Mark Duran, Angel Investor

Mark Duran is a Co-Founder & CEO of Student First Technologies, a weekend athlete, a solo pilot & aspiring sailor, and an angel investor. Mark grew up in Harbor Springs, a small Northern Michigan town, working in his family's fine home-building business while pursuing a strong passion for riding & racing motorsports. This combination taught him a strong and gritty work ethic, sacrifice, and determination. After high school, he took "the road less traveled" by earning an opportunity to move to Louisiana to work for a very shrewd, successful founder and president of a river transportation company. That experience lit a fire within him to think bigger and try his hand at multiple ventures. Over the next several years, he ended up working as a property manager for a couple of multimillionaires and even a billionaire. He took notes and started investing in himself and dedicating himself to intentional habits. Years of adversity, determination, and grit have led him to where he is today. After exiting the property management space, he worked his way through a few corporate jobs and learning experiences, which led him to work and invest in technology companies. He enjoys paying it forward and stretching to grow my comfort zones, leadership, business, and mentoring abilities. He is now 4 years married to his best friend, "Kaitlyn Duran," and enjoying supporting her as she finishes up her schooling to become a Doctor of Optometry. Today, he serves as the Co-Founder and CEO of Student First Technologies. SFT provides technology and implementation services for K-12 education funding programs.