining
Scripting and Automation
- Script programming, automation in VBA and Google App Script
- Leonardo DRS IR imaging analysis project
- Google App Script within Google Sheets and Google Forms
- Website builder Inquiry Form
- Automating formulas and data analysis within spreadsheets and their data
- Running scripts in MATLAB for bulk data analysis and for internal functions
- Leonardo DRS IR Imaging test for Software Verification Test
- Image analysis
- Worked within Make.com using Webhooks within my website as a prototype for a digital product
PTC Creo Parametric CAD
- Part design and drawings
- Assembly designs and drawings
- Drawing packages
- Custom parts for clients
- Creo Projects
Arduino/Microcontrollers and Sensor Integration
- Arduino UNO, Nano, Pro-Mini and other development board
- ESP32 boards
- Writing Arduino code within the Arduino IDE
- Using the Serial Monitor to parse data and adjust code as needed
- Breadboard prototyping
- Analog and digital sensors
- GPS modules
- I2C 16×2 char LCDs
- Ultrasonic sensors
- LiDAR distance sensors
- IR RX/TX
- SMS GSM modules
- Various radio units
- Buzzers, LEDs, Resistors
- Stepper drivers
- and so much more…
- Pot Stirrer – Junior Mechanical Design Course Capstone Project
Microsoft, Google Suite & Administrative Applications
- Microsoft Excel; functions, tables, charts/visualization, VBA/scripting/automation, formatting, statistics (for basic analysis)
- Microsoft word; formatting
- Microsoft Outlook/SharePoint
- Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Form
- Automation within Google Suite apps
- Skype for business, chats and calls
- Zoom
Programming/Software Development
- Worked in C language while taking Harvard’s Introduction to Computer Science course, CS50
- C++ during undergrad and have created basic programs since
- Python within smaller projects, introductory exposure and usage
- 3D Printer Mentor troubleshooter with Raspberry Pi using python code
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript in the context of website design, modifying features in WordPress and basic full-stack setups
- As needed, can locate features within a website to modify styling or content using these web dev languages
- Can understand the technical language (jargon) surrounding this space
- Incorporate AI in the development of code
- MATLAB code and data analysis – introductory exposure
- Worked on several projects during undergrad
- Florida Tech: Requirement Analysis DSM Research; program was written in MATLAB to analyze connectedness metrics
- Leonardo DRS: IR Imaging analysis used MATLAB scripts to upload .tif or .jpg files and determine whether device’s sensor image was within spec, as compared to a baseline
Systems-Specific [Sys. Engineering] Work
SEE Systems Engineering & Undergraduate Research Assistant roles, above, for the majority of skills in this area.
- IBM DOORS for system specifications
- Organization of an existing project’s poorly managed specs
- Redlining spec document and fixing mistakes
- RE-WRITING requirements to maintain uniformity and using best-practices
- Reconciling specifications to all official documentation
- Negotiating specs with program leadership and engineering staff
- Exporting and Importing Specs
- Using software (code) to develop tools to automate processes
Website Design
- MarioSultan.com
- DesignedLocally.com
- SultanEngineeringEnterprise.com
- 3DPrinterMentor.com
- Hosting, Domain and Subdomain, tech and setup
- HTML, CSS, JavaScript in the context of website design, modifying features in WordPress and basic full-stack setups
- As needed, can locate features within a website to modify styling or content using these web dev languages
- Can understand the technical language (jargon) surrounding this space
- Incorporate AI in the development of code
- Canva mockups/wireframe
AI/Prompt Engineering
- ChatGPT, Vercel (v0.dev), Claude.ai, Cursor AI, Jan AI, Copilot
- Used it to lesson plan while a teacher (education application)
- Designed, refined, and optimized prompts for these AI models to achieve desired outcomes
- Proficiency in crafting prompts for a wide range of applications (educational tools, automation, and content generation/copywriting)
- Incorporated several AI models in the development of my websites
- Familiarity with NLP, LLMs (Large Language Models), and their API integrations.
- Used AI for dynamic question generation, automated grading, and interactive tutorials
- Some experience with OpenAI APIs; embedding AI capabilities into systems.
