Everyone has seen those oversize vending machines that sell headphones and phone chargers. Dickson-Akpoghene, 42, makes those—but fancier. Her “high IQ” kiosks use AI, biometrics and computer vision to enable retailers to collect customer insights. With some $4 million in funding, Popcom’s $20,000 unit is in Polaris Fashion Place in Columbus—soon to come additional shopping malls and beyond. “We are in a new world of retail,” she says.
FOUNDER-CEO
Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene
PopCom
COLUMBUS, OHIO
Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene
Jamel Toppin for Forbes
Courtesy Alex West Steinman
Alex West Steinman
Alex West Steinman
Cofounder-CEO, The Coven
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Janelle Rose Photography
Alexis Garrett
Alexis Garrett
Owner-Designer, Alexis Drake
Cheyenne, Wyoming
Courtesy Leticia Gonzalez-REYES
Leticia Gonzalez-Reyes
Leticia Gonzalez-Reyes
Cofounder-CEO, 109 World
Boulder, Colorado
Courtesy Derek Canton
Derek Canton
Derek Canton
Founder-CEO, Paerpay
Boston, Massachusetts
When Sharad, 46, founded FlavorCloud
in 2018 she had no idea just how prescient her e-commerce cross-border logistics platform would become. Sharad, who works with direct-to-consumer brands and logistic providers to make international shipping affordable and friction free, quickly identified key partnerships as the pandemic disrupted the global supply chain and was able to scale faster to meet demand. In 2020 FlavorCloud saw a spike of 3x growth
in customers and signed new in-market partnerships in China and Europe.
FOUNDER-CEO
FlavorCloud
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON
Rathna Sharad
Rathna Sharad
Pedro Oliveira for Forbes
Daniel Turbert Photography
Daniela Vianna
Daniela Vianna
Cofounder-CEO, Ephemeris
San Diego, CA
Courtesy Rakia Reynolds
Rakia Reynolds
Rakia Reynolds
Founder-CEO, Skai Blue Media
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Courtesy Masaki Nakada
Masaki Nakada
Masaki Nakada
CEO, NeuralX
Los Angeles, California
BENJAMIN COLON
Elisar Nurmagambetov
Elisar Nurmagambetov
Cofounder-CEO, Consilienz
Cleveland, Ohio
30M+
ENGINE | AMERICA
The total number of small businesses in the U.S., employing half the private workforce.