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Over 2,000 startups across the globe have found the initial investment needed to kickstart their business because of Jana Dbouk’s Slide Success. Her business development online service creates custom pitch decks, executive summaries and other essential content for new companies looking for seed funding. We spoke with Jana Dbouk to understand her inspiration behind Slide Success, and her journey to becoming a business owner.
Q1: Jana, what is unique about your business, Slide Success?
Many companies mistakenly submit 40-page business plans to investors in their first email. It’s hard to catch the attention of CEOs, investment professionals and lenders with lengthy documents. We distill those huge business plans into one-page executive summaries that highlight what the start-up is about and why to invest..
Slide Success also creates custom pitch decks and presentations. The objective with a pitch deck is to impress an angel investor (or lender) to invest in the business. We develop winning pitch decks that tell the startup’s story, vision, the problem they’re solving, and their revenue model.
Q2: Take us back to when you were growing up. When did the seed of entrepreneurship take seat in you?
I’ve wanted to be a business owner since I was a teen, and started by helping my parents sell used electronics on Kijiji. I was amazed that I was able to sell virtually anything laying around the house. My parents always encouraged me to follow my dream of becoming my own boss.
I started by working a few odd jobs here and there, mainly to develop my skills as a business owner. I believe it’s important for every business owner to understand what a 9 to 5 job is like. It lets you understand how your employees feel. It helps you understand if working an 80-hour work week as the boss is better suited for you than working a 40-hour work week for someone else.
At the time I signed up to study business in university, the freelance site Fiverr was popular. You could provide any service or skill for $5, minus commission. After making a few sales, I fell in love with the ability to put my skills to use by freelancing. I loved providing customers various services to help grow their company. From there, the rest is history.
Q3: During the initial days of launching Slide Success and making your business official, what were your initial priorities?
When I was in the process of making my business official, I had a new client signing up every day. Clients would contact me to see samples of my work, but I was still operating on Fiverr. I moved on to developing a website for my own business.
I made sure to snatch up my username before I had to add any underscores or numbers. I went ahead and registered my company to make everything completely official and grabbed a custom email as well.
The first time I registered my business was under a different operating name four years ago. I recently used Ownr to register my business which took me all of five minutes. Ownr also helped me set up a business banking account with RBC, which has been very handy in keeping my personal and business transactions separate.
Q4: What has been your biggest success or earliest win in running your business thus far?
My biggest success is that I’ve served thousands of global startups who are developing new technology or solutions for the medical world. My company started with just me, working in a small basement, on an overused computer, juggling university exams and client deadlines. Now, I manage employees around the world, all while working from my home-office (yes, with a new computer).
Q5: What does a day in the life of Jana Dbouk look like?
My typical day starts at 7:30 am, making a cup of matcha green tea as I browse through the Shapr app to network and connect with other entrepreneurs in the industry. Then I head over to Instagram, respond to messages and browse motivational quotes.
I live downtown, so I always try to get out for at least 15 minutes a day to see some light and people. Working from home can occasionally cause boredom or stress. So, I take my laptop with me to the library or a coffee shop for a change of environment. I spend my evenings watching Netflix (Dynasty is my favourite), networking some more on Shapr, as well as trying new recipes I find on Instagram.
Q6: Are there any tips you would like to share with other business owners?
My advice to business owners is to forget about “profit”. I don’t mean go into debt, or give away your services for free. Rather, first try to understand what satisfies your customers and how you can improve your services to increase your sales. This will build consumer loyalty, and drive profit.
Q7: Where can people learn more about Slide Success?
You can find more details about our pitch deck creation services here on our website: https://slidesuccess.com, Instagram and Twitter.
Want to share your story too? Drop us an email and let us know you would like to be featured at [email protected].
This article offers general information only, is current as of the date of publication, and is not intended as legal, financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. While the information presented is believed to be factual and current, its accuracy is not guaranteed and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the author(s) as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by RBC Ventures Inc. or its affiliates.