Summary:
Courtney Allen transformed her childhood passion for PowerPoints into a $4 million career.
After working for Cisco, she freelanced on Upwork, earning over $2.5 million.
A request from Yelp prompted her to scale and launch her own design firm, 16X9.
Her revenue doubled during the pandemic, reaching seven figures by 2022.
She advises aspiring designers to get certified and engage with the community.
PowerPoints go deeper than class projects—there’s a multimillion-dollar industry that many are unaware of. One entrepreneur reignited her childhood passion for slideshows and turned it into a $4 million career.
Courtney Allen, a 35-year-old presentation design freelancer, shares her journey:
“I’ve always loved PowerPoint, which is kind of strange. But when I was a kid, I would design PowerPoints for my family when I was at my grandparents' house.”
After obtaining a degree in graphic design, Allen secured a contract gig with Cisco, where she became a dedicated presentation designer for senior executives. In 2013, she also opened an account on Upwork, generating over $2.5 million from more than 1,000 clients while building her design empire.
A Yelp Inquest Turns the Side Hustle into a Business
In August 2016, a request from Yelp for 50 slideshow decks prompted Allen to scale her operations, leading her to establish her own dedicated presentation design firm, 16X9.
During the pandemic, demand for her services surged, doubling her revenue in 2021 and hitting seven figures by 2022.
“The value of having a well-designed presentation became even more important,” she explains, noting the shift to virtual conferences and increased budgets for engaging presentations.
Major Clients and Success
Allen's clientele includes industry giants like P&G, Adobe, Johnson & Johnson, Micron, and Home Depot. She has also worked with Microsoft and Coca-Cola, accumulating over $4 million from her design work.
“The industry is definitely more competitive,” she notes, recognizing the influx of new talent in presentation design.
Advice for Gen Z
Allen’s annual salary ranges between $200,000 and $300,000, a significant increase from her previous position at Cisco. She encourages those interested in presentation design to get certified and engage with communities on platforms like Slack and LinkedIn.
“Just dive into the community,” she advises. “I don’t think college is required for this profession.”
With millions of PowerPoints created daily, there’s a real appetite for skilled designers in the market.
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