Serial Entrepreneur, Dawn Dickson Discusses Her Many Ventures

She’s an entrepreneur, inventor, and founder. Dawn Dickson is one of the few black women in technological sphere with her creation of PopCom – an automated retail company that uses facial recognition and works to make vending machines intelligent through data and analytics. In addition to that, she entered the fashion industry with her company Flat Out of Heels. In our exclusive interview with the woman of many hats, we discussed her many ventures and much more!

What inspired the creation of PopCom?

PopCom is an automated retail technology company. We make software and hardware for self-service retail. I have a background in retail from previously selling my shoes Flat Out of Heels in vending machines. I started PopCom to solve a problem that I was experiencing I wanted to have better looking and cooler hardware to sell consumer products.

You entered into the fashion industry with your company, Flat Out Heels. Can you tell us about it?

Flat Out of Heels rollable ballet flats. It was to solve a problem I experienced. Going out, my feet always hurt. As an entrepreneur, I’m just a problem solver by nature. When I realized that there wasn’t a product on the market that solved that. They are rollable, flat, machine-washable, stylish, and I created it myself.

Tell us about your plant-based restaurant called Lifestyle Café.

Lifestyle Café is one of the many things that I have invested in. It is a plant-based vegan restaurant in Columbus, Ohio. One of my best friends since fourth grade is a chef. It really just came about when there weren’t many vegan/vegetarian options in our community. She is a chef that always made great food for us at home and at events. When a local restaurant closed down, I asked her if she would be interested in operating a restaurant. I brought together a group of investors and friends and we funded the restaurant. I’m a partner in the restaurant but I don’t manage day to day operations.

You also have a podcast called BARS! What can listeners expect when they tune into your podcast?

I’ve only had one season of BARS podcast. I started it in 2018. It is on Spotify and Apple Music. I do plan on recording more. It’s a no-nonsense conversation on how to start a business and things you should know as an entrepreneur. There is advice and tips on how to start and includes hip-hop soundtrack. People enjoy listening to BARS because it’s not just talking, there is great music that is curated around the topic.

What are you currently working on? What can we expect to see from you in the future?

Currently, I’m working on bringing my PopCom machine to market and really re-introducing Flat Out Heels so we can secure customers to purchase shoes and operators to purchase machines. We sell the machines to individual operators. We want to focus on getting these machines to market. We’ll be rasing money soon. If you’re interested in investing in PopCom, you click here for more information.