Erica Rankin

Three years ago I quit my jobs.

I used most of my savings to book a trip to Southeast Asia.

I felt deeply unfulfilled and couldn’t continue my 9-5.

I don’t know what I expected to happen on this trip, but it was pretty incredible.

I met entrepreneurs from all over the world, working from their laptops.

Their faces would light up when they spoke about their work.

You could see and feel the passion.

I wanted it.

So, I got to work when I got home.

First thing I did was Google “business workshops near me.”

Fast forward to now…

I am that entrepreneur, running my businesses from another country.

Things have come full circle.

And I get so excited to talk about what I do.

Pretty darn cool.

And I’m pretty darn grateful.

You never know where you may end up one day…

And if you want it bad enough, you will make it happen.

It just takes time.

❤️

#entrepreneurship #travel

On my way to church…

It’s my first Easter service (ever).

I never used to understand this holiday and just thought it was another excuse to eat unlimited chocolate and turkey. 😅

But now I understand, it’s so much more than that.

God’s been at work this past year in my life and I’m grateful for all of it.

I’m not perfect, I’m still figuring things out.

Happy Easter 💛

My mom is disappointed that I haven’t settled down, but…

I’m on a yacht in Panama with my best friend & co-founder.

Gillian and I get to be roommates for the next month while we build our startup doozi here.

… and I can confidently say, I have never been more fulfilled or excited about life.

So I don’t think I will EVER settle down (whatever that means, anyway lol).

I don’t have a house, a family of my own, or consistent income, but I have a life that makes me fulfilled.

Moral of the story: your life is yours.

And this might be controversial, but you need to start living like your parents aren’t around.

And what I mean by this, is doing things solely for yourself.
Not for their approval.

And if your life looks a little different than what society deems ’successful’ that’s okay (in fact, I encourage it).

You do you, boo.

I’m cheering you on.

(Yacht is definitely not ours btw) 🤣 ONE DAY!

And we will call our yacht the DoozCruise 🛥️

This is a really vulnerable post about my financial situation.

And about entrepreneurship in general, so here it goes:

(And I only share this because no one ever does - so hopefully it reaches someone who needs to see it).

I had a moment recently where I got really angry & discouraged with where I’m at right now in my career.

I have been building businesses for 6 years, and they have all failed so far (in the end).

Sometimes I look around and wonder why my journey has been so challenging compared to the people around me, but I had to remind myself:

1. The comparison I am making is to something that isn’t real; what is depicted on social media, isn’t reality.
2. Failure is inevitable, everyone who has ever built something great has failed.
3. Successes are spoken about more than failures, so we assume they’re less common but it’s the opposite.

This post is nothing more than a reminder that - it’s okay to get frustrated every now and then.

But understand, that your situation is not unique, and you can’t quit in those low moments, you need to keep going.

The only difference between someone who has failed, and someone who has ‘succeeded’ is that they tried one more time.

I’m trying one more time, with doozi.

& if anyone reading this has been around from my Bro Dough days, I just want to say thank you, because it’s been a really crazy (unexpected) ride.

If I can go bankrupt, and come out on the other side of it & try again, you can too.

Keep going! ❤️

I’m excited to announce my new role as co-founder of doozi!

A video-first platform changing how people discover where to eat, stay, and go.

No more digging through outdated reviews.

You open the app… and see the experience through real people.

& YES I have been building this with Gillian for A YEAR but…

It’s now live in the App Store.

It’s week 1 of our app being live. The traction?

👥 20k+ businesses tagged on our app
🎥 20,000+ videos already on the platform
🌍 400+ vetted creators

Everyone says what we’re doing can be done - just not by us.

We say… NAHHH, we’re swinging for the fences. ;)

This is just the beginning.

Get it here ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Apple 👉 https://lnkd.in/ew5MQ6VU
Android 👉 COMING SOON

ALSO if you could leave a 5 ⭐️ review in the App Store that would be amaaaaazing (this is just version 1 of the app, lots more things coming!)

I just got off a call with a billion dollar travel tech company.

…and they said our app would work better for them than Tiktok.

Better. Than. Tiktok.

Let this be your reminder:

Just because a company has more resources than you, doesn’t mean they can solve the problem better.

There are countless underdog stories that prove this (which I’ll be sharing soon). 😉

Everyone says to us ‘Tiktok and Meta already exist, good luck competing with them.’

And I’m not going to blame them for saying this because:

A) Valid because we have never built a tech company before & we’re SWINGING BIG
B) They clearly don’t experience the problems we’re solving with doozi.

Listen to the people who you’re serving and you’ll understand whether or not your business will work.

And more importantly, don’t get discouraged being a startup.

Startups can move quicker.
They can build community better.
And THEY CAN solve the problem better.

Don’t let people make you feel small, just because you’re small.

Every great company was the ‘small guy’ too.

—

Hi I’m Erica & I’m building doozi; the app you’ll use to discover your next meal, stay, or experience, all through real videos.

Kind of like the next Tiktok for travel.

Would love for you to follow along - launching 🔜!

Most entrepreneurs aren’t actually entrepreneurs.

… they’re “wantrepreneurs.”

AKA they want the title, they want a luxery lifestyle, and to be in rooms with successful people.

But they will do anything but put in the work.

Instead, they’ll:

→ Post about how much they “rise and grind” online (but really sleep in and slack)
→ Flex in front of expensive cars (that aren’t theirs) on social media
→ Talk about ideas they’ll never execute on, over and over again

The difference between “wantrepreneurs” and founders?

One talks about what they’ll do.

The other does it… again and again, until it works.

This is another reason why you SHOULD NOT believe the things you see online.

And this is the reason why I post so openly about my journey as an entrepreneur.

I don’t own a Mercedes or a yacht.

I filed bankruptcy and lost my company in 2024.

I’m rebuilding now.

It blows my mind that people would rather look successful than actually become it.

Jeez loooouisssseeeee

That’s it for my rant thank u 🤪

We invited one of our creators to live with us for 5 days.

In Mexico.

Erin Zeiadin has been so supportive of doozi since day 1.

She’s given us technical feedback, creator suggestions, and has hundreds of videos uploaded & tagged on doozi.

If I have learned anything in entrepreneurship, it’s to invest in the people (especially customers/users) who invest in YOU.

Gillian and I are still early in building this app & community, and not everyone has wanted to join the journey because we can’t pay or offer a lot right now.

But we are going to make sure the people who believe in what we’re building are taken care of.

We’re two scrappy entrepreneurs (who are also creators ourselves) building something WITH our creators, not on top of them.

We learned a lot by living with one for five days (we call that field research lol)

Big shout out to Erin!

This time next year, we’re going to have FULL OUT doozi creator trips, mark my words. ;)

We're SUPER CLOSE to launching. 🚀 👀

-

📲 What is doozi?

For businesses:
➡️A modern marketing platform for hospitality businesses; we send creators to your business to make authentic videos that convert.

For creators:
➡️We give you opportunities to work with businesses in the hospitality industry.

And the bonus: Doozi is a place where your content doesn’t get lost in an algorithm and thousands of travellers can see it everyday.

For travellers:
➡️An app that you can use to discover your next favourite restaurant or plan for an upcoming trip; all through short form video (with in-app booking coming soon).

And save time with easy planning (thanks to our geo-tagged folders with filters).

Today we submitted our app to the App Store.

After...

→9 months of building.
→Countless hours of testing.
→Dozens of delays.

And a lot of "wtf am I even doing?!" moments (if I'm being honest).

But that's what entrepreneurship is all about.

It's funny because this is just the starting point, but I wanted to take a second to celebrate.

Because this time, last year, doozi was just an idea.

Now we have;

→12k videos on our platform
→Hundreds of vetted travel creators
→Thousands of users

And the fact that I can to build a business with my BEST FRIEND!?

Moral of the story: KEEP GOING! You're going to get where you want to go if you push through the adversities.

We learned so much in these past 9 months.

(Let's go disrupt an outdated industry Gillian Gallant 😎 )

I’m not a multi-millionaire.
I don’t have an exit.
I’m not on any fancy 30 under 30 list.

But I am someone who recognizes that those things aren’t indicators of success.

Success is literally defined as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.”

Success, for me, has looked more like:

→ Reinventing myself when my life fell apart (hello bankruptcy & business failures)
→ Building again when I didn’t know how
→ Choosing growth over comfort
→ Taking risks people told me not to take

Don’t get caught up in the shiny stuff you see on here (or anywhere, for that matter).

You need to find the definition of success on your own.

Or rather, your aim or purpose.

What does success mean to you?

🫶

Merry Christmas & happy holidays, everyone. ❤️

Grateful for this platform and the community on it.

Signing off for the rest of the week.

I suggest ya’ll do the same. ;)

My 2025 in one emoji: 🎢

Whether 2025 was a “success” for you or not, I hope you can learn from everything that happened and take those lessons into 2026.

There’s a reason for every season and I think it’s important to find gratitude, even in the hard ones. ❤️

What’s an emoji you would use to describe the past hear for you?

Happy new year!

I met my best friend on LinkedIn.

… and this is an appreciation post.

I met Karly Jacobsen in 2022 on here because we both were in the food & beverage industry.

(She’s going into year 7 with Rviita Inc. and I closed my food business in 2024).

We instantly connected and had so much in common - we even have the same car. 🫢

After two years of voice notes and late night face times, we finally reconnected in person.

I flew out to Calgary last week and not only got to spend time with my best friend, but she trusted me enough to help support Rviita Inc.’s marketing.

We’ve been friends for less than 5 years, but it feels like a lifetime.

Friendly reminder: don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.

Your new bestie, business partner, or team member could be on here.

Really proud of you Karly (and Mitch).

What you guys have built is nothing short of incredible.

Please follow/connect with them - they’re the most hardworking people I know.

❤️

I spent 30 years hiding.

I hid my past out of shame.
I hid my failures because I thought they made me unqualified.
I hid my dreams because I was afraid to take up space.
I hid my emotions because I thought they were too much.
I hid my insecurities because I thought they made me weak.
I hid my voice because I didn’t think it mattered.

… but truth is, vulnerability is a super power.

Being seen for who you are, IS a super power.

If you can be vulnerable, you can unlock the highest level in life.

I can’t tell you how freeing it is to just be YOU, unapologetically.

You’ll attract the right people and opportunities, yes…
But you’ll also repel the wrong ones, much quicker.

Time is the one thing we can’t get back, why not just be yourself to save some of it?

If this resonates you should follow me Erica Rankin 😄

I’ve been SO LOST with what to post on LinkedIn.

Mainly because entrepreneurship is kicking my ass.

For context: I had a food/CPG company for four years, now I’m in tech.

Totally different industries, both challenging in their own ways.

And I entered both with zero experience (like absolutely none; unless you count eating snacks as CPG experience or using apps as tech experience lol)

I don’t know what I’m trying to say with this post but I think all I want the person reading this is to understand:

A) You’re not always going to be excited about your job or what you’re building - it’s normal

B) You can do WHATEVER YOU WANT with your life - you can switch industries, start over, or go into something with no experience.

C) The internet is a very shiny fake place - take what you see at face value

(our reality: we haven’t started paying ourselves yet - it’s a been a grind).

If you want to support two women doing what many say is impossible (the two women is me + Gillian Gallant 😎), we’d love for you to test the beta version of our app.

doozi is basically the next social media app for travel - we get businesses discovered, and give creators opportunities.

Android: https://lnkd.in/ekPZav4g
iOS: https://lnkd.in/e2zn9GhU

We launch our app this month into the world.

A willingness to learn and refusal to quit > experience

That’s all I got for now - go have a great Wednesday 🫶✨

(IM FINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) 🔥

Things change.

5 year old me wanted to be a mermaid.

10 year old me wanted to be a teacher.

14 year old me wanted to be a veterinarian.

17 year old me wanted to be a horse veterinarian.

18 year old me wanted to be a psychiatrist.

22 year old me had no idea what she wanted to be.

24 year old me wanted to be the founder of a massive cookie dough empire.

29 year old me, again, had no idea who she wanted to be.

30 year old me wanted to be back in her 20s.

31 year old me, present me, wants to be...

Happy.

Healthy.

...and wants to make as much impact as possible on this earth (and serve THE LORD).

It's not about the title, it's about what you do in this world.

How you show up for yourself & others.

We change, just like seasons.

What was one of your past seasons?

Here’s the reality of entrepreneurship. ⬇️

2019: launched Bro Dough (protein cookie dough) with zero business experience.

2020: operated out of a commercial kitchen & my car, slow & steady growth.

2021: went viral, continuously sold out of inventory, secured a manufacturer.

2022: launched into ~100 stores with the product.

2023: after ~100 hours of demos, realized product wasn’t selling (price, size, ingredients, merchandising problems) so scrapped it and started over. Lost a lot of $.

Late 2023: launched new and improved product into ~200 stores. Customers loved the product & improvements worked.

January 2024: realized the price point on shelf was a huge problem. Couldn’t get it lower and be profitable. Drowning in chargebacks from distributor/retailors and debt. Mental health at an all-time low.

February 2024: ceased operations. Getting ~15 calls a day from banks/creditors.

April 2024: got sued by a creditor. Then filed bankruptcy.

July 2024: moved back home to my small town (in with my PARENTS). Cried and stumbled a lot in 2024.

January 2025: Came up with a new business idea (doozi) & partnered with my best friend to build it.

July 2025: Secured an investor & tech team to build our travel app.

April 2026: ABOUT TO LAUNCH OUR APP!

Sometimes things workout the first time.
But reality is… not every business is successful.

But guess what?
If I could change anything, I wouldn’t.

My goal is to show others YOU CAN START OVER.

KEEP GOING.

Don’t give up on yourself or your dreams, even if it feels impossible.

I promise things will workout if you just keep going.

💓

(Throwback photo from 2020, good ol kitchen days)

I’m a day late, but this is a special post.

I’d like to recognize my best friend & co-founder Gillian.

She’s someone who has shown incredible resilience in the past year and one of the strongest woman I know.

I still think it’s crazy that we met on an app 5 years ago (shout out Bumble Inc. BFF).
Imagine if either of us swiped left!!!!!! 😱

We were friends first, then co-founders.

There’s no one else I would rather build doozi with.

Some other amazing women I’d like to recognize:

Karly Jacobsen
Annie Woo
Brianna Doe
Kim Luecke
Alexis Rivera Scott
Lindsay O'Donnell
Jess Ramos
Jackie Hermes
Sofia da Silva
Rebecca Rosselli
Paola Camila
Jenny Stojkovic
Linda Le🌻
Erin Zeiadin
Keresey Pearl

Happy Belated International Women’s Day. ❤️

You don’t need tech experience to build an app.
You don’t need culinary experience to create a food product.
You don’t need validation from anyone to chase what you want.

All it takes is 1 decision to take that first step, even when you don’t know how to do everything.

I am building an app with 0 experience - but I’m learning, and the pieces are falling into place as I take steps.

The exact same thing happened when I built & scaled my last business in CPG/food.

Had NO CLUE what I was doing, but by the end of that company, I knew the industry like the back of my hand.

The difference between people who dream, and the people who do, is the understanding that you don’t NEED to know everything.

You just have to move with intention.
Be curious.
Ask for help.

Everyone starts at ground 0.

You can choose to stay there, or dive right in and level up through the experience.

(And it’s ok to feel ‘dumb’ along the way - it means you’re surrounded by people that you can learn from).

I’m Canadian, but I love America, and my American friends. 🇺🇸

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Whether you’re celebrating with family, friends, or on your own - I hope you can take some time to find gratitude.

Sending love to those who need it today - I know the holidays aren’t fun for everyone.

And thank you for the Thanksgiving wishes, it’s always nice to hear twice a year (don’t ask me why we celebrate in October lol). 🇨🇦

Send me some pumpkin pie will ya? 🥧