➕ Follow along while I build my second startup Doozi publicly... The next Tiktok for travel.

I’m Erica — a creator, entrepreneur, and storyteller helping people break the rules they were taught to follow… and build lives that actually feel like theirs.

Over the past 4 years, I’ve created raw, real, and radically honest content that’s generated nearly 1 billion impressions, built a community of over 300,000, and sparked conversations around self-worth, shame, failure, and freedom.

In 2020, I met my now co-founder Gillian on Bumble BFF (true story). 

Our friendship & love for travel took us all over the world.

We both lost our businesses last year, and this brought us closer. We bonded over loss, reinvention, and the fire to build something better. 

Now we’re building doozi — the next big social media app for travellers and creators. 👀

We’re building in public. Sharing the messy middle. And showing up every day to create something that gives people — especially creators — the power, opportunity, and visibility they’ve earned.

This isn’t just a business. It’s a movement.

If you’ve ever felt like you needed permission to post, speak up, or live your life differently, I’m here to say: you don’t.

💌 My content is about starting before you’re ready, rewriting your story, and overcoming adversity.

Entrepreneurship is a ✨doozi✨

With love,
Erica

📬 Sponsorships + collabs: hello@ericarankin.com
➕ Follow me everywhere @acceptingerica

Erica Rankin

I started my first business in 2019 with zero business experience.

No background. 
No roadmap. 
Just a lot of belief and a lot of fear.

Back then, I hated being seen.
If someone pulled out a camera, I’d shrink.

I thought it was better to be seen as capable but never actually heard.

I had no idea that building a business would completely change who I am as a person.

Entrepreneurship gave me a voice.
It forced me to speak up.
To make decisions.
To be visible- even when it was uncomfortable.

It built my self-confidence in ways nothing else ever has.

But the biggest thing it taught me?

That every single one of us matters.

You don’t need a massive audience or a huge exit to make an impact.

You can change lives through conversations, vulnerability, leadership, and simply showing up as yourself.

Yes, I respect the wins.

But what I respect even more is the inner work it takes to get there.

The resilience.
The self-awareness.
The growth required when things don’t go as planned.

Entrepreneurship isn’t just about paving your own way.

It’s about becoming someone who can walk that path.

And that version of you?
That’s the real reward.

- a girl who doesn’t hate being seen anymore

🫶

Disrupting the creator economy. | Content Creator | Co-Founder of Doozi & Doozi Marketing ✈️📱

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I don’t brag often on here but I wanna brag for a second ;)

We have over 1300 users and our app isn’t even launched.

And over 5000 people on our email list who want to be creators.

We have worked really hard these past few months to onboard travel creators, and I just want to slow down and acknowledge these numbers.

We had the idea of doozi exactly a year ago.

Now we have a full-time tech team, an investor, and community of creators & users who are helping us build from the ground up.

And the app is launching THIS MONTH.

I think my favourite part of entrepreneurship is seeing the evolution of an idea, into an actual product.

Let this be a brag post, drop something in comments you’re proud of!!!! 

🫶🫶🥳🥳

I love Canada BUT I CAN’T STAND WINTER! 🥶

I must escape!!!!

First flight of 2026 (of many). ✈️

Headed to Mexico for the next month to continue building doozi with my co-founder Gillian.

We’ve been working remotely over the holidays but it’s so much better to be in person building.

We’re testing our app internally right now and it’ll be pushed publicly THIS MONTH!!!!

We also invited one of our creators to spend a week with us which is going to be so fun - she’s been like a friend to us as we’ve been building.

It’s early AF but I am soooooo stoked for this year, it feels like last year was the warm up.

This year is go time.

Happy weekend!!!!!!! ❤️

(And yes, I’m rocking a full hot pink doozi sweatsuit, LMK if you want one maybe we’ll drop some 😉)

I made a big mistake when I was building my first business:

Prioritizing the business.

…and nothing else.

Skipped meals.
Minimal movement (besides 10 hour kitchen days).
Ate poorly.
No morning routine.
No night time routine.
Abusing caffeine pills.
Neglecting relationships.

All of this did eventually lead to me hitting a wall.

I don’t regret it; because it’s the only way I could learn that it wasn’t sustainable.

Building my second startup, I now:

Get in movement everyday.
Eat mostly whole foods (but still get in a sweet treat every now and then). 
Don’t skip meals.
Don’t abuse caffeine (although, I do have more on some days than others).
Take time to myself each morning & before bed.
Make time for the people in my life.

You don’t have to sacrifice your health to be successful.

Some seasons are going to be busier than others - no doubt.

But you can’t take care of business if you aren’t maintaining the engine that runs it (aka YOU).

We’re trying to get rejected 1000 times this year.

While building our startup, doozi.

Why?

Because rejection means you’re trying. 

And the higher that number is, the more likely you are to reach your goals. 

We called 6 different people asking to go on their yachts for free (to make videos). 

5 of them said no… and one actually got angry 😅

But the sixth one was a maybe.

That maybe led us to a yacht.

… we also got to drive a rolls Royce by having the ~audacity~ to ask.

All I want to do is inspire others to go after their dreams no matter how ‘crazy’ they may be.

We had investors belittle us and tell us what we’re doing is impossible.

But we’re going to show them how wrong they are.

 Right, Gillian Gallant?

“You’re not crazy, you’re just first” - Jamie Kern Lima 🫶

I’m gonna ruffle some feathers with this post…

We could have made a 100,000 dollar mistake last year.

(Well not actually because we didn’t have 100k LOL)

An agency was quoting us over 100k to develop the most BASIC version of our app doozi. 

If you’re a startup, spending this much money on your MVP is duuuumb.

Frankly, I don’t think agencies should even be creating MVPs.

I think so many founders (not just in tech, but many industries) waste so much money trying to perfect their first product. 

Truth is, you’re going to pivot so many times and your MVP will evolve as you obtain product market fit.

Be scrappy and get that first product out into the market.

Hear back from customers/users and make sure you are NAILING what it is they want/need.

Once it’s solid, then you can reinvest.

Just my 2c.

What do you think?? 

(And yes that’s real money I’m holding definitely not fake money with emojis lol) 😎

Apple rejected us.

… and it delayed our entire launch.

It wasn’t the WORST thing but it was definitely frustrating (especially around the holidays lol).

What was supposed to take a few days took over a month.

We're been pretty quiet on social media.

We didn't want to be promoting an app that wasn’t available, or spend all our time in marketing instead of the tech/app itself.

It's been a grind building our first tech company doozi BUT after six months of putting our heads down, it's almost here. 

Gillian and I cannot wait to unveil doozi to the world in the coming weeks. 😱🫣

Let’s dooz this. ✌🏼

As a digital nomad, I’d rather spend time on a beach than fighting with a wonky platform.
 
Wix just dropped Wix Harmony, their new website builder that combines AI and manual editing all in one place.

It builds an ENTIRE WEBSITE with just one prompt - business functionality, infrastructure, security and all.

Then you can take over and customize as much as you want, with additional help from AI when you need it.

If you want to see for yourself, you can try it here: wix.com/harmony 

#WixPartner

Denrich Sananda

Arista Technologies Limited

Managing Partner and Senior Consultant

HIMA

Director Lifecycle Services

HIMA Middle East FZE

Headed the Middle East region and reported to the Group CEO in Germany. Responsible for the Transformation of the Middle East region and increasing revenue by 100%.
I managed to increase the business by transforming the mindset of my team from small projects to large project, reactive to proactive, and from selling products to selling solutions. I also strategically increased HIMA’s footprint by investing in Sales Managers and Service Engineers in 8-10 countries.
• Leadership and strategic vision for the region (GCC, Turkey, CIS, Russia, India)
• Develop Strategy for the business to achieve annual targets and drive growth.
• Responsible for P&L, budgets & forecasts.
• Responsibility for Order Intake, Turnover, Profits, and Human Resources Planning
• Liaison and coordination with government authorities
• Inspire, Mentor and Human Capital Development
Achievements:
• Increased revenue from USD 6.7M/ Year to USD 24.0M/ Year in 4 years
• Increased FTE from 27 to 81
• Awarded the ‘Best Performing Region’ in 2016
• Received the award for ‘Most Profitable Region’ in 2015
• Conferred the ‘Best Performing Region Award’ in 2014

Vice President Region Middle East 

Managing Director

Director Technical and Consulting Services

Technical Support Manager

Technical Support Engineer

Prolific Systems & Technologies

Sr. Project Engineer

With over 20 years of experience in the process automation sector, I am a seasoned leader and a certified TÜV Rheinland Functional Safety Trainer who co-founded Arista Technologies Limited, a company that provides OT security and service solutions for critical infrastructure and industrial sectors.

My mission is to help clients achieve sustainable profits, market segment leadership, and customer satisfaction by delivering total service life cycle management, risk management, audits and assessments, and functional safety. I leverage my deep technical knowledge, strategic vision, and change management skills to collaborate with key stakeholders across sales, service operations, engineering, strategy, marketing, and R&D, and to drive excellence in new developments and innovation. I have a proven track record of increasing revenue, transforming mindsets, and enhancing performance in diverse and challenging regions, such as the Middle East, India, CIS, and Turkey. I am also a global citizen who is passionate about learning and adapting to new cultures and environments.

Co-Founder and Director OT / ICS Security

Had a great conversation on the CanadianSME Small Business Magazine Small Business Podcast exploring the real challenges and opportunities in OT/ICS cybersecurity for industrial organizations. We dove into why safety-aligned cybersecurity, practical risk management, and standards like IEC 62443 matter now more than ever in industrial environments.
Thank you SK Uddin for having me.
Arista Cyber 

Listen here:
https://lnkd.in/gX3Z3agh

#OTCybersecurity #IndustrialCybersecurity #ICS #OperationalTechnology #processsafety #IEC62443 #IEC61511

View company: CanadianSME Small Business Magazine

🔐 Cybersecurity in industrial systems goes far beyond IT.

Unlock new ideas on the CanadianSME Small Business Podcast as SK Uddin explores key themes with Denrich Sananda, Managing Partner and Senior Consultant at Arista Cyber.

Key Highlights:

 ⚙️ Why OT governance and IEC 62443 matter

 🛡️ Bridging cybersecurity, reliability, and functional safety

 📊 Lessons from a multi-million-euro turnaround

🎧 Listen to the full podcast here: 
https://lnkd.in/emaxPwj9

You can also listen to this podcast on the following:

Spotify: https://lnkd.in/ekg7RhPa
Apple: https://lnkd.in/enUAzSdT
iHeart: https://lnkd.in/eGvXscqF
Amazon Music: https://lnkd.in/e_i7ptwy

We want to thank our sponsors: UPS, Google, A1 Global College of Health, Business and Technology, and ADP.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the CanadianSME Small Business Magazine for more empowering content: www.canadiansme.ca

#CanadianSME #SmallBusinessPodcast #IndustrialCybersecurity #OTSecurity #CriticalInfrastructure #CyberResilience

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