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Female Founder | Minority Founder | Technology
Self-service and automation are the future of retail. PopCom has built an automated retail technology platform for vending machines and kiosks that allows retailers to engage and understand their customers, sell more products, and learn from big data.
After two successful and oversubscribed Reg-CF campaigns on StartEngine, the company is opening a Reg A+ offering to take its production-ready machines into mass production and fund additional Regulated Retail pilots with major alcohol and cannabis retailers.
Self-service and automation are the future of retail. But right now, it's a future without data. We're changing that.
We're redefining omnichannel strategy for worldwide brands– from Fortune 500 companies to nimble e-commerce entrepreneurs, providing a completely new direct-to-consumer channel backed by unparalleled data and frictionless transactions.
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, a recent survey showed over two-thirds of retail customers now prefer self-serve retail experiences 4 and over 100 million people are projected to use vending machines or kiosks each day in the U.S. ³
While automation and self-service are booming , valuable data is being lost on low-IQ machines. This is an opportunity where we are positioned to dominate.
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.5 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 forecasted CAGR of 34%, the industry is booming. 1
We believe we’re uniquely positioned in a market that is currently domiciled by slow-moving, behemoth hardware companies whose turnkey solutions are too expensive for even the largest CPG companies, let alone successful boutique brands. 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? It's our goal to white-label our kiosk software for use in the 18 million existing machines worldwide16, powered by our innovations, partnerships, and acquisitions.
Bill Butler - CEO, KIOSK Information Systems
We're also disrupting a retail sector that has remained virtually untouched by automation: the Regulated Retail Economy.
We define the Regulated Retail Economy as the system by which consumers and retailers interface with government-regulated goods which require identification, sales compliance, supply chain information, or a combination of all three. It is projected to represent over $4 trillion in global revenue by 2022 6-10 and is severely underserved by automated transactions.
Illustration of PopShop Kiosk use for demonstrative purposes
We've spent the months following our second successful Regulation Crowdfunding continuing to develop our pilot programs with market leaders in the regulated retail industry. We're proud to announce that both regulated retail pilots have successfully moved to the full purchasing contracts with PopCom. We're also excited to soon be able to publicly announce our cornerstone customer in the alcohol space, one of the largest wine producers and distributors on the planet (by volume) with sales in 90 countries in excess of $5B per year. PopCom and this customer are working together to bring automated retail to the wine industry and have made significant progress in seeking regulator approval for a vending solution that is powered by digital ID-checks.
The PopCom team and investor network is a family. We regularly schedule investor meetups around the United States and spend time talking with our investors face-to-face. We're proud to be a hub for connections, friendships, and candid discussion about our company's progress, hardships, and massive accomplishments. You'll join a growing family of over 4,500 like-minded, forward-thinking individuals that are just as excited about the future of retail as we are. Just take a look at what some of our investors have to say about us below! **
** Testimonials herein are unsolicited and are non-representative of all clients; certain investors may have different opinions and feedback than that indicated. All writers' opinions are their own and do not constitute financial advice in any way whatsoever and none of the testimonial content should be relied upon for any investment activities. Unique experiences and past performances do not guarantee future results.
Dawn is a serial entrepreneur with over 16 years in business development. Dawn has received numerous awards and regularly speaks on panels and workshops around the country. She's been featured in countless media outlets including Forbes, Inc Magazine, VentureBeat, Huffington Post, Essence Magazine, Ebony.com, Women’s World Daily, CNBC/Yahoo, MSNBC and on the cover of Black Enterprise.
*** All logos, brands, trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement. The photo above (top right) does not imply a current, future, or prospective listing on NASDAQ and should not be a relied upon whatsoever for any consideration of investment activity. More information on the NASDAQ Milestone Maker program can be found here.
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://www.retaildive.com/news/study-73-of-consumers-want-self-service-technology/546044/
7. https://mjbizdaily.com/chart-us-marijuana-industrys-economic-impact-could-reach-80-billion-by-2022/
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK343572/
12. https://www.fda.gov/tobaccoproducts/guidancecomplianceregulatoryinformation/retail/ucm205021.htm#references
13. http://www.mcall.com/business/mc-bethlehem-sands-underage-fines-20160713-story.html
14. http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-pot-shops-20160711-snap-story.html
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.
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
A full feature on PopCom and our CEO in Forbes.
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.
Fundraising lessons from a serial entrepreneur
Industry experts, investors, and users weight in on the potential of PopCom as a company. "...The PopCom kiosks fill every gap we've imagined."
In the blockchain and crypto community, there’s a major gender imbalance that’s even more pronounced for black women. These two entrepreneurs are trying to change that.
PopCom CEO Dawn Dickson speaks about why the company was looking to an STO for funding and how it successfully raised $1,070,000.
Startup raises $1M in crowdfunding for high-tech vending machines that could dispense cannabis
StartEngine's CEO, Howard Marks, covers our CEO and our company's journey on the StartEngine Blog.
Spotted: The American startup PopCom is working on a vending machine that would allow the legal purchasing of government-regulated items. So, alcohol, medication and cannabis vending machines could be around the corner.
Read about PopCom & our CEO Dawn Dickson in the extremely competitive Nasdaq Milestone Makers Cohort.
Read about PopCom and the automated retail landscape at NRF 2020.
Self-checkout is one of the hot-button technologies retailers are embracing as they embark on "store of the future" omnichannel initiatives. Checkout this breakdown of PopCom's tech.
Columbus native and Ohio State graduate Dawn Dickson has spent the last two years spanning the globe, marketing PopCom, a software company which uses data analytics for self-service retail.
Read about PopCom in an upcoming hearing in front of the US House of Representatives.
Experts tell Congress how the technology can drive costs down, while boosting security and operations.
On Wednesday, Dawn Dickson was one of two Ohio entrepreneurs in Washington to testify before the House Small Business Committee about the type of technology her company has embraced.
Read about PopCom at the Building Blocks of Change: The Benefits of Blockchain Technology for Small Businesses hearing at the US House of Representatives.
Dawn Dickons (PopCom CEO) is a witness at a US House committee hearing. Get the info here.
Read about PopCom's conversation with Congressional lawmakers.
It has been an exciting summer for the PopCom team. We are continuing to test and improve our software, preparing for the launch of the first 10 machines, and navigating unexpected challenges as a result of COVID-19 related supply chain delays.
HARDWARE UPDATE
The pandemic has affected global supply chains with material shortages and logistics constraints; this has affected many of our suppliers causing them to have depleted or idling material. Unfortunately, these supply issues have affected our production units, delaying the shipping timeline to the middle of Q3 2021 for the PopShop and Gallo machines.
The most critical material delays were our wire harnesses (custom cables), which were delayed 6 weeks and just arrived to our manufacturer last week. The manufacturer can now continue to build the final assembly and test the machines and we are aiming for a mid August delivery. These delays are out of our control, however they have affected our plans for launch events across the country.
To plan for future builds, our team has already started to procure components with longer than average lead times so we can avoid these excessive delays in upcoming builds. We will continue to review our critical components with our suppliers to stay on top of any changes to inventory levels and lead times.
Despite our shipment date being pushed from June to August, we have continued to push forward and plan for the launch of the PopShop in our flagship cities and continuing to onboard small and medium size companies for the PopShop Local program. We have two machines live today and we are working with the retailers in each launch city to increase awareness about the PopShops and drive more sales/traffic through hosting launch events. Below is a list of the brands and locations/cities that we will launch with this summer. The dates are to be announced based on when the manufacturing is completed. We are excited to have such strong brands and venues. We hope that you can all join us for the launch events in each city.
BRANDS AND CITIES FOR POPSHOP ANNOUNCED
We are excited to share the first brands and cities for the PopShop machines this summer. Dates TBD once the manufacturing is completed.
Total Machines Launching in August 2021: 1. Brew and Feed; Concord Mills; Concord, NC 2. Teas with Meaning; The Metreon; San Francisco, CA 3. Walker Beauty Retreat; Katy Mills; Houston, TX 4. Brow Dr.; Summit Mall; Akron, OH 5. Destination to Your Nation; Atlanta Airport; Atlanta, GA 6. Flat Out of Heels; TBD; Nashville 7. The Wellness Shop; Washington, D.C. 8. Flat Out of Heels, Hollywood & Highland (Los Angeles, CA) 9. Worth it Salon, Beverly Hills, CA 10. Ooredool; Landmark Mall; Doha, Qatar 11. Flat Out of Heels, Hawaii
Launching in Sep/Oct 2021: 3 machines 1. Tierra Goes Green; TBD 2. Cartooli; TBD 3. Essentials on the Geaux; TBD 4.Drink Fresh Juice
UPCOMING EVENTS
The team is also gearing up for our first in-person conference since February 2020. We will be speaking and having a booth at the Entrepreneurs & Angels Retreat in Austin, TX - August 26- 28. We have also secured our spot at the 2022 NRF 2022 - Retail Big Show in New York. Follow us on social media @PopComTech to stay updated.
We've got some great product updates to announce ahead of our PopShop Local launch just a few weeks away.
Platform UI & Scalability Revamp – RELEASE IMMINENT
We’re now in final UAT testing of our revamped Web, API and POS apps which were converted to the more modern Laravel framework. This was a significant effort but positions our platform for growth, flexibility, and stability. Our backend web app has a cleaner more modern UI and includes all of our current functionality. We plan to deploy this platform as soon as possible and test on our two live accounts prior to rollout of our next 20 machines in July. During this code migration, we’ve also been able to squeeze in the following enhancements:
PopShop Local Pilot - RELEASE IMMINENT
To pilot our first PopShop Local machines, we needed a way to associate product variants with a vendor in order to extract sales data for each vendor that shares the machine. We will use the new Product Identifier field as a quick way to do this – for example, Flatout product identifiers start with FL and Black Owned products start with BL. Sales exports can be sorted based on this preface for quick sales reporting from our backend. Meanwhile, we’ll continue to discuss and refine other PopShop Local features as we get some experience and feedback.
Adomni Integration - EARLY JULY
We’ve developed a way to run programmatic advertisements on our machines using an integration with Adomni, an online OOH (Out of Home) ad exchange. Once this integration is finalized, machines that enable the integration will be able to generate passive revenue from ads displaying on the screen. These ad spots are bought wholesale on Adomni's exchance by major US advertisers (e.g. Coca-Cola, P&G, Amazon, Apple, etc) or sold directly by our team.
Ticket Purchase Implementation - MID/LATE JULY
Another feature for our PopShop Local implementation, we’ve developed the ability to take a customer directly to a ticketing website (i.e. CityPass site) from the POS using iFrames. We’re using Commission Junction, an affiliate aggregator to generate the URL links and track sales. To fully test, we’ll need to develop additional POS screens to take customers to whatever ticket options are set up for the machine, as well as add that information in the backend web-admin. We can also track which links were clicked.
Shopify/Website Shopping Cart Integration - EARLY/MID OCTOBER
Several customers have requested the ability to pull in their full Shopify product sets into the PopShop storefront so that their machine's visitors can browse both instant-fulfillment and shipped products. We're endeavoring to take this work up just after the PopShop Launch in July and are targetting an October release.
We have some great news hot off the press! Our PopShop Local program has had a blockbuster month with leads increasing sharply and a very good cost-per-lead that will help us continue to grow our local program.
For those that don’t want to read the whole update, the headlines are: 1) our paid campaigns have led to a ~400% increase in PopShop Local leads; and 2) we currently have $606,000 in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) from qualified leads in our Local deal pipeline.
Let’s hop into the full update!
As a reminder, the PopShop Local program will see dozens of our newly manufactured machines sent across the country to top placements (venues, hotels, event centers, etc) which will feature the best brands from the local area.
The Local program will allow us to extract a much higher ARPM (Average Revenue Per Machine) because each machine will feature multiple brands, all of which are paying $500+ per month to house their products in our machines. Each brand will receive exceptionally detailed data on their brands performance and the customer metrics we promise all of our operators. This is just one example of the freedoms that our advanced platform affords our company. (And our customers!)
One of the linchpins of this new sales strategy was the ability to get interest from small businesses for the machines. Thanks to our large press footprint and expansive network of investors, we were able to get a great head start on getting the word out about the program. However, we needed a sustained and trackable source for leads. Thus, we kicked off paid marketing qualified lead (MQL) campaigns on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. The results are in: and we’re very happy with the outcome.
Our MQL campaigns kicked off in Apr 2021 and in the first month we were able to increase our monthly deals by about 400%. May has already surpassed April for the number of leads despite still having almost two weeks left in the month. We’re anticipating May will end with over 100 new deals, meaning we’ll have increased our pre-MQL-campaign monthly leads by 500%.
One of the main campaign KPIs we are tracking is Cost Per Lead (CPL). Traditionally our company has not spent money on MQL campaigns because we had enough organic leads via enterprise deals, accelerator programs, and our press footprint. With the introduction of the paid campaigns, it is critical for us to track how much each lead is costing us. We’re pleased to share that our CPL is currently at $28 across our campaigns. Here’s how that looks in terms of “startup metrics”:
Local Program CPL: $28
Lead Conversion Rate: 10%
= True PopShop Local Cost Per Acquisition (CAC): $280
Minimum Local Lifetime Value (LTV) at $500/month and 1 Year License: $6,000
= Paid Outreach Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): 21.42
In summary, we are getting about 21X return on the paid campaigns we are currently running taking into account the minimum LTV of each PopShop Local brand (license terms are annual hence the $6,000 minimum LTV) .
Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs) are leads that our sales team have deemed “qualified” and brought into our PopShop Local deal pipeline. The Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) opportunity for this pipeline currently stands at: $606,000.
These are great results and it means there’s a lot of interest in the local program. Next up for our marketing and sales team is to build out geographic and commercial personas of our converting Local customers to build targetable audiences that are “high intent” and “highly qualified” so that we can increase our Lead Conversion Rate, introduce repeatable onboarding processes, and scale this program to 250 placements around the US. This would net us roughly $6,000,000 per year in SaaS fees with 4 brands per machine. With marginal improvement in the above metrics, we see a path to get there.
Thanks for reading – hopefully you made it through the many acronyms that our marketing and sales team speak! The headline is the Local program is now graduating from an experimental sales program to a cornerstone growth strategy that takes into account (and indeed magnifies) our company’s unique juxtaposition of hardware and software.
The Hubspot team traveled to the PopCom headquarters in Columbus, Ohio to meet the team, learn more about our sales process, and how using Hubspot has increased our productivity. WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW.
PopCom uses the HubSpot CRM platform to manage program applications, automate tasks and facilitate collaboration among teams to work more efficiently, better qualify leads, shorten time to close and lower its customer acquisition costs. PopCom CEO and entrepreneur Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene is also using the platform’s analytics to support the raising of additional investor funds.
The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences has announced that PopCom been recognized during this banner year for the 25th Annual Webby Awards.
PopCom is a Webby Honoree in Apps and Software: E-Commerce (Official Listing)
Earning the distinction of Webby Honoree, as recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences is a significant achievement—granted to only the top 20% of the nearly 13,500 projects entered in the 25th Annual Webby Awards. We are so excited to have our work honored among the best of the internet.
We are excited to announce that our second PopShop machine, the fully re-engineered product that we will scale with, is now live in Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, Texas (outside of Dallas). The machine sells Flat Out of Heels and is independently owned and operated by PopCom customer Vision Tactus. If you are in the Dallas area please check out the machine, make a purchase, and post a picture (don't forget to tag us)!
More PopShop machines are launching soon as a part of our PopShop Local program that was announced in March. The program seeks to convert unused spaces in hotels, airports and convention centers into contactless retail shops. This lease model program gives entrepreneurs and small retailers an opportunity to gain more exposure locally and the opportunity for national visibility.
We are currently accepting new applications for the PopShop local program. Interested brands can apply online at www.PopCom.Shop/local.
We are excited to announce that PopCom is the recipient of the Angels Invest 2021 "Self-Service & Automation" Investment of the Year award!
On Thursday February 11, renowned businessman Kevin O'Leary, aka "Mr. Wonderful", sat down with PopCom's CEO & Founder Dawn Dickson to discuss her entrepreneurial journey, her experiences with investor bias and why she has turned to equity crowdfunding, and how her company PopCom is changing the future of retail. Click HERE to watch the replay.
PopCom CEO Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene is featured in the March issue of Entrepreneur Magazine, on newstands now. In the article, Dawn talks about problem solving in business and what led her to start PopCom. Pick up a copy today!
PopCom has raised over $3M in equity crowdfunding since 2019 and we now have over 4500 investors. We absolutely LOVE our investor family, they are so active and engaged. We have a private Facebook group where we send regular updates and chat, we send a monthly email update to all investors, and we host regular investor meet ups (now virtual). In 2019 we held four meet ups and over 500 investors attended, watch this video to hear some of our investors talk about what made them 'cut the check'.
"This testimonial may not be representative of the experience of other customers and is no guarantee of future performance or success."
Offering Circular: https://bit.ly/3059jVk, Selected Risks: https://bit.ly/2G4awoM - Reg A+ offering available through StartEngine Primary, LLC.Just like every other offering on StartEngine, this investment is speculative, illiquid, and involves a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment.
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