If I were you I would consider making a cedar or poplar strip board,
with a max thickness of 3/8" to 5/8" under/between feet, tapering to 1/8" to 3/16" at the tips.
Only a single layer of light glass over the wood is needed, 4 to 8 ounces.
Get blind inserts from a snowboard place, they look better, and are cheaper than stainless tee nuts from box stores (I used boardcrafter.com).
The thickness profile should give you a good flex.
If too much flex, hit it with a sander then add another layer of glass.
This is similar to a lot of production boards, and should work while saving you the cost, consumables and learning curve of foams and vacuum bagging.
You still need a rocker table though if you want control and/or repeatability.
Of course you could vac bag it, but no need if you are careful and keep the resin:cloth ratio right.
Plywood IMHO is probably a waste of time to a guy that has the skill and tools to make a wood strip board that would be lighter and perform better.
I guess the pitfalls of beginners depend on the individual, but some basic ones are:
1. oops, used too much resin, resulting in heavy board.
2. oops, took board off rocker table too soon, all the rocker disappeared.
3. oops, mixed epoxy in wrong ratio, did not cure.
4. oops, forgot to account for 20-40% springback (with wood) after gluing up/laminating on rocker table, not enough rocker (see #2 also...).
5. oops, spent all weekend making a board instead of riding!
I have done ply boards in the past and am working on a strip one now.
I only had 1/4" strips though, so I effectively doubled my work, having to shape 2 core halves before glue-up. Oh well, it's fun and the strips were "free," leftover from something else....
Best luck, with your background you can probably make something sweet, but most people find the first board is more of a "learning experience."
If that happens, don't despair, the first one teaches you what NOT to do on the 2nd!