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PHASE 1
CompleteFoundation & Build

Build the leadership platform

This phase covers everything that created the platform before the build journal itself went live — from replacing the traditional résumé to building Reza, the Command Center, the deployment workflow and Leadership in Action.

Verified Phase 1 cost + time$21.25 initial spend + $19.99/month fixed recurringVariable future costs: domain renewal + Reza API as needed • 10-day build span • Active hours tracked separately ↓
See full cost, receipts & time breakdown ↓
01
Start with the problem

Replace the résumé, not just redesign it

The idea

A résumé can list companies, titles and accomplishments, but it cannot show the full leadership story. The first goal was simple: build a personal site that could show career progression, recommendations, leadership philosophy and real examples — all behind one link.

How we approached it

  1. Define the story first. The site needed to feel like a leadership portfolio, not a digital copy of a PDF.
  2. Keep the design consistent. Navy, gold and straightforward typography became the visual system.
  3. Build mobile-first. Most of the project was developed, tested and deployed from an iPhone.
  4. Keep iterating. Features were added only when they made the portfolio more useful to a visitor.
02
Give the site a voice

Reza became the AI website manager

The next idea changed the site from a portfolio people read into a portfolio people could talk to. Reza was created to answer interview-style questions using my recorded answers, provide my résumé, share contact options and eventually help visitors connect with me.

  1. Start with approved answers. Reza was given a library of interview questions I personally answered.
  2. Do not invent personal answers. When a visitor asks something outside the verified knowledge base, Reza says he does not know.
  3. Escalate the unknown question. The site sends me an email with a secure “Answer through Reza” link.
  4. Return the answer to the visitor. The open conversation can update when I respond.
What went wrong: the email flow worked, but one of the first messages landed in spam because the sender had previously been reported. Instead of hiding that problem, we traced it, corrected the email setup and kept the workflow.
03
Make the AI teachable

The Reza Command Center

Originally, teaching Reza meant changing site code and redeploying it. That was not sustainable. The next requirement was: I should be able to teach Reza from my phone without touching Vercel or source files.

  1. Create a private owner mode. A private trigger opens the owner-access flow rather than acting as a password.
  2. Store knowledge in Supabase. Questions, answers, categories, visibility and active status live in a database.
  3. Build a phone-friendly editor. New knowledge can be added, edited, hidden or deactivated from the Command Center.
  4. Keep a fallback. Reza can still use the original recorded knowledge if the dynamic service is unavailable.
04
Make updates sustainable

GitHub → Vercel → the live domain

This was one of the messiest parts of the project, which is exactly why it belongs in the journal.

  1. Create a GitHub repository. We wanted one source of truth for the website instead of repeatedly creating disconnected Vercel projects.
  2. Move the working site into the repository. Because the work was being done from a phone, we used a GitHub Action to unpack the website package into main.
  3. Connect the correct Vercel project. There were multiple old preview projects and two Vercel logins, so connecting the right repository to the project that actually owned the domain mattered.
  4. Fix contributor identity. A test deployment was blocked because Vercel did not yet recognize the GitHub commit author as having contributing access.
  5. Reconnect the GitHub identity. Once the correct Vercel account was linked to the GitHub profile, the next commit deployed successfully.
  6. Confirm production. The new commit showed Ready and Production. The pipeline was finally working.
Result: future commits to the GitHub main branch can deploy to the same Vercel project that serves rouzbehsalehinia.com. That is a much cleaner foundation for everything we build next.
05
Show the leadership, not just describe it

Leadership in Action

The homepage had the career story, but it still needed something more human. We added a rotating Leadership in Action gallery using real photographs from different chapters of my career.

  1. Use real career moments. The gallery uses actual team, leadership and workplace photos instead of generated images.
  2. Make the gallery part of the hero. Circular photos rotate around a central Leadership in Action label without replacing the original site design.
  3. Let visitors explore. Each image can be opened in a larger viewer with a caption and next/previous navigation.
  4. Keep the brand consistent. Navy, gold and the original homepage layout stayed intact.
Why it mattered: the portfolio could now show evidence of team leadership visually instead of relying only on résumé language.
$
Cost & resources

Phase 1 — what it really took

This ledger separates project-specific cash costs from tools that were already available. Exact paid amounts are added only when we can verify the charge.

Elapsed build span10 daysSep 3–13, 2026
Active working hoursVerification pendingHistorical total will not be guessed

Domain registration

The custom domain was a direct project expense. The first verified charge was $11.25. Keeping the custom domain may require a future renewal, so this is not treated as permanently one-time.

Verified initial charge: $11.25 • future renewal cost: variable
Fixed recurring

ChatGPT Plus

ChatGPT Plus is the fixed monthly AI subscription used throughout the project for design, coding, debugging, iteration and project decisions.

Verified recurring cost: $19.99/month while subscribed
Usage-based / optional recurring

Reza — OpenAI API

A $10.00 API credit purchase funds Reza's model usage separately from ChatGPT Plus. Auto-reload is off, so there is no automatic monthly charge. More credit is only needed when usage consumes the balance.

Verified initial credit: $10.00 • balance shown: $9.94 • future spend: as needed
Current stack

Hosting, code, database & email

Vercel, GitHub, Supabase and Resend powered the live site, deployment workflow, Reza knowledge system and email escalation.

No separate paid upgrade documented in Phase 1
Time

Learning + building

The project was built largely from an iPhone through repeated testing, screenshots, fixes, redeployments and decisions.

Verified elapsed build span: Sep 3–13, 2026 = 10 days. Active working hours are a separate measure; the historical total is not published until it can be reconstructed without guessing.
Real receipts, real numbers

Evidence behind the Phase 1 costs

Where possible, the build journal uses real screenshots rather than estimates. Sensitive account information is redacted before publication.

Phase 1 bottom line

Verified cost structure: $21.25 in initial project spend ($11.25 domain + $10.00 Reza API credit), plus $19.99/month in fixed recurring cost for ChatGPT Plus. The domain may require a future renewal, while Reza API credit is usage-based and only needs to be replenished when needed. The API screenshot shows $9.94 remaining, meaning $0.06 of the original credit had been used when captured. Vercel hosting, GitHub, Supabase and Resend have not required a separately documented paid upgrade so far. Time: Phase 1 spans exactly 10 elapsed days from Sep 3 to Sep 13, 2026. Active working hours are tracked separately from elapsed days. Because Phase 1 began before formal hour tracking, its historical active-hour total remains unpublished until it can be reconstructed defensibly rather than guessed.

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