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PopCom
Techstars '17Columbus, US · 3 known investors
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PopCom operates intelligent vending machines that integrate AI and real-time analytics to provide retailers and entrepreneurs with sales automation and customer insights. The company targets the retail hardware and point-of-sale market.
Also known as PopCom Inc. · Solutions Vending International · Solutions Vending International, Inc.
Founders & leadership
Investors · 3
How we know: funding news · the VCSheet dataset · backstagecapital.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Sep 2026PopCom, operating under the corporate entity Solutions Vending International, Inc., develops automated retail kiosks and accompanying software for brands, retailers and enterprises. Its core product, the PopShop, is a robotic pop-up store that dispenses physical and digital products (including QR codes, tickets and NFTs), holds up to roughly 500 products depending on size, and accepts credit card payments (Visa/Mastercard) with emailed receipts rather than cash. Each machine is paired with a SaaS back end and analytics suite that lets operators manage product listings, inventory, pricing promotions and advertising, and view sales and engagement data in real time.
The platform combines computer vision, facial detection and robotics to collect crowd metrics such as estimated age, gender, sentiment and foot traffic, and to deliver targeted advertising and product suggestions based on demographic profiles. Kiosks can also run customer feedback surveys and capture emails and contact details from in-person shoppers. ID- and age-verification capabilities are offered to selected kiosk operators, supporting sale of regulated categories such as alcohol, tobacco, cannabis and pharmaceuticals. A separate program, PopShop Local, ran in 2021 to place machines with small retailers and is no longer accepting new participants.
The company is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, and has historically funded itself largely through equity crowdfunding from retail investors, with more than 10,000 investors participating across multiple Regulation CF and Regulation A+ campaigns. As of 2025 the website advertises an additional Reg A+ offering conducted through StartEngine Primary, LLC.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Dawn Dickson, a serial entrepreneur with about two decades of business experience, moved into hardware-plus-software after earlier ventures, designing vending machines that could recognize faces and track data comparable to e-commerce platforms so that small and medium-sized businesses could compete with large retailers. After raising $1 million in venture capital in 2017 and finding, in her account, that investors treated her as a diversity checkbox and refused follow-on support, she pivoted to equity crowdfunding, ultimately raising roughly $4 million from about 10,000 everyday investors able to commit as little as $100 and becoming, per the account, the first woman founder to raise $1 million via that method.
Business model
PopCom sells and leases its PopShop kiosks and licenses its software. Published terms list a kiosk lease at $2,500 per year plus a software subscription of $350 per month per machine (depending on feature package), payable annually, with a 12-month minimum. The company also offers software-only arrangements, integration of PopCom technology into third-party hardware, and paid bespoke consulting for machine placement.
Recurring hardware lease fees and per-machine monthly SaaS subscriptions paid annually, plus outright kiosk purchases, software-only licensing and fee-based placement consulting services.
Traction
The company reports having placed kiosks in high-traffic U.S. venues including airports and shopping malls, and deployed a women's roll-up flats kiosk in an Ohio shopping mall in 2020. A 2025 founder profile cites 130% year-over-year revenue growth for three consecutive years following a pause in operations and restructuring. A November 2025 investigation reports that filed financials show $0 revenue and minimal assets.
Latest developments
The company's site, carrying a 2025 copyright, promotes a new Reg A+ public investment offering through StartEngine Primary, LLC and positions the PopShop as an AI-driven retail node emphasizing brand intelligence. A 2025 founder profile describes a restructuring after paused operations and a focus on regulated markets such as alcohol and cannabis, where AI-based compliance and data tracking are positioned as most valuable. In November 2025, Crowdfund Watchdog published an investigation questioning the use of more than $6 million raised from retail investors.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
PopCom competes in the intelligent/automated retail kiosk market, a segment press coverage projected to reach $15 billion by 2025. It is widely profiled as a Black-woman-founded technology company and as an early and prominent user of equity crowdfunding, and its founder has been recognized in the Forbes Next 1000 list; the company describes itself as a Webby honoree.
Combination of dispensing hardware with an integrated data and analytics layer, including computer-vision crowd metrics, on-screen advertising and survey tools, and compliance features such as ID and age verification aimed at regulated categories (alcohol, cannabis, tobacco, pharmaceuticals) that conventional vending cannot serve.
Technology
AI, computer vision and robotics embedded in the kiosk hardware, with cameras performing facial detection to estimate age, gender, emotional sentiment and foot traffic. A cloud dashboard provides real-time storefront reporting on inventory, sales and listing clickthrough/conversion. Additional modules handle dynamic display advertising, survey and lead capture, digital product delivery, and ID/age verification for regulated items. The company has been reported as having been awarded a patent on its kiosk.
Go-to-market
Direct sales through inbound web inquiries offering purchase, lease or software-only options; brand awareness built through extensive press coverage, founder media appearances and podcasts; and large-scale retail investor campaigns on StartEngine and Wefunder that turned investors into a community of advocates. The discontinued PopShop Local program was used in 2021 to expand brand visibility with small retailers.
Retailers seeking to expand their brick-and-mortar footprint, e-commerce brands wanting a physical presence, enterprises collecting leads, event activation and product-sampling clients, credit card companies driving on-the-spot sign-ups, sellers of digital products such as tickets and QR codes, and alcohol and cannabis companies needing compliant, age-verified dispensing.
Geography
Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, United States. The company states machines have been placed in a major U.S. airport, large shopping malls and nightclubs, and that its products can be found internationally. Reporting notes the founder has relocated overseas.
History
The business was incorporated as Solutions Vending International, Inc. and operates as PopCom. Its founder closed a first $1 million round in 2017 and appeared on the cover of Black Enterprise in March 2018. In 2018 the company's contract manufacturer withheld its only prototype amid a payment dispute; investors behind the prototype, which had been funded by a Procter & Gamble innovation grant, declined a further $50,000 to rebuild it, leaving the company unable to meet payroll. After the SEC halted a planned ICO, the company turned to equity crowdfunding, running campaigns on StartEngine beginning in 2019 (about $1 million from over 2,000 investors) and continuing through 2020 and later rounds. In July 2020 PopCom announced the acquisition of data and survey software company Wyzerr. It launched the PopShop Local program in March 2021 and discontinued new enrollment. The founder testified before the U.S. House Small Business Committee on blockchain in March 2020. Cumulative crowdfunding is reported at more than $6 million from over 10,000 investors.
Risks & controversies
A November 2025 Crowdfund Watchdog investigation raised questions about the deployment of more than $6 million raised from over 10,000 retail investors via StartEngine and Wefunder, citing financials showing $0 revenue, vanishing assets, opaque operations and the founder's relocation overseas. Historic risks include a 2018 dispute in which the contract manufacturer retained the company's only prototype, a period of missed payroll and founder personal borrowing, an SEC-halted ICO attempt, and the capital intensity of hardware development. The company's own offering materials note the Reg A+ investment is speculative, illiquid and carries a high degree of risk including total loss. Its facial-detection collection of age, gender and sentiment data raises privacy considerations.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 12
launches, deals, and filingsThe company's website advertises an open Regulation A+ offering available through StartEngine Primary, LLC.
Black Enterprise reported the founder had raised over $3.5 million in equity crowdfunding and traditional funding.
$3.5M source ↗
PopShop Local launched to convert unused space into contactless shops for small businesses; the program ran during 2021 and is no longer accepting new retailers.
PopCom deployed a women's roll-up flats kiosk in an Ohio shopping mall.
Columbus Chamber of Commerce reported that PopCom opened its third equity crowdfunding round.
Dawn Dickson won the Official Black Wall Street Black Entrepreneur of the Year Award, presented by Snapchat.
PopCom announced the acquisition of Wyzerr, reported as a merger of two female-owned technology companies.
Press reported the founder raised $2.3 million through equity crowdfunding.
$2.3M source ↗
Second equity crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine; more than $730,000 raised from over 1,300 investors toward a $1 million goal, with proceeds earmarked for sales hiring in Columbus, Ohio and customer machine financing.
$730K source ↗
Dawn Dickson participated in a congressional hearing on the benefits of blockchain technology for small businesses.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- PopCompopcom.shop · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does PopCom do?
- PopCom builds AI-enabled robotic vending kiosks and retail analytics software for brands selling physical and digital goods.
- Who founded PopCom?
- PopCom was founded by Dawn Dickson.
- Who are PopCom's investors?
- PopCom's investors include Backstage Capital, Techstars.
- Where is PopCom headquartered?
- PopCom is headquartered in Columbus, US.