Female Founder | Minority Founder | SaaS, IoT, Blockchain
PopCom is an automated retail technology company that has built a SaaS & IoT platform for vending machines and kiosks that provides deep consumer insights and engagement for machine operators. The company is seeking investment to help solidify its strong position in the industry as well as fund new development of new blockchain-enabled software that will enable consumers to securely buy government-regulated products (e.g. pharmaceuticals, cannabis, alcohol) from vending machines and ensure retailers stay compliant.
Deal Highlights:
Automation is at the heart of a colossal shift in the retail paradigm, and in the midst of this phenomenon deemed “the Retail Apocalypse”, the self-service retail industry is exploding.² In fact, over two-thirds of retail customers now prefer to self-serve and over 100 million people purchase goods and services from vending machines or kiosks each day in the U.S. ³
While the majority of consumers enjoy added convenience and lower friction transactions, data also suggests that a personalized retail experience is still of great value in the buying process.⁴ Retailers, in the midst of reaping billion-dollar savings from self-service in the form of extremely low operating costs and 24/7 commerce, must address this need for personalized customer experiences without the help of humans at the point-of-sale. Hence, the arrival of smart vending machines was heralded. And with a CAGR of 49%, the industry is booming. ²
We believe we’re uniquely positioned in a market that is currently domiciled by slow-moving, behemoth hardware companies whose turnkey solutions are so expensive that even the largest CPG companies in the world may feel sticker shock when they see the cost of a pilot with our competitors. Our turnkey solution, the PopShop Kiosks with PopCom SaaS, are affordable for any team, from Fortune 500 to single-founder e-commerce brands. Not only is our hardware versatile, sexy, and affordable, we built exceptional software with features that facilitate fun, engaging customer experiences and allows retailers to glean powerful consumer insights and forge stronger relationships with their target demographic.
The last piece pièce de résistance? We're white-labeling our kiosk software for use in the 18 million existing machines worldwide, powered by our partnership with the largest kiosk manufacturer in the US, Kiosk Information Systems.
Bill Butler
CEO, KIOSK Information Systems
Want the technical details?
Concerns regarding the security of personally identifiable information (PII), computer vision reliability, and compliance tracking have deterred automated retail innovators from entering the space– until now. We're going to leverage advancements in blockchain, decentralization, and smart contracts to introduce a "2.0" version of our own ecosystem, a first-to-market solution that puts private consumer data back into the hands of consumers and ensures retailers stay compliant with government regulators for every transaction.
It’s no secret that the cannabis industry is one of the fastest growing segments of retail in modern history.¹⁰ Retailers in this "budding" industry face extraordinary transactional compliance hurdles and business risks that could be eradicated with PopCom's automated retail solution: 1) federal prohibition of cannabis sales means retailers in legalized states operate in an all-cash basis, which makes them targets for robberies and fraud ²¹; 2) per-person limits on cannabis purchases are almost impossible to enforce because consumer purchase data exists in walled silos, promoting rampant "no limit" use ²²; and 3) government-mandated seed-to-sale tracking must be enforced without fail– if product is lost, stolen, or unaccounted for, the retailer is at risk of losing their license.²³
Caleb Costa
InCrowd CCO
Collectively, Canada, Mexico, and The United States represent the largest continental pharma market in the world. The U.S. market alone is expected to grow to $1.12 trillion in 2022, with the fastest growth occurring during 2016-2020.¹⁴ This growth in revenue will undoubtedly be closely accompanied by the industry’s expansion into technology-based solutions. Based on PopCom’s discussions with prospective clients in the healthcare industry, this is indeed the case; a technological revolution is on the horizon. Not only will the shift to self-service technology bring 24/7 access to important medication for patients, the data gleaned from their interactions with machines will effectively turn consumers into "e-patients.” This opens up groundbreaking possibilities for distributed and automated healthcare research.
Alcoholic beverage sales are restricted globally by age and identification requirements that can vary significantly across jurisdictions. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, a non-Muslim resident can obtain a license to purchase alcohol for home consumption which is only valid in the Emirate of issuance. In addition to Emirate-specific licensure, the legal minimum age to purchase alcohol varies across the Emirates as well.¹⁸ In the tobacco industry, there is an established regulatory concern regarding vending machines because existing machines do not have the technology to meet compliant sale standards set by the FDA.¹⁹ In the gambling/gaming industry, identity verification is an integral part in preventing fraud and minors from gambling. If lottery retailers or casinos fail to accurately ID their customers, they can face huge financial losses and penalties from regulators. ²⁰
PopCom’s white label software solutions can be used to create a fully compliant, simplified, and automated point of sale system regardless of jurisdiction with advanced metrics available for consumer behavior and demographics.
Facial biometrics are scanned, hashed, and matched to the customers facial template hash stored on the blockchain. If the hashes match, the storefront is unlocked.
Each storefront product exists within the context of a smart contract that contains the necessary information about which compliance oracle to send a request for approval to, daily limits on purchases, and supply chain tracking info.
We submit the necessary information to ensure the retailer is not selling to someone who has already purchased the legal amount.
If the compliance service gives the green light for the sale, the product is vended and the sale is recorded on the blockchain.
Want the technical details?
(Above) Animated illustration simulating PopCom's future blockchain product for the regulated retail industry.
Protected by secure biometrics, consumers can dictate where, when, and for what purpose their decentralized identity is used.
Use case: Eliminating the proliferation of high-risk private data silos often targeted by hackers
Our technology uses computer vision to collect anonymous consumer data, while still allowing consumers to benefit from sharing private shopping data.
Use case: Compensating consumers for securely sharing their data with retailers or researchers.
Service Oracles ensure regulated goods are sold within legal constraints with records stored securely on the blockchain.
Use case: Enforcing consumer purchase limits autonomously in pharmaceutical or cannabis machines
Blockchain enables transparent and reliable track-and-trace functionality for all autonomously sold products, keeping retailers compliant and regulators happy.
Use case: Government mandated seed-to-sale tracking and supply-chain reporting for cannabis vending machines
PopCom plans to create a utility token called Point-of-Purchase Token, or XPOP, that will provide means to settle transactions within the PopCom Blockchain Ecosystem. There are several classes of transactions in the planned Ecosystem, all of which are detailed in the whitepaper and listed below:
Want the full details?
GoChain is 100x faster, 1000x more energy efficient, and 7500x cheaper than Ethereum. PopCom is proud to announce a strategic partnership with the GoChain team that will enable a faster and more cost effective blockchain solution.
We are small but mighty team, always willing to put all hands on deck to get the job done. We do a great job of delegating and collaborating - there are no egos, we are truly a team and have a family environment. Our company culture promotes freedom and flexibility, we make mental and physical health a priority, we believe that people perform the best when they are happy and healthy. Our team is driven, extremely talented, passionate about what we do and what we are building, and we love working together.
PopCom is a company of entrepreneurs and industry thought leaders in software, hardware, digital marketing, and business development. What makes us incredibly powerful are our diverse and complementary strengths and experiences. Most of our team has a technical /engineering background and all of us have either started a company or worked for a start up in the past.
Our CEO, Dawn Dickson, with the first PopShop Kiosk working prototype
We have produced two fully manufactured and working PopShop Kiosk prototypes. We are waiting to close deposits on 25 machines priced at $15,000 to give the green-light to our hardware manufacturing partner, Kiosk Information Systems, to begin full production on the PopShop Kiosks. We anticipate to enter full production before the end of 2018.
Our PopCom POS and API are deployed in test staging and fully working on the PopShop Kiosks. As with all software, we are still actively developing new features based on our customers' needs. We anticipate production software deployment prior to shipping our first machines.
The white-label analytics software solution is in the initial development and requirements phase. Our software team is actively working with Kiosk Information Systems on core integration and API development that will connect our retrofit technology (e.g. camera, facial recognition, shop software) to their existing machines. We anticipate shipping production code for the first integration partners in Q1-Q2 2019.
(Above) Video of first PopShop Kiosk prototype with POS demo
(Above) Video of second PopShop Kiosk prototype with dispensing demo
Top: PopCom team meeting
Bottom: Our CEO presenting PopCom for regulated retailers at ShopTalk
PopCom is not a brand new company comprised solely of ambitious blockchain academics; it is comprised of innovators and leaders that have a history of bringing disruptive technology to market. PopCom is at a very advantageous position in terms of bringing blockchain to widespread public use: the company already has developed existing, high-quality products that are being built in a way that facilitates an easy transition to a blockchain network; the company has existing commercial relationships with Fortune 500 companies– including pharmaceuticals–and cannabis dispensaries that have expressed interest in PopCom's regulated retail solution; and the technology that PopCom plans to build will be white-labeled for possible use in over 18 million vending machines and kiosks.
The Popcom team believes in a future where decentralization is not just a concept at the fringes of technology, but is the norm. Instead of fighting a decentralized business model, the company's technology will bring the power of decentralization and self-sovereign identity to regulated retail–
a market in desperate need of innovation and disruption. With powerful institutional backing, a very strong press presence, and a team of die-hard entrepreneurs, PopCom stands to bring blockchain technology to the forefront of automated retail and consequently the public's everyday lives. The company invites forward-thinking investors to join them in bringing their transformative technology to the world.
In order to fast-track development of the technology, PopCom has resolved to offer a dual token offering. Investors who take part in the Class A Common Stock offering, deliverable in the form of tokens ("PCOM Tokens"), will also receive XPOP tokens as a bonus perk, minted and distributed on the GoChain blockchain (if and when they are developed). Join us as we change the face of the Regulated Retail Economy.
Investment: Class A Common Stock deliverable in the form of tokens ("PCOM Tokens") & XPOP Tokens
$0.18/share of Class A Common Stock│When you invest you are betting the company’s future equity value will exceed $9M.
Perks*
Point-of-Purchase Tokens ("XPOP")
The Offering includes 10 XPOP Tokens for every $1 invested. In addition, the following bonuses apply, and these perks are subject to the Bonus Rates and Terms noted below.
Individual XPOP Token Bonus Rates: Individual Investors who participate in the PopCom Regulation CF crowdfunding campaign may be eligible to receive bonus tokens if they contribute more than the minimum investment. The size of the bonus will depend on the size of the investment, and the bonus thresholds are as follows:
Group Token Bonus Structure: In addition to whatever individual token bonuses an investor may receive for their individual investment, the entire investor pool may receive an additional token bonus, for their performance in helping PopCom reach certain investment milestones. Additional token bonuses are as follows:
*All perks will be delivered after the campaign is completed, and upon availability of the Tokens. See Offering Summary below for additional terms.
For details on the bonus, please see the Offering Summary below.
Description: PCOM Tokens will represent a single share of Class A Common Stock, with rights, preferences, privileges, and restrictions as designated in the Articles of Incorporation and attached as an Exhibit to the Offering Document. PCOM Tokens will be issued on the ERC20 Blockchain.
The right to tokens is contingent upon the successful development of such Tokens and to the extent applicable, the blockchain upon which they function. There is no guarantee that successful development will ever occur. If development is not completed, investors will still receive shares in book-entry form.
Description: Point-of-Purchase Tokens, or XPOP, are tokens which are planned to be issued on the GoChain network and will provide the means to settle transactions between retailers, regulators, researchers, consumers, and the Company within the PopCom Blockchain ecosystem. There are several classes of transactions in the planned Ecosystem, all of which are covered in detail in the Company's whitepaper, but for the purpose of brevity, will be listed here: Regulated Retail Transactions (RRTx's), Decentralized Data Exchange Transactions, Platform Service Transactions, and Other Transactions.
The right to XPOP Tokens is contingent upon the successful development of such XPOP Tokens and to the extent applicable, the blockchain upon which they function. There is no guarantee that successful development will ever occur.
Sources
1. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-global-intelligent-vending-machine-market-is-forecasted-to-grow-at-a-cagr-of-3441-during-the-period-2018-2022-300574545.html
2. https://www.cbinsights.com/research/retail-apocalypse-survival-technology-trends/
3. http://www.balancedforlife.net/pdf/About%20Vending.pdf
4. https://hbr.org/2015/03/how-self-service-kiosks-are-changing-customer-behavior
5. https://www.slideshare.net/stevenvanbelleghem/the-self-serving-economy
10. https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-us-marijuana-industrys-economic-impact-could-reach-80-billion-by-2022/
13. https://news.gallup.com/poll/221018/record-high-support-legalizing-marijuana.aspx
15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK343572/
16. https://www.statista.com/outlook/18000000/104/otc-pharmaceuticals/north-america
17. https://www.retaildive.com/news/cvs-brings-vending-machines-to-25-non-store-locations/504499/
18. https://www.worldnomads.com/travel-safety/middle-east/united-arab-emirates/drinking-and-the-united-arab-emirates-dont-mix
20. http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-bethlehem-sands-underage-fines-20160713-story.html
21. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pot-shops-20160711-snap-story.html
22. https://www.greenentrepreneur.com/article/318967
23. http://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/a-seed-to-sale-shakeup/
Serial Entrepreneur Dawn W. Dickson, founder and CEO of PopCom, a software company for self-service retail, and Flat Out Heels, a producer of rollable flats for women and children sold online and through vending machines, always prepares for the next big opportunity.
Dawn Dickson got into self-service retailing in 2011 with a very simple plan: create a vending machine to sell flat shoes for women on the run. But in the course of launching this business, she learned that self-service retailing technology was not sufficiently developed.
I use my success and access to help other women and people of color, that is what I am most passionate about.
Legend has it that the first vending machine was invented in the first-century by a Greek inventor and professor who wanted to prevent temple visitors from taking more holy water than they paid for.
On this episode of StartupNation Radio, your host, Jeff Sloan, chats with Dr. Luke Pittaway, Ohio University College of Business Copeland Professor of Entrepreneurship, and Dawn Dickson, founder and CEO of PopCom and Flat Out of Heels.
Female founders are underfunded and underrepresented, but black female founders bear a disproportionate share of the burden. While female founders overall receive 2.7 percent of all venture funding relative to their male counterparts, black female founders receive 0.2 percent.
Vending machines as we know them—a customer chooses an item, inserts cash and punches in the corresponding letter and number combination—are on their way out. Modern digital technology is finally catching up with standalone retail machines, and Columbus company PopCom, formerly known as Solutions Ve
When you think of cutting edge technology, it’s unlikely vending machines pop to mind. But Dawn Dickson has a plan to change that with her startup, PopCom.
In retail, every transaction is an opportunity. An opportunity to make an impression. An opportunity to build revenue and turn product into profit.
As consumer technology brings new conveniences, retailers and brands are finding they have to work harder to stay on top of emerging innovations. Those attending the recent CES event in Las Vegas found a gold mine of self-service products designed to help retailers and brands stay relevant as e-comm
Dawn Dickson created Flat Out of Heels, for the 78% of high-heel-wearing women who take off their shoes because their feet hurt.
For a demographic that has a consumer buying power of $1.3T by the end of 2017, there still seems to be a huge gap or disparity with the representation of Black Influencers in various industries.
Flat Out of Heels sells rollable ballet flats for women. CEO Dawn Dickson launched the Miami-based company in 2012, and the product has been selling like crazy ever since.
Dawn Dickson, PopCom CEO, mentioned as one of the Top 100 Female Founders in 2018 by Inc Magazine.
Dawn Dickson discusses four very important lessons she's learned as a founder raising venture capital.
Industry experts, investors, and users weight in on the potential of PopCom as a company. "...The PopCom kiosks fill every gap we've imagined."
Maximum 5,944,444* shares of Class A Common Stock, deliverable in the form of tokens ("PCOM Tokens") ($1,069,999.92)
*Maximum subject to adjustment for bonus shares. See 10% Bonus below
Minimum 55,555 shares of Class A Common Stock, deliverable in the form of tokens ("PCOM Tokens") ($9,999.90)
| Company | Solutions Vending International |
| | |
| Corporate Address | 1275 Kinnear Road Columbus, OH 43212 |
| | |
| Description of Business | PopCom is an automated retail technology company providing software and hardware solutions for self service retailers. The company is using cutting-edge technology to bring unparalleled consumer data insights to retailers and provide an engaging and frictionless experience to automated retail transactions. |
| Type of Security Offered | Class A Common Stock (the "Securities") and XPOP Tokens (the "Tokens") |
| | |
| Purchase Price of Security Offered | $0.18 per share of Class A Common Stock |
| | |
| Minimum Investment Amount (per investor) | $252.00 |
Perks*
The Offering includes 10 XPOP Tokens for every $1 invested. In addition, the following bonuses apply, and these tokens are subject to the Bonus Rates and Terms noted below.
Individual XPOP Token Bonus Rates: Individual Investors who participate in the PopCom Regulation CF crowdfunding campaign may be eligible to receive bonus tokens if they contribute more than the minimum investment. The size of the bonus will depend on the size of the investment, and the bonus thresholds are as follows:
Group Token Bonus Structure: In addition to whatever individual token bonuses an investor may receive for their individual investment, the entire investor pool may receive an additional token bonus, for their performance in helping PopCom reach certain investment milestones. Additional token bonuses are as follows:
*All perks and tokens will be delivered after the campaign is completed, and upon availability of the Tokens.
Terms of Tokens
Class A Common Stock Tokens ("PCOM", "PopCom Tokens")
Description: The PCOM Tokens will represent a single share of Class A Common Stock of the company, with rights and preferences as designated in the Articles of Incorporation and summarized in the Offering Document.
Exchanges: Tokens intended to be tradable on StartEngine LDGR, tZero, and any other ATS upon launch of the service.
Other Material Terms:
Please see Offering Document for complete set of rights and preferences.
XPOP Tokens
Description: Point-of-Purchase Tokens, or XPOP, are tokens which are planned to be issued on the GoChain network and will provide the means to settle transactions between retailers, regulators, researchers, consumers, and the Company within the PopCom Blockchain ecosystem. There are several classes of transactions in the planned Ecosystem, all of which are covered in detail in the Company's whitepaper, but for the purpose of brevity, will be listed here: Regulated Retail Transactions (RRTx's), Decentralized Data Exchange Transactions, Platform Service Transactions, and Other Transactions.
The right to tokens is contingent upon the successful development of such Tokens and to the extent applicable, the blockchain upon which they function. There is no guarantee that successful development will ever occur.
Will they be listed on Exchanges: We currently intend listing the token on exchanges, but this may change, pending approval to list on such exchanges, changes to the regulatory landscape, or any other reason. Security Tokens may be eligible for trading on SEC approved alternate trading platforms as they become available. There is no guarantee that such a trading platform will be available at that time.
Other Material Terms:
The Company currently does not have a functional distributed ledger based business model nor a blockchain based token and there is no guarantee that such will be developed in the future. The promise of future tokens is contingent upon the successful development of such items. There is no guarantee that successful development will ever occur. The right to receive future tokens and the offering of future tokens is being offered as part of this offering exempt from registration under Regulation CF.
Tax Advisory: Investors should consult their tax advisors with respect to the tax basis for each of the Class A Common Stock and the XPOP Tokens, since they will trade independently.
No Sales in New York: Because the XPOP tokens being offered or included as perks may be viewed as “virtual currencies” under the laws of the State of New York, we are not offering the Class A Common Stock and XPOP Tokens to investors in New York. No Investor who (i) resides, (ii) is located, (iii) has a place of business, or (iv) is conducting business (any of which makes the Investor a “Resident”) in the state of New York will be accepted in this offering.
The 10% Bonus for StartEngine Shareholders
Solutions Vending International will offer 10% additional bonus shares for all investments that are committed, within 24 hours of this offering going live, by StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. shareholders who invested over $1,000 in the StartEngine Reg A offering which closed earlier this year.
StartEngine shareholders who invested $1,000 or more in that StartEngine Reg A offering will receive a 10% bonus on this offering within a 24-hour window of this offering’s launch date. This means you will receive a bonus for any shares you purchase. For example, if you buy 1,000 shares of Class A Common Stock at $0.18 / share, you will receive 1,100 Class A Common Stock shares, meaning you'll own 1,100 shares for $180. Fractional shares will not be distributed and share bonuses will be determined by rounding down to the nearest whole share.
This 10% bonus is only valid for one year from the time StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. investors received their countersigned StartEngine Crowdfunding Inc. subscription agreement.
A crowdfunding investment involves risk. You should not invest any funds in this offering unless you can afford to lose your entire investment. In making an investment decision, investors must rely on their own examination of the issuer and the terms of the offering, including the merits and risks involved. These securities have not been recommended or approved by any federal or state securities commission or regulatory authority. Furthermore, these authorities have not passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this document. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission does not pass upon the merits of any securities offered or the terms of the offering, nor does it pass upon the accuracy or completeness of any offering document or literature. These securities are offered under an exemption from registration; however, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not made an independent determination that these securities are exempt from registration.
It has been almost a month since the Start Engine campaign became fully subscribed and that is when the real work began! We received over $1,300,000 in commitments from investors and were only able to accept $1,070,000 under the SEC rules around Reg CF rounds. THANK YOU to our new investors and everyone who is still on the waiting list. Stay tuned there will be future opportunities to invest.
Our Founder and CEO Dawn Dickson was featured in Forbes last month as the first Black woman globally to raise a secure token offering over $1M, this was truly historical what we have done together as a community! Read the full story HERE.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FOR OUR INVESTORS
Check your inbox! We have made tremendous progress with the product and company throughout the campaign. As an investor you will receive an email update every quarter from our Founder, the first one went out this morning (5/15). If you did not receive the email please message Auddy@popCom.shop to be added to the list. You MUST be a confirmed investor in our Start Engine campaign to receive updates, wait list members are not eligible for now.
Continue to stay updated with PopCom on our social media pages: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and on YouTube.
PopCom CEO Dawn Dickson was invited to deliver the keynote speech at the Start Engine Founder's Summit in Santa Monica, CA on April 12, it was a full circle moment for our team. Watch the recap HERE and below.
Click the link to watch the video
Hello #TeamPopCom! The round is officially closed and all investments have been accepted! THANK YOU to the 2,078 people who made history with us!
The success of the PopCom Secure token offering (STO) campaign on Start Engine made our CEO Dawn Dickson the first Black woman in the world to raise an STO of this amount! Now the real work begins -- launch the product, generate revenue and scale. If you were on the wait list and did not get confirmed please stay tuned for future investment opportunities. If you are an accredited investor you can still invest for a minimum of $10,000 - contact us at www.PopCom.Shop for more info.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Due to the overwhelming demand and oversubscription of our original $943,000 fundraising goal, we have now extended the campaign to accept the maximum legal amount of $1,070,000. This means several people from the waitlist will be contacted to confirm your investment, please do this ASAP as the wait list is currently over capacity and we have more requests to invest than we can legally accept.
CONFIRM YOUR INVESTMENT ASAP.
We are excited to announce that our Founder & CEO Dawn Dickson will be delivering the keynote at the Start Engine Founders Summit on Friday, April 12 in Santa Monica, California. This is great honor and full circle moment for PopCom and we thank you for helping us build momentum and smash our goals!
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello! Recently, a change was made to the Solutions Vending International offering. Here's an excerpt describing the specifics of the change:
The issuer is updating the maximum funding goal and use of proceeds of its offering.
When live offerings undergo changes like these on StartEngine, the SEC requires that certain investments be reconfirmed. If your investment requires reconfirmation, you will be contacted by StartEngine via email with further instructions.
Thank you to everyone who joined our "Ask Me Anything" #AMA session with CEO Dawn Dickson yesterday, in case you missed it you can watch the replay on YouTube.com/PopComSaaS and at the link below. On the session Dawn answered many questions including:
And more....
PopCom Team THANK YOU so much for making this a historical campaign for us!
When they do not give us a seat at the table, we bring our own. Thank you to the 1,669 people who invested before we reached the $943,000 cap, the round is officially closed with over $1,025,000 commitments on the wait list. The community rallied behind myself, the PopCom team, the token, and the movement in such an unbelievable way. I am really speechless, overwhelmed with gratitude 🙏🏽 and so proud of what we have collectively accomplished. We took many risks to raise capital this way, we went against what was traditionally accepted and supported because we believed that an STO was the best route for us. This is a win not only for PopCom but for the founder community as a whole.
I am sure many of you have questions about next steps, please join me on Instagram LIVE (@DawnWDickson) on Tuesday, April 2, at 6pm E.T. for another #AMA session to discuss the status of the product and the next steps for investors and people on the wait list. Feel free to send questions in advance by posting them on Start Engine and I will respond live. The #AMA will also be recorded and posted to our YouTube page.
This is only the beginning, we have a lot of work to do, our team is focused on launching the product and scaling, but it is important to celebrate the wins as we go!
Sincerely,
Dawn Dickson
As the PopCom Crowdfunding campaign comes to a historical close we wanted to make sure to acknowledge the people who have been there from the start....thank you to Marcus Stroud for being the very first investor when Dawn had an idea to start building hardware in 2012 —everyone thought she was crazy (he did too but invested anyway). We bootstrapped and proved the concept with Flat Out of Heels for 4 years until being accepted into Canopy Boulder to start working on a concept for cannabis kiosks. Then Arlan Hamilton and Backstage Capital became the first VC to invest after Canopy...followed by Techstars and several others. We are very fortunate to have amazing advisors to help guide our team along this journey. We are VERY close to our $943,000 cap...we are just getting started but it’s important to celebrate the wins as we go!
Click the link below to watch the video
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Solutions Vending International has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Solutions Vending International be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
The momentum from the Breakfast Club interview and our retargeting efforts have been nothing short of amazing! PopCom has raised over $800,000 with several weeks left in the campaign and our CEO Dawn Dickson has become the first Black woman to raise a successful secure token offering (STO) of this amount in history. We now have over 1,475 new investors and a community of unaccredited angels who invest in technology. We are excited that Start Engine allows for early disbursements and the capital raised has been put to immediate work to complete the product and finally get it in the hands of our customers. We are anticipating a Q3 delivery date for the PopShop, although we are 12 months behind schedule due to issues with our previous manufacturer, we are back on track. This week the PopCom team spent time in Shenzhen and Dongguan, China meeting with the team that will complete the design and build another prototype for mass production in the U.S. Thanks to you, we are on our way!
Hello #TeamPopCom! We have raised nearly $665,000 from 1,264 investors and many of you have posted questions on Start Engine and on our social media pages. We hosted another live #AMA session on Instagram with CEO Dawn Dickson and Head of Product for Blockchain, Jared Korinko, who worked equally on the token sale and authored the white paper. We answered many of your questions about the tech and token watch the replay below. We will host another session in 2 weeks, you can view previous #AMA sessions at www.YouTube.com/PopComSaaS.
READ 'MY ICO/STO DISCOVERY JOURNEY" by PopCom CEO Dawn Dickson
"In this series launched in April 2018, I will share my journey learning about ICOs. When I began hearing about Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and the capital that startups were able to raise through them, I became enthusiastically interested in learning about the process. Like many founders, I have a compelling product in need of a substantial infusion of cash to reach its true market potential. This has been quite a challenge, because again, like most founders — particularly female founders of color — I’ve been at the mercy of the Silicon Valley machine. Although I have been successful at raising venture capital, I am still caught in an exhausting cycle of convincing VCs of the massive potential of the self-service retail industry and why they should invest. A software product of this magnitude takes a lot of time and capital to build, and VCs want to see revenue generated before they will go ‘all in’ — keeping this in mind I began to explore my options for raising capital."
Read the full blog post HERE.
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello! Recently, a change was made to the Solutions Vending International offering. Here's an excerpt describing the specifics of the change:
Extended length of campaign.
When live offerings undergo changes like these on StartEngine, the SEC requires that certain investments be reconfirmed. If your investment requires reconfirmation, you will be contacted by StartEngine via email with further instructions.
THANK YOU to our 972 investors and counting! 6 more days left to invest, here is a special thank you message from our CEO Dawn Dickson.
We have now passed $450,000 from over 881 investors!! The support we have experienced this week has placed us at the very top of the Start Engine site as the company with the 'most momentum'! Thank you all for helping us make history! Many people have been contacting us regarding making international investments - the answer is YES! There are a few stipulations:
Please subscribe to our YouTube page for updates from our CEO and team
It has been an amazing week for the PopCom team! We passed $350,000 with 8 days left in the campaign on the heels of a major national media interview with The Breakfast Club on Power 105.1 FM. Watch below as Dawn talks discusses PopCom, the Black tech community, and how our team is using crowdfunding.
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Solutions Vending International has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Solutions Vending International be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
Hello #TeamPopCom! Thank you for helping us pass $268,000 from 458 investors. We only 14 days left in the campaign so please continue to spread the word. A lot of you have been asking about the token bonuses and if you can invest more and combine those investments - we have spoken with the Start Engine team and the good news is...YES you can combine investments to receive the bonuses.
PLEASE READ COMPLETELY: These XPOP tokens will be issued post-raise (after we close) and once we get the final investor list from Start Engine we'll be able to see how much each person invested and issue the bonus tokens appropriately. We’re doing our own independent tracking of all investment amounts and will combine your total investments into one lump sum at the end of the campaign. This final amount will be used to calculate your bonus amount. So don’t worry if you’ve had to split your investments into multiple transactions– we’ll total them all. Please keep in mind the XPOP tokens are still in development and will be distributed at a later time, per our investment documents.
Watch the video below as our CTO Dan Rockwell discusses how PopCom leverages facial recognition technology for distribution of cannabis and other regulated retail products.
Please subscribe to our YouTube page for more videos and content
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Solutions Vending International has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Solutions Vending International be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
Curious how our tech works for cannabis and regulated retail products? Watch the video below as our CEO Dawn Dickson explains how PopCom is using secure facial recognition to reduce friction at checkout.
We have experienced exponential growth in the past six days and passed $215,000 today! Keep spreading the word and sharing the movement.
#TeamPopCom this has been a great week!
On February 21 our CEO Dawn Dickson appeared on the Karen Hunter talk radio show on Sirius XM - this interview caused a tremendous spike in our campaign traffic and we raised over $35,000 in less than 24 hours bringing our total to $179,000! THANK YOU and welcome to our new investors, you are in good company! We have a total of 361 investors in our Start Engine campaign - give yourself a round of applause for joining us on this journey!
People always ask us 'why vending?' it is not the most sexy or interesting industry to some, but the market is HUGE and growing! Watch below as Dawn explains why automated retail is the future. Also please follow us on YouTube we post new videos and interviews often, it is also a great place to engage with us.
#TeamPopCom we have more amazing tutorials from a few of our 292 new investors, read them below and keep them coming! Please send us why you invested in PopCom and what it means to you to Auddy@popcom.shop.
NEW MEDIA: Our CEO Dawn Dickson will be interviewed on the Karen Hunter Show for the 'Tech Talk' segment on 2/19 at 5pm ET. Tune in to SiriusXM Urban View (Channel 126).
Hello #TeamPopCom! With 33 days left on the campaign we are about to hit $140,000 from 277 investors! We have some MAJOR national press appearances scheduled so please follow our social media pages for updates. Also our CEO Dawn Dickson is hosting another 'ask me anything' #AMA session on Monday, February 18 at 8pm ET on Instagram LIVE so please follow us on IG, mark your calendars and tune in.
We have been on fire in the press lately! Check out our latest features:
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Solutions Vending International has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Solutions Vending International be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
The Start Engine campaign is continuing to gain momentum and attract new investors and media attention, we are so excited about our progress! Check out the latest news:
This week we passed $115,000 in investments, please continue to share the campaign with friends, family, peers and send your testimonials. We also want to clarify that the money we won last week from MEDA and Chase was an investment and not related to our Reg CF campaign, however all money we raise goes towards the common goal of scaling the company.
Hello #TeamPopCom! Thanks to you we have passed $105,000 and the momentum is growing stronger every day. This week I reached out to the people who invested in our Start Engine campaign and asked why they invested in PopCom and what it means to them....the responses were amazing! When I decided to raise our next round via crowdfunding instead of the traditional VC route I got a lot of resistance. If you follow me and listen to my podcast, BARS!, you know how passionate I am about uplifting my people and the founder community. Starting a business is hard, building a product is hard, raising $1M+ as a Black woman (or anyone) is hard, but to take big risks and walk the road less traveled is even harder. I’m doing things my way, I’m not perfect and I don’t know everything but I feel good about the path I chose for PopCom and reading these messages from our new investors is even more reassuring. Our big goal is $943,000 and we still have 47 days left on the campaign, but thanks to you we are making history! This week we also received our first disbursement of $55,000 from the money that you invested, we put it to work immediately and are moving forward to integrate blockchain and complete the development of the PopShop in order to mass produce the hardware and scale. Feel free to reach out to us anytime - I want to hear from you! And please keep the testimonials coming, they give me life!
I need one more big favor from you. Please follow us on all channels, like, comment and subscribe! We are always sharing new content for you.
Sincerely,
Dawn Dickson
Founder & CEO
We have some exciting news! Today our CEO Dawn Dickson pitched in the MEDA $1 Million Pitch Competition in Minneapolis, MN and WON a $125,000 investment from Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA) and Chase, while these funds are not included as part of our Reg CF raise, they are still incredibly important to helping us scale the business.
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Solutions Vending International has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Solutions Vending International be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
THANK YOU! We have passed the $85,000 mark thanks to the 163 people who invested in our campaign so far. It means so much to us to have your support and we would love to hear from you why you invested and what investing in PopCom means to you. We want to feature some of our amazing new investors on our social media pages to highlight the awesome people we have on board and of course encourage others to invest as well. If you are interested in participating please email your testimonial to Auddy@PopCom.Shop with your name and social media handle and we will feature you. Thanks again and please share our campaign with your network, our goal is to reach $100,000 this week...let's get it!
GoChain, a blockchain application network has joined hands with PopCom, which specializes in automated retail technology. PopCom is known for making smart vending machines and also provides Kiosk solutions.
The partnership between the two firms would see Popcom building a chain of products powered by GoChain, with a complete ecosystem. The first aim of the partnership is to build a chain of automated vending machines for government regulated products such as cannabis, pharmaceutical, and alcohol.
PopCom experience in building smart vending machines has made it a favorite among several fortune 500 companies. Both the firms would explore various possibilities of integrating the vending machine ecosystem with blockchain. PopCom’s software integration team has set the target at 18 million vending machines.
PopCom is looking to integrate the advancements of the blockchain, biometrics, and smart contracts to the Gochain’s fast network. The integration would see a 2.0 version of regulated retail, powering machine-driven transactions in a secure and compliant way.
The latest partnership was looking to release the technology first as a vending solution, however, the plans have been modified to integrate 18 million vending machines together using the software solutions and kiosks, bringing blockchain to the forefront of retail business.
Dawn Dickson, PopCom CEO, said, “We’ve spent the last year seeking great partners in the blockchain, and we’re proud to work with the talented team at GoChain. Uniting a very exciting application of blockchain technology like PopCom with a fast and powerful network infrastructure like GoChain could pave the way for blockchain to finally become part of the public’s everyday lives.”
Read the full article HERE.
[The following is an automated notice from the StartEngine team].
Hello!
As you might know, Solutions Vending International has exceeded its minimum funding goal. When a company reaches its minimum on StartEngine, it's about to begin withdrawing funds. If you invested in Solutions Vending International be on the lookout for an email that describes more about the disbursement process.
This campaign will continue to accept investments until its indicated closing date.
Thanks for funding the future.
-StartEngine
Great release today from our partners at GoChain about how we will leverage GoChain’s fast and cost-effective network along with advancements in biometrics, blockchain, and smart contracts to augment its current automated retail platform into a “2.0” version for regulated retail, powering machine-driven transactions in a secure and compliant way.
Read the full release HERE
Happy Monday!! We passed $55,000 in our campaign today which means we will be featured in the Start Engine email this week to thousands of investors - THANK YOU for helping make that happen!
If you missed the 'ask me anything' session with our CEO last week it is posted on YouTube and you can watch it at this link. You can read more about secure token offerings and our fundraising journey please read 'ICO Discovery Journey' on Dawn's Medium blog.
| Chris BurtCATEGORIES Biometrics News | Commercial Applications | Facial Recognition
LINK TO ARTICLE ON BIOMETRIC UPDATE
Smart vending machine company PopCom has launched a Security Token Offering (STO) to raise up to $943,000 in funding to support the development of a blockchain-powered product ecosystem for sales of government-regulated products such as cannabis, pharmaceuticals, and alcohol, Black News reports.
PopCom’s software and API for vending machines and kiosks feature demographic analysis, facial and emotion recognition, and other customer engagement features, and support biometric payments. The new version 2.0 of the company’s platform leverages biometrics, blockchain, and smart contract technology to enable secure, compliant transactions. The new version will be launched initially as a turnkey solution, with the API version following for broader integration.
Founder and CEO Dawn Dickson has appeared on the cover of Black Enterprise magazine and was named one of Inc. magazine’s top 100 Female Founders for 2018, according to Black News.
“As a company that exists on the forefront of product innovation in our industry, we see the blockchain revolution as an amazing frontier for further innovation in retail.” says Dickson. “We believe it’s the key to enabling better consumer access in markets like cannabis, pharma, and alcohol while still preserving privacy and compliance.”
PopCom has raised more than $900,000 previously from several startup funds, and has raised just under $30,000 in its STO so far.
The compliance features offered by PopCom include inventory track-and-trace, dosage information displays for customers, and auditable records. PopCom has a pilot upcoming with consumer product giant Procter & Gamble, and plans to pilot the new compliant automated retail technology in Q4 2019.
Among a number of companies around the world developing biometric vending machines, Le Tach is planning to expand its network of machines in Singapore from 400 to 1,000.
We passed $40,000 today, thanks so much everyone!!
Thank you for helping us pass the $35,000 mark!! Our next major milestone is $45,000 - then we will be eligible for a feature in the Start Engine newsletter that goes out to thousands of investors. Let's keep the momentum going by sharing the campaign with 3 more people...can we count on you?
If you missed the 'ask me anything' session with our CEO yesterday it is posted on YouTube and you can watch it below. Our next #AMA session will include some key members of the PopCom team, we will discuss the technology in detail and even share a demo with you...stay tuned!
So clearly you guys love the idea of marijuana in vending machines 😁🙌🏾 that’s only one of the use cases for PopCom technology but it’s a fan favorite!
THANK YOU to our 62 investors who helped us pass $30,000!! Next milestone is $35,000 🙌🏾spread the word and invest. Also tonight (1/8) we are doing another #AMA session with our Founder & CEO Dawn Dickson at 8pm ET on Instagram live @DawnWDickson follow her and join us. Dawn also did a great interview yesterday on secure token offerings (STOs) and the benefit for entrepreneurs and investors, watch the replay on YouTube HERE.
Columbus, OH — PopCom, a leading Black-owned automated retail technology company specializing in smart vending and kiosk solutions, has announced its plans to develop a new blockchain-powered product ecosystem that enables cannabis, pharmaceutical and alcohol retailers to automate the sale of government-regulated products. The company is inviting forward-thinking investors to join them in bringing transformative technology to retail via their Security Token Offering (STO)–a public fundraising round that allows to anyone invest in the future of retail. The minimum investment is $252 and the team is looking to raise $945,000 in a 90 day period.
“It was important to me to be able to raise money from my friends and family, and my community of supporters, many who are not accredited investors,” said PopCom Founder & CEO Dawn Dickson, a serial entrepreneur who graced the cover of the June issue of Black Enterprise and was named as INC Magazine’s top 100 Female Founders for 2018. “By raising money through Title II Reg CF I can now take money from anyone, now people can invest in tech company and get in early. Too often I watched under represented communities left out of deals, now anyone can support.” The campaign launched right before Christmas and passed $25,000 this week.
What a great way to start 2019 with 41 new investors in our company and a bright future ahead! Thank you for your support! Please continue to share the campaign...can we reach $100,000 by January 20?
Happy New Year! 2019 is starting off amazing for PopCom! Thank you you to our 34 new investors that have committed a total of $17,341 to our campaign, this is great momentum! We are pushing to hit $25,000 by January 10 - this will help us get the media and Start Engine platform visibility we need to make our campaign go viral. It is all about sharing! Even if you are not able to invest more or invest at all, please accept our 2019 NY challenge and forward our campaign to 3 people who are interested in investing in technology, who like to support female entrepreneurs, and/or who work in our industry. Then ask them to share with 3 more people, then ask that 3 to share with 3, then 3 more...you see where we are going here? Help us hit our goal and make history! www.StartEngine.com/PopCom
THANK YOU to our 28 new investors that helped us pass $15,000 in the first 10 days...WOW, your support means the world to us! Let's keep the momentum rolling, help us reach $20,000 by January 1 -- tell a friend, family member, colleague to join you in support of PopCom. If you missed the #AMA with our Founder & CEO Dawn Dickson you can now watch it on YouTube HERE or listen on Apple Podcast and Spotify. She explains about secure token offerings, PopCom technology and her vision for the future of the company. Please feel free to also post comments and questions on our Start Engine page, we want to hear from you!
THANK YOU! We reached our $10,000 milestone in the first week from 23 investors! Your support means the world to us! Please continue to spread the word, get your friends, family, and colleagues to join you in support of PopCom - www.StartEngine.com/PopCom
THANK YOU so much for your support in the first week of our campaign. We realize that it is holiday time and the focus for most is relaxing, spending time with family, and getting those tax write offs in before the end of the year! Your early investment and support has been critical for us to get early momentum and we have to keep it going! We really want to get to $10,000 in the first week so we can make it to the 'Discover' section of Start Engine. Please share the campaign with family/friends/colleagues, let's make the PopCom investment go as viral as Bird Box (we know you watched it).
On December 27 our CEO Dawn Dickson was live on Instagram for an 'Ask me Anything #AMA" session to talk about STOs, PopCom and how to invest. You can watch the recap HERE and below.
Thank you to everyone who tuned in to our live pitch during Start Engine demo day! We have some great momentum with over 500 views to our campaign page in the first day and 8 investments in 24 hours. Let's keep it going...please share across your networks and encourage people to read about our STO. This is an exciting time for us and we are grateful to have you along for the ride.
We are EXCITED to announce that PopCom is now live on Start Engine and will be participating in StartEngine's final Demo Day of 2018 this Thursday, December 20th! We'd love for you to join and learn more about our project. You'll be able to ask us anything you'd like in real time. Come support us at 11:10 am PT, and register here (https://startengineinfo.typeform.com/to/AExx3A) for further updates.
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