Dawn Dickson

Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene is a serial entrepreneur and inventor with over 20 years of experience in technology, marketing, and business development. She has founded six successful cash flow positive companies since 2001, including Flat Out of Heels (2011) and PopCom (2017). Dickson-Akpoghene is considered a pioneer in the equity crowdfunding space and has significantly contributed to the fields of Web3 and retail technology, including her inventions in AI, facial recognition, and blockchain technology. Her company, PopCom, is known for creating revolutionary retail solutions, such as the PopShop Digital pop-up shop.

Dickson-Akpoghene has received numerous awards and accolades, including being recognized on the inaugural Forbes Next 1000: Small-Scale Super Achievers list and listed among INC Magazine’s Top 100 Female Founders. She was also named the 2020 OBWS Black Entrepreneur of the Year presented by Snapchat and received the 2021 Black Women Talk Tech ‘Tech Trailblazer Award’ and the 2021 Culture Shifter Award. She became the first female founder globally to raise a secure token offering (STO) of over $1M using equity crowdfunding under the JOBS Act, with her total as of 2021 exceeding $5M from over 7000 investors globally.

A seasoned professional speaker, Dickson-Akpoghene often discusses topics related to African American & Black themes, business & entrepreneurship, and the impact of technology on creating generational wealth. She has shared stages with top national business leaders and hosts the BARS! Podcast on Apple Music and Spotify. In March 2020, she was invited to testify before a Congressional Committee in a hearing titled “Building Blocks of Change: The Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Small Businesses".

A Tech Stars alumni, Dickson-Akpoghene received her BA in journalism from The Ohio State University and studied technology at DeVry University.