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- [00:00]
A
Today's guest, she is so special. She is a businesswoman, like a real bill boss. I like to follow. I just gave you one name, like Madonna.
- [00:12]
B
You're like, I love that.
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A
Let's talk about what everybody wants to know.
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B
That's a very good question, because people ask that all the time. It's not a dating app because we see the date of the users.
- [00:26]
A
So it's in the U.S. it's in Dubai.
- [00:28]
B
U.S. dubai, Dubai, Mexico City.
- [00:30]
A
If you're growing organically, then then adding the marketing piece is just going to be a plus to your business, which is incredible.
- [00:37]
B
And we know what we're looking for, because if you start throwing everything at marketing and you don't understand what is your playbook of growth and your distribution channel, it doesn't mean that it will go well.
- [00:49]
A
That is absolutely incredible. Welcome back to the Bill's pod, where authenticity trumps authority. And now today's guest, she is so special. She is the founder and CEO of an app called Dion. I'm sure you guys all know what it is. She's defying all odds, breaking barriers. She is a businesswoman, like a real bill boss. I like to follow. She has her hands in hospitality. She has her hands in tech. Yes. Hospitality and tech. I don't know how they go together, but welcome to the build pod. Welcome, Rebecca. She is crushing it. Welcome, girl.
- [01:28]
B
Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. It's my pleasure to be here.
- [01:32]
A
Well, I am so excited. I didn't want to butcher your last name, so we're just going to, like. I just gave you one name, too, like Madonna.
- [01:37]
B
You're like, I love that.
- [01:40]
A
So you have been featured, which is, like, really exciting, and 30 under 30, which is like, I don't know if you know, but what an honor. I'm trying to get in there for, like, 50. No, I'm just. I would love to be in there, but it really is such an honor to be in 30 under 30. But we're gonna first talk about what you're doing, where you're going, why this is important to you. So we'll take it slow. But let's talk about what everybody wants to know. You created an app that starts with, like, basically a simple gesture, right, Of. Of giving a drink, and it's really. Is it a dating app? Is that what you would define it?
- [02:14]
B
That's a very good question, because people ask us that all the time. So it's not a dating app because we see the data of the users. And even if it started as a Way for us to invent the first digital move. Soon we realized that people use it not only to break the ice with someone they want to meet or date or network, but also to gift friends to reconnect with people they met once and they want to build a deeper relationship. So we see people using it because they want to date someone, which is very obvious. So, so, you know, I see you on the app, I want to break the ice with you. Instead of sending you a DM or a swipe or a zero cost action, etc. I send you something that has value and it's very intentional. So I buy you essentially your favorite drink at your favorite place, which is cool. We have many people that use it for networking. Especially now we're going viral in NYU because we had the student an Internet and she joined beyond and she saw people from the companies that she wants to work with after graduation. So she started sending them coffees and she was like, I would love to connect. I want to get an internship with your company. And because it's so intentional and it's meaningful, they started replying to her and meeting her for a coffee. So she, you know, she spread the world around and everyone wants to join the on to find her next job. Like ditch LinkedIn Dion is the way to actually get that interview. And we have friends, I mean we have many people that use it for a gift. It's a very easy way to gift, to remember birthdays, to send them a nice bottle of wine or something of the favorite way.
- [04:01]
A
Nice. So it's like a social app, like a social owner. So but let me ask you, what if you have like really nice tastes? Like, I like class Azul. You think people send me class Azul?
- [04:11]
B
I'm sorry, you can put your favorite drink, you know, you put your favorite drink in your favorite place. So we've noticed that people usually actually send that because they want the key to your heart. Yeah, whatever.
- [04:22]
A
That's it. That's the key to my heart rate. Where did this idea come from? Because you have a background in engineering, right?
- [04:28]
B
Yes, I'm a software engineer by training, so I used to be in tech my whole life. Before that, I used to work at Bloomberg, which was an amazing company and I had such a great experience and it really taught me all the foundation, how you build system that scales, how you actually become a proper engineer, how you build teams, how you make impact. But I really wanted to do something on consumer. I'm one of those people that I love socializing, I love meeting people. I Love learning the story, and I love connecting. And I feel that even if we live in the most connected generation, it's the longest one. You know, you have access to everyone. You say that you are six connections away from anyone in the world, but there are no meaningful relationships. And even if you have access and you send that message or you send that request, people don't reply. So the fatigue that comes with that was something that really annoyed me. And the aha moment came, like, fun enough. I used to live in Lumber, and I was traveling, and it was my best friend's birthday, so she was celebrating at one of our favorite venues in London, and I couldn't be there. So I called the place, which I've done in the past, and I said, look, I would love to send her favorite sake, so, you know, up there as a gift, even if I'm like, I cannot make it. So I did the whole process, and it's like a very tedious one. You have to put your card down. Yeah, it's like a long process. I called her the day after. I was like, how was the birthday?
- [06:01]
A
She didn't get.
- [06:02]
B
So, like, ah, it was boring. You were missed. Nothing happened. Did you get my gift? So I was, what gift? What are you talking about? So this frustration, I was like, okay, let's actually take one behavior that already exists in our social culture. Buying someone a drink. No one has never digitized this. Let's use it to actually break the ice and help people connect. So we thought it was a very fun and intentional thing. And then it actually grew to everything that's happening now, which is so much more than that. That is.
- [06:35]
A
That is absolutely. Because I'm just thinking in my head, you know, how many times I've done that, like, call for a friend's birthday calls, and how they tell me how hard it's just a pain in the ass because then you got to make sure they're open at. Because if the restaurant's not open, then you have to call back, and then you have to hope that it just went through. You know, whoever was on shift that time gets it over to whoever's going to be on shift for the night that the person is having their birthday. So, yeah. Yeah, you're absolutely right. I never thought about it. It is something. It's a need. It's a niche, and it's a need for people that want us to say thank you. Yeah, I love that. So how many years has this app
- [07:08]
B
been going, like, so in the beginning, we beta launched in Dubai. We wanted you know, to test everything and especially if you are putting in a new category, it's very important to get user feedback. I we were doing in partnerships with venues so we started there last year, but officially we launched beginning of June 2025 in the US so it's been less than a year now.
- [07:34]
A
So it's in the us it's in
- [07:36]
B
Dubai and we're us Dubai, Mexico City. But now in the next two, three months we're going to launch a couple of cities. Next week we are launching la, which I'm very excited about. I love LA and it's such a great market for everyone.
- [07:52]
A
That is absolutely incredible. So you took a need and then you capitalized on it and now you're running this incredible company. How many people do you have running the company now?
- [08:02]
B
We are all together almost 17 people. 17 people are running almost because one is part time. So it's 16 and a half that.
- [08:11]
A
And then obviously you have like a marketer and somebody that gets all of this stuff.
- [08:14]
B
That's a very good point. We do not have as high. No. I come from engineering so my first instinct was let's be an amazing engineering team, let's build an amazing product, a great ui, great UX and a team that can scale like so we have a very strong foundation there. And then we have the community reps and general managers in each of the cities we loans. But we realized that we don't have anyone but is doing marketing. So it's my co founder and I and both of us don't understand marketing. I mean I created a TikTok account like some months ago. I was like, oh TikTok, let's see what this is. I'm like very technical but not very in the marketing mix. But actually it has been growing very, very well. So now we are hiring, which is
- [09:01]
A
great because if you're growing organically this then adding the marketing piece is just going to be a plus to your business, which is incredible.
- [09:07]
B
And we know what we're looking for because if you start throwing everything at marketing and you don't understand what is your playbook of growth and your distribution channel, it doesn't mean that it will go well. You know, many consumer apps face that, that you know, you spend millions in marketing and nothing happens.
- [09:24]
A
Right.
- [09:24]
B
So we took actually our time to understand with our resources. Okay, where do we see the results? What does what drives engagement and user. So now we're in a place to say look, we'll double down on that and make this thing go global.
- [09:39]
A
Well, I Love that. It's a multifaceted app, too. It's not just for dating. Right. That's what I got. That's what that was. But then, I mean, it took you. You're taking it one step further. It's for social connection. It's for remembering, you know, your friend's birthday or to get that job, which is great. Now I'm going to use that. When my daughter goes and applies for a job, tell her to find me. I mean, it's. I mean, it's brilliant. It is absolutely brilliant. In your mind and this. That you are a woman CEO, you know, and owner. This says. I mean, this is a lot for young women. So I would say, like, what would you say to young entrepreneurial women? I know we were talking just a little bit about sacrifice, and I know you didn't really want to talk about it, and you're like, is it going to be negative? But I. I think it's important to know because this generation is so unintentional, and I hate to say it, they're so lazy. There's no grit. I don't see it anymore, any grit or grind. But you've sacrificed a lot.
- [10:33]
B
Yeah, true. Look, it's also the journey. I mean, you have days that nothing is working. So these days are the lows, and the lows are low. You know, you can't sleep, you think about, what should I do? What's the next move? There is so much uncertainty. There are days that, you know, you're on top of the world. The highs are so high. So I have days that I'll call, let's say, my family or a close friend. I'll be like, we are killing it. This is it. It's the best day in my life. I cannot believe that this happened. Some other days are not great. That's why we were discussing that before. It's a journey. The most important thing that I found helped me tremendously is taking it one step at a time. Yeah. So in the past, when I started, I needed to see the end game. I was like, okay, I need to do this. I need to have. I don't know, raise that much money, have that many users, et cetera. Now I keep the goals, but I really break it down. So every morning that I wake up, I'm like, okay, these are the five things that are going to move the needy for Dion. And I'm focusing on them because you. Otherwise, it's so vague that you cannot get a sense of achievement and purpose, and you're just getting drawn and lost. So I do that. So my advice, because you ask, is that I feel you should do something that you really love and you are so passionate about that you cannot exist without building it. So for me, building the own is super important. I love it. I can. There is nothing in life at this point that you know, takes higher priority than this. And this is because if you really don't love it, there is no way that you will be able to go through it. Because it's a hard journey. It's not easy. You lose your friends, you shrink your social circle and you sacrifice a lot. So every time you have to make a decision, you're like, what do I do? Do I go, I don't know, having drinks with my girlfriends or get another thing done, get this, I don't know, wireframe, get this design document, get this marketing material out, whatever that is. So usually the decision is like, oh, let's get something more done. Because if I do this, maybe I'll be, be in a better place. So I think it's very important to do something that you love. And it's also very important to remember that it's a long game.
- [12:51]
A
Yeah.
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B
And you have to find ways to cope with that. So you cannot run 100% every day. And I try to remember, to remind that of myself as well that I need to take a look at off. I need to go to my non negotiable. I go to the gym 6 out of 7 or 7 out of 7 with working. If I don't like, I don't know what will happen. Yeah, you need something to take your mind off.
- [13:14]
A
That's funny. That's my non negotiable. Everybody knows this about me. I do not start my day without going to the gym. Otherwise, I mean, not. Yeah, I do it early in the morning, I do it at 5am No, I have to because of my kid. I have to. But it, but I do like and I've gotten a lot of feedback from this that people don't believe that the gym and being successful are synonymous. And they are, they are 100% synonymous. And I'm, I'm assuming that you're probably very similar to me. Your results driven. So and you're probably 0 to 100. And then when it doesn't go to 100, like for at least for me, when I like when I have a goal, the goal is going to happen. It's going to happen no matter what. I have to sacrifice in order to get there. And I like what you said is that you Know, you take the goal, and the goal will always be there. But you can also start peeling back the layers to start doing it little by little, because the same thing happens for me. I have to remember that room wasn't built in a day, you know, so the goal will always be there. But once you start taking it step by step, little by little, you're getting 1% closer to where you need to be. So, I mean, what you completely said resonates with my entire life and, like, where I want to go.
- [14:24]
B
And I feel one of the interesting points that I seen myself is that when you start, you read all these success stories, and I thought, you know, I read all these stories, oh, you have an amazing idea. You are going to work hard on it, and you're successful in like, six months. And it's not the reality. So it's a very long journey. And the thing is with human mind that when you actually get to a point that you know things are good and you're successful, you have this coping mechanism that you tend to forget the difficult situation and everything that happened before. So even now, you ask me, I'm like, yes, Dion is a success. We're growing so much. We have such a great momentum. If you ask me, a year ago, I would cry. You know, I would be like, this is never gonna work.
- [15:09]
A
That's the things that people don't talk about.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Those are the things that people, you know, had you. What are the people ask me if I knew then what I know now, you know, what would I do different? I wouldn't do anything different. But the thing that people don't talk about, about the journey of success is the anxiety at night. Right? The anxiety where your mind won't stop or the amount of times that you're crying silently. At least for me, like, nobody can see me cry. Or, you know, the amount of doubt, self doubt that you put in your head, is it this gonna work? You know, and like, I'm always living in this, like, oh, my God, is the rug going to be pulled out from underneath me anytime? So those are all the things. They don't warn us about success at all, you know, or the. You know, or you're right. They look at the stories, they're like, they're just so successful. Well, how many failures did you have in order to.
- [15:53]
B
But you forget. I forgot about mine. I'm like, everything is great. Dion is such a good it. Such a success. We have a moment, but you forget that you didn't feel like that because you enjoy the moment. And you know, you get away. But I think it's important to say that it's a long journey. Yeah. And for me the most important thing and what I advise every, you know, entrepreneur I met is admit is do it with a co founder. It's a very long journey and lonely and you need to have people that you know, you can actually share everything because your family or your friends, except if they are the same business, yes, they are great and they support you and it's so important, you know and I'm very grateful. But they cannot, they cannot understand what you are going through.
- [16:37]
A
Yeah.
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B
You need people that are actually have skin in the game and they are actually going through what you're going.
- [16:42]
A
Now your co founder, is it like a friend of yours or is it somebody that maybe met the monda now
- [16:48]
B
is it after we meet the how
- [16:53]
A
did you intertwine with your co founder?
- [16:55]
B
So we met socially many years ago and we started working in a side project. They were like five co founders which was an amazing experience because when you work with many people you realize that there's never, I don't know, it's so hard to make a company work with five co founders. Too many cooks. But you also can understand who are the people that you can actually, you know, get along together and work together. So I went in because another friend introduced us and I realized, and this friend of mine, we were starting a side business aside tech platform together but I realized that I cannot work with Ben because the work ethic was, was nothing to do, you know, like mine. But my co founders work ethic was exactly the same and we were super aligned. So we had these five people founders call but everyone was fighting, we couldn't make a decision. And the two of us would call each other after, we'd be like, yeah, they don't what they're doing. This is how we should do it. So at some point we're like look, let's breed something that we're both very passionate about. And this is how it started. And then my CPO came in. He was also, you know, it's the three of us essentially.
- [18:05]
A
That's amazing. And then, and you've been in business together for how long now?
- [18:10]
B
The three of us, it's been like three years. Three, three and a half years.
- [18:16]
A
Has there ever been a moment where you're like, I don't know, Has there ever been a moment where you thought to yourself like how am I going to get through this? Can I even pull this off?
- [18:29]
B
Yes, yes. But I have this Thing that I will think I will have these thoughts, but I will never entertain them. So I'll never be someone. This is me, every person, everyone is different. But I'm never crying or saying what I'm going to do or complaining. I just put the hours in. So when we move. When I moved to Dubai, I moved to Dubai to launch the. On there. It was a very difficult market. You know, it's a great city and great people, but it's very. It's a very close community. And, you know, us is like insane. There is a reason why most of the startups happen here because they are first movers. They love technology, they love trying new things. They are very active, passionate advocate of innovating. In Dubai, it's not exactly like that, you know, in Europe as well. But Dubai face almost there. So I was trying to launch something that has never existed before. People even now cannot necessarily understand what is the ethos of Dion, what we're trying to do, or how is it going to work. I have. I had people, okay, but how does this work? Does the waiter come to me? They bring the drink to my house. What does this mean? How does it work exactly? So it's like a gifting app. So essentially I see you on the app and if I want to connect with you, the only way is if I send you your favorite drink at your favorite place so you can unlock it. So you, in order to unlock it, you have to send me a message. And if you do, then it's like a gift. You have 30 days to go to, I don't know, I mean, Starbucks, to Starbucks to get your matcha latte. So this is it. But it's very new, you know, so people. It wasn't very easy to understand. So I moved there. And in order for Dion to work, I had to sign venue partnerships. So the venues had to be aware that, you know, if you go there and say, hi, I have a drink, by the way it's treated by Dion, they will actually serve it to you. So I was going around to the venues and no one was signing. They were like, interesting. But no, we don't understand how this work. You know, we don't love it. And they would throw me, you know, they would like, oh, speak with this guy, speak with the others, speak with the owner, speak with the manager, speak with the beverage. It was very hard. I remember I had the worst. Yeah, I thought I was trying and trying and trying, but I've reached the point like, maybe this will never work out because no one will Ever psy. And it got worse because I managed to find someone like that is run a big company there with a couple of. With many venues influential as well. And he loved it. She was like, guys, I love it. Let's do it. I was so excited. I was like, this is happening. This is it. So I started doing the whole training because now Dion has changed. But in the past, we had to do a training to onboard the venue to explain how it works. So many steps. So I did everything. I prepared the treating menus, I did the sales, training material, whatever, and we were ready to go live. I remember still the date, I was out speaking with another venue owner for drinks, like 7pm And I see an email one day before we go live saying, we're so sorry, the other founder of the company sold the app and they cannot be. And we don't want our brand to be associated with payments. App tion was never payment up. So I don't know how this happened. So we are not going through. All the best. I still remember it. I lost my sleep for like five days. But as everything life, you know, I continue, I didn't stop. For me, if something like that happens, I just say, okay, I have to try more. Yeah, it's a learning lesson. You get your break and everything works.
- [22:19]
A
Yeah, well, it was a learning lesson. What you learned from it?
- [22:22]
B
I learned that you have to work hard. No, for me, it's always the same learning lesson that I take away from every failure. That at this point, maybe this seemed like the worst thing that has ever happened to you, and you don't see necessarily the way out. But it's a small thing in the scheme of everything, so you cannot let it affect you or, you know, if there is something that you need to learn. For example, if they were telling me this cannot work because there is a structural fundamental issue. Go and fix it and try again. But if it's something like that, like, oh, we cannot use that because it's a payment app. Some OI QR app. Some. That's not even the reality. But, like, okay, maybe this was not it. You keep pushing, then results will come.
- [23:14]
A
I love that, you know, and the other important lesson is hard work's gonna beat out talent every single time. And, you know, it doesn't matter if you have one hurdle. It's just a test. You got to keep moving, which is incredible. Tell me about a mistake that ended up becoming an advantage for you, personal or whatever.
- [23:34]
B
Her professional life a mistake.
- [23:38]
A
Maybe there hasn't been any.
- [23:39]
B
No, there have been Many mistakes, but
- [23:42]
A
anything that turned out to be like an advantage where you're like, all right, well, worked out.
- [23:48]
B
I cannot think of something very, very obvious, but I can speak mainly about hiring. So there has been instances that, you know, you make some decisions about. So I have some examples in my mind from last year that, you know, you hire some people and maybe it doesn't work out. Right. And even if at the time you're like, look, it. Maybe it was a mistake to bring them in or, you know, it wasn't the right fit, the. For whatever reason I feel it. It becomes an advantage because everyone. It's like a relationship. If it doesn't work out, it's not a mistake necessarily, but you learn more about yourself and you learn more about what you like and what you want. So this is the process that we're going through now. We are interviewing for the marketing and growth team, and this is what you do, essentially. I mean, you see with you people, if I. I know that in the beginning I was using a different profile. So this was a mistake on my end because now, as time goes by and things are not working out, either in interviews or after, I know exactly what we're looking for. Yeah.
- [24:55]
A
Which makes total sense. It's exactly what you said when you're dating and, you know, you, You. It doesn't work out the guy. At least you know, this time. That's not the quality I want. So now you know exactly your. Your avatar of person that you're looking for for your company, which is incredible. All right, we're going to do something called first move Files. Okay. I'm going to give you real scenarios, and you're going to tell me what a boss would do. You ready?
- [25:18]
B
I'm ready.
- [25:19]
A
All right. You're at a venue, you see someone you'd actually like to meet. Your brain says, don't.
- [25:25]
B
What's the boss move? I hope he'll be on. I send them a drink. Easy. This is why we did it. So people don't have to actually walk up to other people I like. I do it behind their screen.
- [25:38]
A
Someone says, a drink, but you're not interested. What's the most respectful way to handle it?
- [25:42]
B
As a founder of the offer, as a user of the app, because it's different.
- [25:46]
A
I know. Because as a founder of Rion, you can't unlock it, Right.
- [25:50]
B
As a founder of Rion, I unlock it. I send one back, and if I'm not interested and I ask them for the feedback and how is their experience so far?
- [25:59]
A
Very deep on that if.
- [26:01]
B
If I'm a user and I'm not interested, you know, advise users not to unlock. Yeah, but you never know. I think it's very. Because we curate the community so well and it's. Everyone comes like from a referral. It's super organic. They have very deep profiles about where they work and what they do. I feel if you actually give someone a chance, there will be a connection. Either you fix dating professionally, etc. So my advice is, you know, spend the time someone actually invested on getting to know you. So do they ever do the same thing? And you never know what is going to happen.
- [26:35]
A
That's a boss move. Like give them the respect if they had enough time. Unless they're a weirdo. But I imagine that maybe there's somewhere. Do you vet for weirdos?
- [26:44]
B
We have a very curated community, so this is why we see a great unlock rate. So we have more than 53% engagement. Like people unlocking a drink. A drink and actually interacting and send messages. And this is worth it because people feel comfortable, you know, they know that someone waiting for anyone who's here.
- [27:03]
A
All right, your friend is chronically online and never shows up in real life. How do you coach them back to being a human?
- [27:11]
B
It's very hard to convince people sometimes that, you know, real connection happen outside of their screens. Yeah, it's very easy to hide. And everyone does that. I mean, even mind default is like, okay, I'm gonna wear, you know, my pajamas, I'm gonna stay behind my computer, I'm gonna code, I'm gonna do the things that are easier and you are
- [27:31]
A
more comfortable with coding is easier for me.
- [27:35]
B
Much easier doing this service.
- [27:37]
A
My husband loves HTML.
- [27:38]
B
Like you don't know what that is. For me, it's super easy. Much easier. I prefer it. Yeah. But the important thing is, you know, to get out there. So in this case, you know, Altas get ita. This is how I do. You book something, you go to their house, you literally drag them out of the door. Like tonight, you and me. One of the favorite things. So you can glue them.
- [27:59]
A
There you go.
- [28:00]
B
All right.
- [28:00]
A
If Dion had a rule book for modern dating, what would be the three rules?
- [28:07]
B
Break the ice with a drink. So break the ice intentionally. The other thing is, you know, don't spend so much time chatting. Go online. Going online. I mean, sorry, doing physically meetings. And this is what we see. We see that most of the people, they will actually say, oh, do you also want to grab this drink at this place? Friday, 8:30, 8:30. So skip the chat. Get to the point. And the third thing would be, you know, you never be open. You never know who is the person that's going to change the course of your life.
- [28:42]
A
I love that. I absolutely. I got to get on this app and see maybe I can get. I don't know what I can get out of it.
- [28:48]
B
I'm going to drink any station.
- [28:49]
A
Yeah. I mean, I love making connections. All right, let's turn this into some boss fuel for founders, creators, anyone building a community. What advice would you give and what metric system would you use?
- [29:02]
B
I think it's, as I said in the beginning, it's super important to do something that we are very passionate about so it can actually guide you through the journey. It's very important to surround yourself with the right environment. And that depends. It could be even your. The support you have in your family. But for me, it's also the friends I feel, you know, you are the. Some of the people that are around you. So if you want to be, then you want to actually get better at something. You have to find people that have the same trait. And because you. And it's also the same with the relationships. For me, it's much easier, you know, to be in a friendship or relationship with someone that we have the same mindset and goal. Otherwise there is always conflict and it's not going to work. So for me, it's very important, you know, have your goals, be very intentional about it, have your vision. It has to be very authentic and something that you believe in and surround yourself with the environment, the opportunities, and the people that will help you get there.
- [30:08]
A
Yeah, perf. I love that. I love. Exactly. You know, my husband is very different than me, but the two of us together, because I think it's important. I don't know if you have a significant other or you're married, but, you know, one thing that happened for me in my. In my personal life is I married somebody that was very intentional and very driven, like myself. And what happened for our income is we were both doing good independently.
- [30:31]
B
Pretty good.
- [30:32]
A
But our income rose exponentially when we were together because our interests were aligned. And while we're so different, like our. Our personalities, our end goal is the same. And that's really important.
- [30:43]
B
It's very important to have the support
- [30:45]
A
and with the people that you hang out with, you know, everybody. If you're not aligned with people that don't have the same vision, it's not going to work.
- [30:51]
B
In the end, it definitely says someone's vision will change. Yeah. And Maybe that's you. So this is a problem.
- [30:57]
A
That's why that divorce the first time, I love that.
- [31:02]
B
I'm just kidding.
- [31:03]
A
I'm not kidding. I mean he actually, he happens to be like my really good friend. But yeah, it absolutely true.
- [31:08]
B
But you have to become part of it. Doesn't mean that one is right. No, it's usually to be a lot.
- [31:14]
A
Yeah, you have to be aligning your vision has to be the same. You know, my ex husband wanted to go play golf in kite surf. That's not great.
- [31:20]
B
I want to do that.
- [31:21]
A
Me too. You know, I want to eat cake and you know, and weigh 100 pounds. But that's not possible, you know. But yeah, absolutely. You have to be aligned when you're, when you're doing anything in life and whoever your partner is, it's the same thing. What about for like it's hard being a woman founder? It's very hard. Especially I'm a M.A. i'm assuming because I don't know much about the tech world, but I'm assuming that the tech world is predominantly males.
- [31:44]
B
That's very correct. Assam. Sure.
- [31:46]
A
So how what is that like for you as being a young female, beautiful young female and being in a male dominated world you reach a point that
- [31:55]
B
you're so used to it because for me it's very encouraging. That has improved so much. I remember when I was studying, I studied computer science. So it was literally like you know, 10 girls and I don't know, 200 Maze. So that was more. That was hard actually. That was a lot. But now I feel everyone, you know in the community is trying a lot to be more inclusive and to actually support young female entrepreneurs. It's still not there. You know, there is nothing as everything in life. There is not always equality. But I think it's super important to also find the people that support. Yeah. So for example, I have an amazing, I have some amazing female founders in New York. We have this group chat where it's like the four of us now we were three, but now we became four and we really support each other. We're like, okay, what do you think I should do this? I don't know. One of us is fundraising. Guys, can you please connect me with in pestos that really help us. So I think everything is possible but it's super important to have people that will push you and support you. And for me the most important thing you can do is actually give back. Because what I hate and I have seen in my life is the mindset that some people have like, oh, for me it was really hard. So I have to be really tough on you because you also have to get through it and be hard. I'm like, no, for me it was hard. And I remember all the times that I felt I didn't belong. All the times that, you know, people would comment, what is she doing here? Or all the times that I would feel and be excluded. Not because people were necessarily bad, but because you are different. So people are all. People are also afraid of being someone different. You're like an alien sometimes. So I don't want anyone else to feel like that. So if, you know, I can help on anything I've tried through and I keep trying throughout my career. I want to push people, you know, not give them back. Tough love.
- [33:59]
A
No, it's nice you pave the way for other women, young women to know that it's possible. You know, I'm sure it's hard as a woman trying to fundraise, trying to get buy in from other people, especially men. I mean how do you over. How do you overcome that you're already pretty, you know, so in that like they always say you have a pretty privilege, but I feel like it's like a double edged suit. It's not, it's a double edge. It's like yes, it's a double edged
- [34:21]
B
sword about that a lot.
- [34:22]
A
And I mean when I was going, you know, through sales my whole life they, the whole go to was like, you get sales because you have big boobs or you get sales because you're pretty? No. Could it just be that I'm good? Like why is that? So how do you deal with that when you're, especially when you're fundraising and trying to get money from other men to fund a project or whatever.
- [34:41]
B
Fundraise from women? No. First of all, you get used to that. Yeah. Through the years you're here, it's has great grades because he's very pretty or whatever. I think it's a double edged finger. I agree, it's, it's great of course, and you are grateful. But it's also, you know, it's also harder because you have to convince people to take you seriously. And you know, you are not just a pretty face or something. But I approach things in life, always the same attitude. Work hard and let your actions speak louder than words. Because at the end of the day it's up to you to make an impression. If and if someone doesn't see something or see it for the wrong reasons, you know it's on them not you. They might have to continue. Yes. Because there are so many people out there and so many investors, founders, colleagues that are amazing and, you know, they're super indifferent or super, like, rational and they will help no matter what and they are not going to be subjectized or so just continue.
- [35:44]
A
Yeah.
- [35:44]
B
It could be all the other side as well. Absolutely.
- [35:47]
A
Yeah, I agree. All right, we're going to switch gears real quick, Boss Ron. Can't overthink this. All right, first answers that, comma, first answer that you can think of your personal power move. When you walk into a room,
- [36:01]
B
I don't make eye contact, you know, I just go straight to the target. That's a power. Yes. No, I continue. You know, it's like glasses. Like, no, nothing. It's like a catwalk. You just continue, you know, you walk like, straight. And then I start season around. I don't like people that enter a new, you know, they're a bit closed and decisive. What should that do? Who should I speak?
- [36:23]
A
That's a boss move. I think you need to say that I. You can tell when somebody feels like they don't belong in the room.
- [36:28]
B
Oh, I always belong.
- [36:29]
A
Yeah.
- [36:29]
B
The room will belong around you.
- [36:31]
A
Absolutely. Yeah. You know who's in charge, right? One belief you had to unlearn to become a CEO
- [36:39]
B
that you always have to. I'm one of those people, actually, that I used to believe that if I want to get something done, I have to do it myself. And sometimes that's the case, unfortunately. So it's very hard. It was very hard for me to delegate because I would push myself a lot so many times I would bring amazing results. So I was like, look, no, I want to do it myself because I'm going to do it better, but it doesn't matter. The most important thing that I had to learn the hard way is to have people that are better than you and people. And even if they are not, and they will become better, it's better, you know, to have 10 people give 90%, which is not the case sometimes. People are amazing and much better than you give 90%, than you trying to do everything on your own. So now I'm focusing much more on, you know, hiring the right people and enable them to become the best versions of themselves. So my belief is that everyone in the team has to be much better than me and I have to learn from them, not the other way around.
- [37:44]
A
I absolutely love that statement like that I. You need to rerecord that because it's so true. Like, when you're a CEO, you're not a manager, which is like, that's not a term I even use. You're a leader and you want to empower your. Your people. And it's been a journey for me because I like to do everything myself because I don't think anyone could do it as bad as me. But what I find is when you do that, you take away other people's powers and they shrink at your table. And if you are a good leader, then you're going to empower and uplift people. You have to give a hand out, but you can definitely give a hand up.
- [38:15]
B
I could accept that.
- [38:16]
A
I love what you said. Absolutely.
- [38:18]
B
Okay.
- [38:19]
A
A book idea that shaped how you
- [38:21]
B
build product from 0 to 1. It's like a very classic software book that explains how you should start small. It talks about so many different things. I think there's no one that is building a startup that has not read it. If they're not, they're crazy. We should. But one thing that changes, and for me it was a big change from the corporate world to the startup world was that in the corporate world you have a very. You have a timeline so you can see and you can plan six months down the line, one year down the line. In the startup world, you cannot. So you have to release super fast. You have to get customers feedback and based on that feedback, you know, adapt everything and release again. So especially coming in as an engineer, engineers, I don't want to generalize, but we have this approach that we know better than the users. We know what they want. So you have to unlearn that. You have to understand that you have to let users guide you.
- [39:23]
A
Yeah. Okay, next one. You're non negotiable when it comes to
- [39:27]
B
partnerships in business and transparency. 1 and I can, I really like, you know, to be direct. I'm also Greek song for indirect. But don't leave me on. You know, either it's working or it's not working. And this is why we better we both know where we stand than actually, you know, not replying to messages, letting things slide, sleep. And I'm. I want to be efficient. I want to be. This is it. We are doing it and we are not doing it. It's working because of that. It's not working because of that.
- [40:01]
A
Yeah, don't sugarcoat. Just to see what it is. Yeah. Love it. What's more important, being liked or being trusted?
- [40:08]
B
Being trusted.
- [40:10]
A
Best city in the world for meeting people.
- [40:13]
B
New York. I can compare. There's nothing like new New York. Okay.
- [40:20]
A
So anytime, yeah, anytime you build something around nightlife, dating and human behavior, people project a lot onto it. Some people hear social club and assume it's shallow. What would you say? Like, what's your opinion on that?
- [40:35]
B
People, you know, project on everything. Yeah, but I think the most important thing for us is the feedback we get from the users that actually use it. So if you never use something, how can you have an opinion? Which is always my approach in life. If you don't know someone, let's say, how, how can you express an opinion? So for us, it's super empowering because we get constantly feedback from so many people for everything. Thank you so much. This is such an amazing idea. This is such an amazing app. It helped. I moved to a new city and it actually helped me create, make friends. Or I guess it was like, look, I met my boyfriend, now we're living together. I have people sending me DMS drinks actually and telling me, look, I wanted to join the startup. I was, I applied on LinkedIn. They never got me, they never got back to me. But I found the founder here, sent him a coffee and we met and you know, I got the interview and I got the job. So for me, this is why I love also consumer and I wanted to live to streets because it's so meaningful for me, the impact you can have, even if it's small or it's big to other people's life. Even if you make someone's life like 10 better and you help them find that job, find love, find friends, for me, there's nothing else you can do. Nothing is mean.
- [41:58]
A
I am very. So what's next for you? I mean, you have accomplished a lot. The 30 under 30 may talk about that for a second. The 30 under 30 had like, where did that come from? Were you nominated? How did that happen?
- [42:09]
B
Yes, this was when I started, when I moved, when I left Bloomberg to start my own thing, essentially. So it was always in tech. So my whole career has been in tech and this was it. It was a great sticker. But I think there are so many things happening. And for me, you know, the things that are super impactful and meaningful are the things that I mentioned before when I get messages from people and they tell me how I'm, you know, Dion and the team and everyone actually managed to help them. So for us, for me, the most important thing looking forward is building Dion. We are now in a very. In an inflation point. We are releasing Dion 2.0. So we're super excited about that and we're changing the model completely. So we are removing all of the Venus partnerships that we have and we are going into a completely new redemption method. So everything happens through Apple Pay. So we can be global with a push of a button. And we are also not moving, evolving, I would say to communities because we were creating essentially a high intent community. But there are so many communities out there that they don't have a digital space for the members to connect. So now Dion is evolving around bring the giving all these different communities a digital space to the people, you know, to their ant club, to the yoga club, to, I don't know, Greeks in New York, etc. So it becomes a very powerful ecosystem that connects individuals with individuals, communities between them, and brands with individuals and communities. So this is something that is moving culture and this is something that's so blended in our real life. So for me at this point, life beyond is like one thing together.
- [44:00]
A
Amazing. You are really such an inspiration, especially to young women. What's next for you? Maybe personally professionally building Dion?
- [44:11]
B
Yes, building Dion is very important. And the next thing that is going to happen, which I'm super excited, is we're going to be launching major cities in the US and Europe. Actually. I think it's something that happens, you know, in parallel. You cannot say this is the only thing that is going on with me. So as you move through different cities and countries, you are meeting people, you are making new friends. And one thing that I'm sure super passionate, but I have fallen behind the last years, unfortunately, is traveling. I love, but when I say traveling, I like to be in places that I've never been before. So I go there with friends. We have these annual trips at Christmas, during Christmas and Easter, and we always pick a place that we haven't been, which is like, has a very unique culture. And we go there and try to, you know, learn as much as possible and explore. So this is something that I'm super passionate about. I'm counting the countries now it's 66. But the last years have been so stale because I don't have the time. But I feel, you know, I'm gonna get back to it.
- [45:16]
A
Wait, what does Dion stand for? Like, what are they even asking?
- [45:19]
B
Yes, everyone ask. It's from Dionysus, who is the Greek God of going out and socializing and drinks and wine.
- [45:27]
A
There you go. I love that.
- [45:28]
B
Okay.
- [45:29]
A
And if people want to find you and get connected with you, where would they find you?
- [45:32]
B
Intimidating? Under my name. Good luck spelling it. We'll put it in the solid step or Instagram. Rebecca Pal. Which is easier.
- [45:41]
A
That is so exciting. And one last piece of advice for like a woman that's, I would say, yellow woman.
- [45:46]
B
Me.
- [45:46]
A
One last piece of advice. Anything.
- [45:48]
B
It's very important to know that you don't belong because of, you know, how you grew up or by privilege, but you end up belonging by your actions. So it's very important to have goals and work till you actually reach them. And if you put the effort, if you put the time, no one is going to stop you. You know, it's just up to you. And this is what I say to myself all the time. It's like, it's up to me what I'm going to make out of myself. Yeah.
- [46:17]
A
If it's not you, then who? No, if it's not now, then when? Absolutely. Well, today's episode was absolutely incredible for you ladies out there. I mean, just get outside of yourself. You know, you can. You really can do anything in this life that you want. You see Revica, she had. Or Reveca. Sorry, I said Revica. You see, Rebecca, she has been, I mean, a breath of fresh air. Just talking to her and breaking barriers, defying all odds. I love it. Male dominated industry and just crushing the game. So if you like today's episode, go ahead, like, subscribe, tell a friend. You don't like, unsubscribe, I don't know. But if you want to see more. No, don't, Don't. It's been absolutely. It's been so incredible just sitting here talking to you. You're inspiring me. Like I don't have enough on my plate. Now I want to do more things, but it has. When? It has been absolutely incredible spending the afternoon with you. Thank you so much for coming on. It's been incredible.
- [47:13]
B
Thank you for having me. Such a pleasure.