Getting to know you: Jason Downes

Jason Downes

What do you currently do?

I am the Managing Director for Powwownow. I have 18 years of experience managing large teams across the UK and in the business sector, such as Office Depot and Rentokil Initial. Powwownow, provides cost-effective conference call services, offering audio calls, screen share, scheduling tools, and mobile apps for free. Powwownow also offers web and video conferencing as well as webinars.

What defines your way of doing business?

Like the brand I work for, at the heart of all business I aim to keep things simple. People don’t need unnecessary confusion in business and I believe that arming yourself with the best technology and team can help you keep things simple and moving forward. Also it is essential to surround yourself with an expert team who can push forward the business and drive you towards your goals and objectives, so that’s what I try to implement at Powwownow.

What was the inspiration behind your business?

The main aim of why Powwownow came into the market in 2004 was to make conference calls accessible for all size businesses. At the time it was just large corporates who worked in this way, but by offering a shared cost model we enabled people to get the job done, saving money and time no matter at what stage in their business they were.

Who do you admire?

I admire anyone who is confident and brave enough to go at it alone and make their dreams a reality. Richard Branson is also a huge inspiration to me because he manages to keep the entrepreneurial spirit and fun within his business, even with the size of what he’s created, which I think is very rare to find.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?

You can’t change the past and I don’t believe in looking back and wishing to change things. I believe you can learn from everything that has happened to you, so look at what you’ve done and look toward the future – learning from the good and bad.  Also make sure to live in the now. With that in mind, I wish that I set up on my own earlier. I shouldn’t have been afraid of failing and just followed my gut instinct.

What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

I would say to be confident and stay strong in what you believe in – even in hard times. If your idea is good enough, you will succeed.