Dawn Dickson

Dawn Dickson is an award-winning entrepreneur, pioneering technologist, visionary real estate developer, and sought-after global keynote speaker whose work spans continents and industries. She is the Founder and CEO of PopCom, a trailblazing company in automated retail technology credited with introducing facial detection and AI to vending machines. Her innovations have been recognized worldwide, and she holds a patent for the PopShop—an innovative robotic storefront dubbed “the iPhone of vending machines.”

A recognized voice on entrepreneurship, emerging technology, and global business, Dickson has been invited to speak on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, sharing her expertise with audiences across the globe. She has also testified before a U.S. Congressional Committee on Small Business on the benefits of blockchain technology, underscoring her standing as a thought leader at the intersection of policy, technology, and entrepreneurship.

Dickson’s entrepreneurial journey began in 2001 with the launch of TheUrbanStarr.com, one of the first entertainment websites in the U.S., which grew to over 100,000 users in Central Ohio and pioneered email marketing in the region. In 2011, she launched Flat Out of Heels, a women’s shoe brand that generated millions in revenue and gained celebrity endorsement. In 2017, she founded PopCom to solve data collection challenges in retail automation. Her fundraising efforts made history—she became the first female founder globally to raise over $1 million via equity crowdfunding, and is among the first 25 women in the U.S. to raise over $1 million in venture capital, with over $7 million raised to date, from more than 10,000 investors worldwide.

In 2022, Dickson relocated to Rwanda and expanded to Ghana, fulfilling a lifelong dream of living on the African continent. She now lives bi-continentally while maintaining ties to the U.S. Through D1 Consulting, she leads luxury real estate development and investment across Africa, and since 2024, has facilitated over $10 million in property sales in Ghana and Rwanda, including the cultural landmark Oasis Beach Resort in Cape Coast. She has helped founders collectively raise over $50 million and serves as a mentor with the Bola Ray Entrepreneur Institute in Ghana.

Dickson’s accolades include Forbes Next 1000, INC Magazine’s 100 Top Female Founders, OBWS Entrepreneur of the Year (presented by Snapchat), the Technology Pioneer Award, the Tech Trailblazer Award, the Diaspora Enrichment Award for Real Estate, and coverage in Forbes, Inc., Black Enterprise, Fortune, Fast Company, MSNBC, CNBC, Essence, Harper’s Bazaar, and The Breakfast Club. She is an angel investor, a 400-hour yoga teacher trainee, and—most proudly—the mother of her daughter Nia, whom she homeschooled from second grade through graduation.