Invst Guru is your bi-weekly digest that explores the dynamics of equity crowdfunding. Delivered every Tuesday and Sunday, we connect startups with the power of the crowd, providing investors with access to groundbreaking ventures.

In each issue of Invst Guru, we'll spotlight the latest trends, share success stories, and offer insights from industry leaders. We aim to equip you with the knowledge and opportunities to participate effectively in equity crowdfunding, whether you're looking to fund your innovative startup or invest in potential unicorns.

Editor’s Note

This article is for informational purposes only. Invst Guru is not affiliated with PopCom, PicMii Crowdfunding, or any broker-dealer. This content does not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to invest. Any securities offering referenced is conducted under Regulation Crowdfunding through a registered intermediary. All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of capital. Readers should review the company’s Form C, offering documents, and risk disclosures on the official platform before making any investment decision.

Automated retail operates largely out of view. Vending machines and kiosks are found in offices, airports, hospitals, and stadiums. These machines process transactions efficiently but generate limited insight beyond sales activity.

Operators often know what sold and when. They often lack visibility into customer engagement, attention patterns, or interaction behavior. Brands face similar limitations in unattended environments.

PopCom positions its software platform as a response to this information gap.

The company is conducting a Regulation Crowdfunding offering through PicMii Crowdfunding. The offering is available to eligible members of the public through the registered platform.

This campaign follows prior operating and fundraising activity. PopCom has raised capital before, built products, tested strategies, and revised its approach. The current raise reflects management’s stated emphasis on focus, software economics, and operating discipline.

PopCom operates under its parent company, Solutions Vending International, Inc., a Delaware corporation headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. The company develops software intended to integrate with vending machines and kiosks to deliver analytics, monitoring, and operational insight.

According to the company’s disclosures, the platform uses computer vision and sensor data to generate aggregated, non-identifying estimates of customer interaction patterns. These include engagement timing and dwell behavior. The company states that data is presented in summary form through business-use dashboards.

PopCom describes its software as machine-agnostic. The platform is designed to integrate across multiple machine types rather than relying on proprietary hardware. Management states that this approach aligns with its move away from hardware ownership.

Founder and Chief Executive Officer Dawn Dickson has led the company through multiple development cycles and fundraising rounds. The company emphasizes leadership continuity during periods of strategic revision.

Unattended retail lacks feedback loops.

E-commerce platforms collect extensive behavioral data. Staffed retail environments generate observational and transactional insight. Vending machines and kiosks typically rely solely on inventory and payment data.

Operators face limits on optimization. Brands face limited visibility into customer interaction in high-traffic settings. PopCom frames this as a structural inefficiency within automated retail.

The company’s stated approach treats each machine as a data-generating endpoint rather than a passive sales unit.

PopCom’s core offering is a software platform that layers onto existing machines. The system integrates cameras, sensors, and payment systems to capture interaction data and convert it into aggregated analytics.

Capabilities described in the company’s materials include:

Real-time dashboards displaying engagement and transaction activity
Aggregated interaction metrics derived from computer vision inputs
Remote monitoring features focused on uptime and operational oversight
Software workflows intended to support regulated retail environments

The company emphasizes aggregation and anonymization. The platform does not identify individuals. Data is presented at a summary level, subject to the limitations described in the Form C.

PopCom positions the platform as infrastructure rather than a consumer brand. The company states that it aims to support operators and partners rather than replace them.

PopCom has raised capital through multiple equity crowdfunding campaigns across different platforms. The company reports that prior raises funded product development, pilot deployments, and experimentation with hardware-based strategies.

Management states that these efforts revealed operational and capital intensity challenges. Hardware ownership increased costs and slowed scalability.

The current campaign reflects management’s stated intent to prioritize software licensing, subscriptions, and partnerships. The company frames this shift as a response to operating experience rather than a new market entry.

A central theme of the current offering is focus.

PopCom states that prior strategies placed significant emphasis on hardware ownership. Management reports that this approach increased capital requirements and operational complexity.

The company now emphasizes:

Software-based revenue models
Reduced capital tied to machine ownership
Lean operating structure supported by third-party vendors
Partnership-led distribution rather than direct deployment

Management describes this reset as an effort to align operations with software-oriented economics.

PopCom describes several revenue categories associated with its platform:

Software subscriptions
Licensing fees linked to machine integrations
Leasing arrangements are intended to lower customer upfront costs
Analytics services delivered through the software platform

The company describes these mechanisms as intended to support recurring revenue. The offering materials do not include revenue guarantees or projections. Financial details are disclosed in the Form C.

Automated retail continues to expand across workplaces, transportation hubs, healthcare settings, and public venues. Data-driven decision-making has become common across retail sectors.

PopCom positions itself at the intersection of automated retail and analytics software. The company states that unattended retail remains less instrumented than staffed or online environments.

Competition exists. Other companies offer telemetry, smart vending, and retail analytics tools. PopCom differentiates its approach through a software focus, machine-agnostic design, and an analytics orientation, rather than relying solely on proprietary hardware.

According to the company’s disclosures, offering proceeds are intended to support:

Software development
Operating expenses, including payroll
Sales and marketing activity
Working capital and reserves

These categories reflect ongoing operations rather than a single expansion initiative.

The offering is conducted under Regulation Crowdfunding using a special purpose vehicle structure. Investors purchase interests in the SPV. The SPV holds equity in PopCom.

This structure simplifies the issuer’s capitalization structure. It also introduces an intermediary entity whose rights, obligations, and governance terms are set forth in the Form C and the SPV governing documents. Investor rights differ from direct equity ownership.

Why Some Investors Find the Company Interesting

PopCom targets an information gap in unattended retail. Machines generate revenue but limited insight. The company’s platform is designed to address this through software and data aggregation.

Management describes the shift toward a software-focused model as an effort to improve operating efficiency and scalability. Subscriptions and licensing are described as intended to support recurring revenue, subject to execution risk.

The company brings an operating history. Products have been built and deployed. Strategies have been tested and revised based on outcomes.

Machine agnostic positioning reduces reliance on proprietary hardware. The company states that this design choice lowers integration friction and supports partnerships.

The SPV structure simplifies the issuer’s cap table, which management states may affect future financing considerations.

Why Risk Remains

PopCom has raised capital multiple times without achieving sustained profitability. This history raises questions around sales execution and adoption.

The strategic pivot reflects learning. It also reflects that prior approaches did not meet expectations.

Competition within automated retail analytics remains active. Larger, better-capitalized firms operate in adjacent markets.

Public disclosures provide limited visibility into recurring revenue levels. Financial statements reflect an early-stage operating profile with ongoing losses.

Reg CF securities are illiquid. Transfer restrictions apply. The SPV structure adds complexity to liquidity outcomes.

Execution risk remains central. Software models require consistent delivery, support, and customer retention. Resource constraints increase this risk.

PopCom reflects a company in transition. The stated opportunity centers on applying software analytics to unattended retail. The risks center on execution, competition, and the challenge of scaling after prior strategy changes.

This offering does not present certainty. It presents participation in an operating company pursuing a revised approach.

Readers should review Form C, assess the company’s financial position, and evaluate whether the risk profile aligns with their objectives. Equity crowdfunding provides access. It does not reduce risk. The campaign materials reflect that reality.

Investing in startups is speculative, involves a high degree of risk, and investors should be able to bear the loss of their entire investment. All investments must be made through the registered funding portal.

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to invest. Invst Guru is not affiliated with PopCom, PicMii, or any broker-dealer. Any investment in private or early-stage companies involves risk, including the potential loss of your entire investment. All investments in PopCom must be made through its official Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) campaign page on PicMii. No investment terms are included in this newsletter. For full offering details, risk factors, and disclosures, please review the company’s official Form C filing and offering page.