BILFPOD - She Built an App That Sends Drinks to Strangers: Now It's Going Global

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

In this episode of BILF Pod, Mara sits down with Rebekah, the entrepreneur behind Dion, the app designed to help people build deeper, more intentional connections.Rebekah shares the story behind creating Dion, the inspiration that led her to build a platform focused on meaningful relationships, and the challenges that come with launching something new in a world dominated by superficial interactions. From the early idea to turning it into a real product, she opens up about the entrepreneurial journey, the lessons learned along the way, and what it really takes to build something that stands out.The conversation also goes beyond business. Mara and Rebekah talk about aligned partnerships, leadership, success pressure, and the anxiety that often hides behind achievement. They explore why having the right people around you matters, how strong leaders create space for others, and why giving back and fighting exclusion are essential parts of long-term impact.This episode is about building, growing, and staying grounded while navigating success.If you're interested in entrepreneurship, leadership, meaningful relationships, and the mindset behind building impactful companies, this conversation is for you.If you haven't already... subscribe to the channel here:https://www.youtube.com/@UCYLvhwzAObRJHngDq0usF6g Get Connected:Follow Mara Dorne → @maradorneFollow Mara Dorne → @revekkapalFollow the Podcast → ‪@bilfpod

Today's guest, she is so special. She is a businesswoman, like a real belboss I like to follow. I just gave you one name. Like Madonna, you're like for that daughter. I love that. But let's talk about what everybody wants to know. That's a very good question because people ask that all the time. It's not a dating up because we see the data of the users.

So it's in the U.S., it's in Dubai. For U.S., Dubai, Mexico City. If you're growing organically, then adding the marketing piece is just going to be a plus to your business, which is incorrect. 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 the distribution channel, it doesn't mean that it will go well. That is absolutely incredible.

Welcome back to the BillsPod. We're Authenticity Trump's Authority. 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 Bill's Pod. Welcome, Rebecca. She is crushing it. Welcome, girl. Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me. It's my pleasure to be here. 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. Like, Madonna, you're like, blah. I love that. So you have been featured, which is, like, really exciting in 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 saying. I would love to be in there. But it really is such an honor to be in 30 under 30. But we're going to 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 giving a drink. And it's really, is it a dating app? Is that what you would define it? 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 date of the users. And even if it started as a way for us to invent the first digital move, soon. realize that people use it not only to break the eyes with someone they want to meet or date or

network, but also to gift friends to reconnect with, you know, people they met once and they want to beat a deeper relationship. So we see people using it because they want to date someone, which is very obvious. So, you know, I see you on the app. I want to break the eyes with you. instead of sending you a DM or a swipe or a zero-cost action, et cetera, 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 a student and intern and she joined beyond. And she so 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 to reply to her and meeting her for a coffee. So she, you know, she spread the world around and everyone wants to join Dion to find her next job. Like, DijLinin, Dion is the way to actually get that interview. And we have friends. I mean, we have many people that usually it's for a gift. It's a very easy way to give some, to remember birthdays, to send them a nice bottle of wine or something of the

favorite way. Nice. So it's like a social like a social owner, I just social. Like a social owner, I just so, but let me ask you, what if you have like really nice taste? Like, I like Clauseo. You think people send me Clauze Azul? 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. That's it. That's the key to my art. Where did this idea come from? Because you have a background in engineering, right? 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 read system that skates, how you actually become a proper engineer, how you build teams, how you make him part. 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 learn 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 Hammond came like fun enough. I used to live in Lombo and I was traveling and it was my best friend's birthday. So she was celebrating at one of her favorite venues in London and I couldn't be there. So I called the place, which have done in the past. And I said, look, I would love to send her favorite sake. So, you know, I'm there as a gift, even if I'm like, I cannot make it. So I didn't 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 here the day after. I was like, how was the birthday? She didn't get. So it's

like, ah, it was boring. You weren't missed. Nothing happened. Did you get my gift? So 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, bind someone and drink. No one has never digitalized it. Let's use it to actually break the eyes 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 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 now they tell it's just a pain in the ass. It's just a pain in the ass. Because then you have to make sure they're open

it because if the restaurant's not open, then you have to call that. And then you have to hope that it just went through, you know, whoever was on shift that time. To get it over to whoever's going to be unshift 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 been going? Like, so. In the beginning, we beat a launch in Dubai. We wanted, you know, to test everything. And especially if you are bringing in a new category, it's very important to get user feedback.

We were doing in partnerships with venues. So we started there last year. But officially we launched beginning of June, 2025 in the U.S. So it's been less than a year now. So it's in the U.S., it's in Dubai. In the U.S., 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, so I'm very excited about.

I love L.A. then it's such a great market for everyone. 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 a company? Now we are all together almost 17 people. 17 people are running almost because one is part of the life.

So it's 16 and a half. That and then obviously you have like a marketer and somebody that gets all of this stuff. That's a very good point. We do not have as high enough. I come from. engineering. So my first instinct was, let's be an amazing engineering team. Let's build an amazing product, the great UI, great UX, and a team that can skate. So we have a very strong

foundation there. And then we have the community reps and general managers of the city's we launched. But we realize 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 hired. Which is great, because if you're growing organically, then adding the marketing piece, it's just going to be a plus to your business, which is incredible. 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. Right. 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. 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 through, 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 trying to get that job,

which is great. Now I'm going to use that when my daughter goes and applies for a job. 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 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. Like you've sacrificed a lot.

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 laws are low. You know, you can 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 half 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 weren't discussed in that before. It's a journey. The most important thing that I found helped me tremendously is taking it to us. step at the time. 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 Deon, 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're so passionate about that you cannot exist without building it. So for me, building the only is super important. I love it. There is nothing in life at this point that 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 it 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 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. Yeah. And you have to find ways to cope with that.

So you cannot run 100% every day. And I try to remind that myself as well that I need to take a little get off. I need to go to my non-negotiable. I go to the gym six out of seven. Or seven out of seven with walking. If I don't like, I don't know what three happens. Yeah, you need something to take your mind off. 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'm not. Yeah, I do it early in the morning. I do it at 5 a.m. No way. I have to because of my kid.

I have to. 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 100% synonymous. And I'm assuming that you're probably very similar to me. your results driven. Yes. And you're probably zero 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 always be there. But you can also start killing 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 resignates with my entire life and, like, where I want to go. And I feel one of the interesting points that I see in 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 now. So it's a very long journey.

And the thing is with human mind that when you actually get to a point that the, 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 going to work. That's the things that people don't. talk it out. Those are the things that people, you know, had you, what are the people asking?

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 this going to work? You know, and like, I'm always living and it's like, oh my God, is the rug going to be pulled out from underneath me any time? So those are all the things they don't warn us about success at all. You know, or the, 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? But you forget. I forgot about mine. I mean, everything is great. Dion is such a good. It's 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 time. journey. And for me, the most important thing in what I advise every, you know, entrepreneur I met is I meet 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 in 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 understand what you're going through. Yeah.

You need people that are actually having the game, when they are actually going through what you're going. Now, your co-founder, is it like a friend of yours or is it somebody that maybe met them on D? No, is it a... After we'd be enough. Where, like, how did you, how did you intertwine with your co-founded? 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 he, you work with many people.

He realized 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, a side tech platform together.

But they realized that they cannot work with them because the work ethic was nothing to. do, you know, like my. But my co-founders were, okay, I think it was exactly the same, and we were super alike. 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 its other after. We'd be like, yeah, they don't know what they're doing. This is how we should do it.

So at some point we're like, look, let's beat something that we're both very passionate about. And this is how it started. And then my CPO came in. I mean, he was also, you know, it's the three of us, essentially. That's amazing. and then and you've been in business together for how long. Now the three of us, it's been like three years.

Three, three and a half years. Has there ever been a moment where you're like, I don't know it. Or four and a half years. See, you were yet. 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? Yes. Yes.

But I have this thing that I will think, I will have this thought. but they will never entertain them. So I'll never be, you know, someone, this is me, every person, everyone is different. But I've never crying or saying what I'm going to do or complaining. I just put the hours in. So when I moved to Dubai, I moved to Dubai to launch the Ontario, it was a very difficult market. You know, it's a great city and great people, but it's a very close community. And, you know, U.S. is like.

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 passionate, advocate of innovative. In Dubai, it's not exactly like that, don't break, you know, in Europe as well, but Dubai is 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 the on, 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 gift map. So essentially I see you in 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 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. go to, I don't know, I mean, Starbucks, to Starbucks to get your match latte. So this is it. But it's very new, you know, so 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 knowing around to the venues and no one was. 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 managers, speak with the beverage. It was very hard.

I remember I had the worst. Skilling to him bra. 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 sigh. And it got worse because I managed to find. find someone 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 Dionne has changed. But in the past, we have to do a training to onboard the venue, to explain how it worked, so many steps.

So I did everything. I prepared the tricky 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 7 p.m. 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 up.

The only was never a 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 in life, you know, I continue. I didn't stop. For me, if something like that happens,

I just say, yeah, I have to try more. Yeah, it'll learn once, you know, you get your break and everything works. Yeah, it was a learning lesson, what you learned from it. 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 seems 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 or 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, or a QR app, some that's not even the reality. But like, okay, maybe this was not it.

You keep pushing, the results will come. I love that. You know, and the other important lesson is hard work going to beat out talent every single times. And, you know, it doesn't matter if you have one hurdle. It's just a test. You've got to keep moving, which is incredible. Tell me about a mistake that ended up becoming an advantage. for you.

Personal law, our professional life. A mistake. Maybe there hasn't been any. No, there have been many mistakes. But anything that turned out to be like an advantage where you're like, all right, well, worth out. I cannot think of something very, very obvious,

but I can speak mainly about hire. So there has been instances that, you know, you make some decisions about, so I have some exam on 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, maybe it was a mistake to bring them in or, you know, it wasn't a right fit for whatever reason, I feel 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 love. 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 looking at a different profile. So this was a mistake on my end because now as time goes by and things are not working now, either in interviews or after, I know exactly what we're looking for. Yeah, which makes total sense. It's exactly You said when you're dating and, you know, 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 avatar 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? I'm ready. All right.

You're out of venue. You see someone you'd actually like to meet. Your brain says, don't. What's the boss move? I open Bjorn, 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. Someone says a drink, but you're not interested. What's the most respectful way to handle it? As a founder of Diom or as a user of the owner? Because it's different. I know because you can. As a founder of Dion. You can't unlock it, right?

At the founder of Rionn, I unlock it. I send one back. And I, if I'm not interested, and I ask them for the thing back. and how is their experience so far. Very deep on that. If I'm a user and I'm not interested, you know, advise users not to unlock. But you never know. I think it's very, because we curate the community so well and it's,

and 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. Yeah. Either you think for dating, professionally, et cetera. So my advice is, you know. Spend the time, someone actually invested on getting to know you. So do the same thing and you never know what is going to happen.

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 something. Do you vet for weirdos? We have a very curated community. So this is why we see a great unlock rates. So we have more than 53% engagement.

Like people unlocking a drink, a drink and actually interacting and send messages. And this is what it because people feel comfortable. You know, they know that someone waited for anyone who's here. All right. Your friend is chronically online and never shows up in real life. How do you coach them back to being a human? It's very hard to convince people sometimes that, you know, real connection happens outside of their screens.

It's very easy to hide and everyone does that. I mean, even mine default is like, okay, I'm going to wear, you know, my pajamas. us. I'm going to stay behind my computer. I'm going to code. I'm going to do the things that are easier and you are more comfortable with. Coding is easier for me. Much easier. It's really serious. My husband loves HTML. I don't know what that is. For it's super. It's much easy. I prefer it. Yeah. But the important thing is, you know, to get out there. So in this case, you know, I'll just get it. This is how I would do. You book something. If 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 with them. There you go. All right. If Dion had a rule book for modern dating, what would be the three rules? Break the eyes with a drink. So break the eyes intentionally. The other thing is, you know, don't spend so much time chatting, go online. Going online, I mean, sorry, going 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 8.3. 830. So skip the chit 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. I love that. I'm absolutely, I've got to get on this app and see, maybe I can get to, I don't know what I can get out of them. I'm going to drink and even say, 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? 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 the support you have in your family, but for me it's also the friends.

I think, you know, you are the sum of the people that are around here. So if you want to be, then you want to actually get better at something. You have to find people that have the same trick. And because you, and it's also the same with the relationship. 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. 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. Yeah, Perth. 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 personal life is. 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, pretty good, but our income rose exponentially when we were together because our interests were aligned. And while we're so different, like our personalities, our end goal is the same. And that's really important. It's very important to help the support. 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 in the end. it definitely says someone's vision we change yeah and maybe that's you so this is a problem that's why I divorced the first time I love that I'm just kidding I'm not kidding I mean he actually happens to be like my really good friend but yeah it's absolutely true but you have to be compatible it doesn't mean that line is right no it's right you should be a line it should be a line and your vision has to be the same you know my ex-husband wanted to go play golf and kitesurf that's not great I want to do that me too Well, 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 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 assuming, because I don't know much about the tech world, but I'm assuming that the tech world is predominantly males. That's a very correct assumption. So how, what is that like for you as being a young female, beautiful young female,

and being in a male-dominated world. It's a point that 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 had 200 males.

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 with young female entrepreneurs. It's still not there. You know, there is nothing as everything in life.

There is not always equality. But I feel it's super important to also find the people that support. So, for example, 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 investors that really helped 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 be long, all the times that 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're different. So people are also afraid

of being someone different. They'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 through my career. I want to push you, you know, not give them back tough love.

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-ins from other people, especially men. I mean, how do you overcome that? You're already pretty, you know, so in, like, they always say you have a pretty

privilege, but I feel like it's like a double edge, it's not. It's a double-edged. It's like, yes, it's a I mean, when I was going, you know, through sales my whole life, 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? Fundraise from women. No. First of all, you get used to that. Yeah. Through the years you're here, it has great grades because it's pretty or whatever. I feel it's a double edge thing. I agree.

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 in one words. Because at the end of the day, it's up to you to make an impression. And if someone doesn't see something or see it for their own 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 subject eyes or it. So, Jasper, it could be on the other side as well. Absolutely. Yeah, I agree. All right, we're going to switch gears real quick. Boss run.

Can't overthink this, all right? First answer is that comma. First answer that you can think of. Your personal power move when you walk into a room. I don't make eye contact. You know, I just go straight to the target. That's the power. Yes.

No, I continue. You know, it's like... No, not. It's like a catwalk. You just continue, you know, you walk like straight. And then I start seizing around. I don't like people that enter a room. You know, they're be closed and sides.

what should I do? Who should I speak? That's a boss move. I think you need to say that you can tell when somebody feels like they don't belong in the realm. I all belong. Yeah. The room will belong around.

Absolutely. Yeah. You know who's in charge, right? One belief you had to unlearn to become a CEO. That you always have to do. 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 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. I absolutely love that statement. Like that, you need to re-record that because it's,

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 people. And it's been a journey for me because I like to do everything in myself because I don't think anyone could do it as best 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 won't have to give a hand out, but you can definitely give a hand off. I love what you said. Absolutely. Okay. A book idea that. that shaped how you build product.

From zero to one. 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 bringing a startup that has not read it. If they're not, they're crazy, it's true. 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. Yeah. Okay, next one. You're non-negotiable when it comes to partnerships in business.

And transparency, one. And I really like, you know, to be direct. I'm also Greek, something direct. But don't leave me on, you know. Either it's working or it's not working, and this is why. Better we both know where we stand than actually, you know, not replying to messages, letting things sleep. And I want to be efficient.

I want to be, this is it. We are doing it or we are not doing it. It's working because of that. It's not working because of that. Yeah, double sugarcoat. Just to see what it is. Yeah. I love these.

Love it. What's more important? Being liked or being trusted? Being trusted. Best city in the world for meeting people. New York, I can't compare. There is nothing like in Europe. York. Okay. So 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 do? Like, what's your opinion on that? 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? This is always my approach in life. If you don't know someone, let's say, 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. I moved to a new city and it actually helped me create, make friends. Or, again, she 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 applied to 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 leave out to streets. It's 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 lives. Even if you make someone's life like 10% better and you help them find a job, find love, find friends, for me, there's nothing else you can do.

Nothing is me. I remember bad. So what's next for you? I mean, you have accomplished a lot, the 30 under 30. Can you talk about that for a second? The 30 under 30 had like, where did that come from? Where you nominated? How did that happen?

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 stick. But I think there are so many things happening.

And for me, you know, the things that are super impactful. I mean, full 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 us, for. me the most important thing looking forward is building the on we are now in a very in an inflation point we're releasing the on to point all so we're super excited about that and we're changing the model completely so we are moving all of the painous 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 yeah 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 giving all these different communities and digital specs to the people, you know, to the Rant 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 movement culture and this is something that's so blended in our real life. So for me, at this point, life, Dion, is like one, think. I'm lazy together. Amazing. You are really such an inspiration, especially to young women.

What's next for you? Maybe personally, professionally. Made in the On. Yes, building the on is very important. And the next thing that is going to happen with some super excited, where you're going to be launching major cities in the US and Europe. But 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 super passionate, but I have fallen behind the last years, unfortunately, is traveling. But when I say traveling, I like to be in place. 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. Butterfield, you know. I'm going to get back to it.

Wait, what does Dionne stand for? Like, where I even ask. Yes, everyone asks. It's from Dionysus, who is the Greek god of going out and socializing and drinks and white. There you go. I love that. Okay. And if people want to find you and get connected with you, where would they find you?

Intim, under my name, good luck spelling it. Or Instagram, Rebecca Pall, which is easier. That is so exciting. and one last piece of advice for like a woman that's like, I would say a young woman, me one last piece of advice and thing. 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 goats 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. 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 tell you really can do anything in this life that you want. You see Rebecca, she had, or Rebecca, sorry, said Rebecca. You see Rebecca, she has been, I mean, a breath of fresh. 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 friend. You don't like unsubscribe. I don't know. But if you want to see more. Easy, don't. No, don't. It's been absolutely, it's been so incredible just sitting here and talking to you. You're inspiring me.

Like, I don't have enough on my clique. Now I want to do more things. But it has been absolutely credible spending the afternoon with you. Thank you so much. for coming on it's been incredible thank you for having me sasa blazer thing