Dubas Roman Antonovych, 40 years

My name is Roman Dubas. Today, I am an entrepreneur, investor, and founder of the company «Clean Look», which I built from a sole-proprietor business under hands-on management into an industrial cleaning company with a team of almost 500 people.

My journey has been a long-distance race. In the early years, I filled nearly every role in the company: sales, recruiting, administration, client communications, finance, and sometimes even working as a cleaner. This was the most challenging stage of growth. I worked as a «one-person army,» and that period gave me a deep, clear-eyed understanding of business from the inside. The turning point came in 2012.

I made one of my strongest strategic decisions: shifting focus from business-to-consumer to the business-to-business segment. Business-to-business brought a new level of structure: long-term contracts, predictable revenue, and the ability to build a financial model, plan, and think years ahead. The business became structured and focused. Building a team became easier—when there is a strategy and a clear horizon, people feel stability and see the potential to grow. In 2018, I formally stepped down from the CEO role and became a founder. I began separating the owner's role from operational management, focusing on strategy, structure, and scaling. In practice, this transition is still ongoing—sometimes I need to step into operational processes when the system needs support. But my strategic direction today is to build an organizational model capable of growing exponentially. We are already designing a structure for a x5 scale, rather than our current size.

I believe business is not about an owner's heroics, but about a system that works even without them. I think in terms of scale and impact. In five years, I see myself just as energetic and proactive, but with exponentially greater influence in business and a stronger team. For me, scale is not only about turnover. It is about opportunity and the level of impact.

I strive to make the most of my potential—but on a foundation of values. Music is one way I do that. I plan to develop an international career as a DJ as a separate avenue for personal fulfillment and positive impact. I invest as an entrepreneur, balancing risk and control. I am building a conservative foundation through real estate and government bonds. At the same time, I am learning through investments in the stock market and cryptocurrencies.

Over the past year, I have had a particular focus on strategic projects in the smart money format, where I can influence the process and the outcome. In the social sphere, I act without seeking publicity. I support employees, my family, and the military, and take part in charitable initiatives. Happiness, for me, is being mindful: being present, fully experiencing what you do, and not spreading yourself too thin. Today, I feel an inner sense of wholeness and gratitude for the path I am on.

How did you come up with the business idea?

The idea did not come as a flash of inspiration. It was the result of a constant search. When I have a goal, I methodically look for a solution: I talk to many people, compare options, gather information, and stay focused. I once spent six months looking for a hobby before I found DJ courses. The business was much the same. I tried different things, but they did not seem promising. In conversations about creating value and building a large company, I turned my attention to cleaning as a growing market. It took about two to three months from the idea to the first order.

What key skills helped you launch your business?

Ambition and an athlete's mindset were the foundation—I am used to seeing things through to results. Belief in victory has never been an abstraction for me, but an inner state backed up by action. In practical terms, systems thinking strengthened me: I learned to see not just tasks, but the system—processes, standards, accountability, and the long game. I had to sell, hire, calculate the economics, and oversee quality all at once. This was a period when I literally held the business in my hands—and that ability to work on several fronts simultaneously became the foundation for future growth.

What were the 3 most difficult challenges you overcame in the early years?

1. Staffing and filling shifts quickly. We had orders, but people had to be found immediately. I literally called everyone in my contacts, and brought in friends and relatives. Sometimes my mother and cousin helped. I worked this way for years. 2. Being a one-person army. I was responsible for sales, strategy, management, HR, onboarding, procurement, client communications, calculations, payroll, and accounting all at once. Without a well-built system, this quickly becomes exhausting. 3. Service quality without enough experience. Getting an order is easier than consistently providing a service that makes a client come back and recommend you. At the start, mistakes were immediately visible, and that was the hardest part.

What crises has your business faced, and how did you overcome them?

There have been many crises, but the most significant were those that tested the resilience of the system and my own mental strength. 2012—a management crisis. I focused on development, tenders, and business-to-business negotiations, but the operational system had not yet been built. At one point, one administrator quit, another fell ill, a top manager stopped responding, and the person helping with recruitment was on vacation. I was left alone with three stores and thirty cleaners. It was extremely stressful, and I wanted to give up. But situations like these clearly reveal a business's weak points. The full-scale war. Eighty percent of my clients are grocery stores. We worked without interruption on February 24. Operationally, we had enough staff, but psychologically it was very difficult. For fifteen years, I had built the company with my own money, denying myself comfort, and suddenly it felt as if the ground was disappearing from under my feet.

Which decisions proved most effective for the company's growth?

First, the move from business-to-consumer to business-to-business. It changed our scale, quality requirements, and management, but brought stability and structured demand. In 2018, I introduced a corporate culture. After that, the company seemed to gain muscles and a skeleton: the team became more aligned, and we began selecting people based on values. Today, interviews begin with a presentation of our corporate culture. If it does not resonate with a candidate, we simply do not continue the conversation.

Which of your mistakes do you now consider your most valuable experience?

I don't see my decisions as fatal mistakes—rather, as managed risks. I have never put the company in a position where one wrong move could destroy it.