Daniel Deaconu: Where Bold Ideas Meet Authentic Branding

Interview with Daniel Deaconu on creativity, innovation, and the entrepreneurial journey in Romania. A story of vision, perseverance, and authentic leadership.

Daniel Deaconu is the founder of the marketing agency The Simplifier. Daniel became an entrepreneur at the age of 22 when he founded Curățenie Profi, a company he expanded nationally in Romania. After 11 years, he sold the cleaning company and became a sales and marketing consultant for software companies. For the past 2 years, he has been developing The Simplifier agency, which currently serves clients from 7 countries on 3 continents.

C&B: Looking at the narrative thread of your career or business, what were the key moments that defined you?
Daniel Deaconu: Ever since high school, I wanted to have my own business. I saw how hard my parents worked and how they never had time to spend with us. So I told myself that there had to be another way. I decided that after finishing high school and university, I would start a business that would make me a lot of money and give me freedom.
At 22, I started my first company, but reality in the field was completely different. There was money, but no trace of freedom, at least in the early years.

C&B: What has been the most difficult moment in your journey so far, and how did you overcome it?
Daniel Deaconu: I started Curățenie Profi in 2009. By 2011, we had reached 100 employees. The hardest moment came in 2012 when we dropped from 100 employees to just 4 and narrowly avoided bankruptcy. It was an extremely difficult time, but God helped me, and after nearly 2 years I recovered and began rebuilding. This time more strategically, more calmly, and with much healthier risk management. If in the first 2 years we grew locally in Constanța, now I was building a national brand, present in 6 cities—growth was slower, but much healthier.

C&B: Is there a dream or ambition that has always guided you, regardless of obstacles?
Daniel Deaconu: I’ve always wanted to be free. To earn a living by doing what I love. To work with people I like, not because I’m forced to. And I’ve always wanted to bring something valuable into others’ lives. That’s what guides me every day.

C&B: What were you like at the beginning of your journey, and how do you feel you’ve transformed over time?
Daniel Deaconu: In the beginning, I was very enthusiastic and knew nothing. For the first contracts I signed, I showed up in a T-shirt, shorts, and beach flip-flops. But I was very motivated to work, and people could sense that. As I gained experience, the enthusiasm faded a bit because I realized how hard it really is.
Now, after 16 years of entrepreneurship, I’ve regained that original enthusiasm because I’m finally doing something I love, that I identify with, and that brings real value to others.

C&B: If we spoke to your team or collaborators, what would they say about you?
Daniel Deaconu: My colleagues and collaborators would say that I always keep my word. That’s one of my core values. You’re worth as much as your word is worth.

C&B: What is the most important decision you’ve made that changed your trajectory?
Daniel Deaconu: One of the most important decisions was selling the cleaning company. I sold it in 2019, after our best year. But I did it because I wanted to switch industries and build a company that was easier to scale. Now, from a single office, we work with clients in 7 countries. That would have been impossible in the old business.

C&B: How did you develop your leadership style or decision-making process? Was it natural or learned?
Daniel Deaconu: I believe there are born leaders, but I don’t consider myself one. However, I know that everything can be learned. In my case, it was step by step. I made a lot of mistakes and learned from each. I fell many times, but the question isn’t “if you fall?”, it’s “what do you do when you fall?”—do you stay down and pity yourself, or do you get up and move forward?

C&B: What sets your business or professional approach apart from the rest of the industry?
Daniel Deaconu: Authenticity and creativity. I only work with software companies, with very smart people developing highly advanced technologies that can automate almost anything. But the only things that cannot be automated are creativity and building authentic human relationships. You can’t use AI to build a genuine business relationship. And when everyone around us is trying to automate everything, we stand out by investing a lot of energy in building authentic, long-lasting human relationships.

C&B: What does a typical day look like for you now, and what moments bring you the greatest satisfaction?
Daniel Deaconu: The first thing I do after I wake up is go for a run. Then I spend a bit of time with my daughters. We have 3 girls—11, 6, and 3 years old. I try to spend at least a few moments with them every day. The greatest satisfaction is when they say, “Daddy, will you play with us?”. And then I drop everything, take a break, and play with them.

C&B: What values or principles guide you in what you do, and how do you apply them daily?
Daniel Deaconu: Integrity, courage, and faith. In everything I do—family life, personal life, or business—I follow one simple principle: treat others as I’d like them to treat me. Everything becomes much simpler that way.

C&B: How did the idea for this business and its name come to you?
Daniel Deaconu: The Simplifier came from the simple idea of simplifying complex things. I’m not a technical person, but I work only with technical people. Brilliant individuals who’ve developed very complex software products that solve real needs—but they don’t know how to explain them. That’s where the idea came from: to simplify the message, to translate these complicated technologies into a clear, easy-to-understand form.

C&B: If you were to send a message to people following your example, what would it be?
Daniel Deaconu: Be authentic and treat others exactly the way you’d like to be treated. If we lived guided by these principles every day, I believe our lives would be much simpler, and we’d be much more peaceful and happier.

Through his vision and commitment to quality, Daniel Deaconu continues to shape Romania’s creative industry, inspiring young entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams with professionalism and perseverance.