Frederick Akpoghene and Dawn Dickson-Akpoghene, a married couple who are also both successful technology entrepreneurs have ventured into the literary world with the debut of their first book, Started in the DM: Using Social Media to Find the One. They themselves met each other online, and are now retailing their book in all major online bookstore retailers.
If you’ve ever wondered how to start a conversation online and turn it into a longstanding relationship, this book presents the roadmap for you. It doubles as a guidebook for professionals and entrepreneurs to navigate the online dating landscape. Dawn and Frederick are living proof of the advice shared in the book as a direct message ‘DM’ on Instagram kickstarted their relationship and led to marriage within six months.
Together, they share “do’s and don’ts” of online dating, such as how to engage in conversations, how to stand out, and how to successfully take a connection from online to offline.
“Online dating and social media should not have a stigma,” Dawn states. “It is an opportunity to expand your network and dating pool. As long as you do it intentionally and respectfully, you can find the one as we did.”
To accompany the release of the book, a special NFT gallery of the original artwork featured Started in the DM art by Sampson The Artist just went live at https://opensea.io/collection/startedinthedm
Dawn and Frederick both led undeniably busy lives. Ohio-born entrepreneur, inventor, businesswoman, yoga teacher, angel investor, energy healer, and speaker Dawn had founded both Flat Out Heels and future-facing vending machine solution PopCom. At the same time, Frederick had made waves as a technology C.E.O. and entrepreneur with JéGO Technologies, Scizzrs, and Abovav Inc. Finding time to date proved virtually impossible for the both of them. One day, Dawn posted a meme on her Instagram story, “Find a woman who doesn’t need to be taken care of and take care of her” to which Frederick replied, “Mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially is a given.” Online conversations gave way to marathon phone calls and finally meeting in person. They were engaged within five months.
As the relationship and their careers progressed, another tweet kickstarted the process behind the book. Dawn posted a holiday picture with the caption, “Started in the DM…now we’re here.” Going viral, she received countless messages and inquiries as to how she and Frederick made it work. Frederick saw an opportunity to build a community with the book as a gateway, so they set about writing it in 2021. Now, it’s here to help you find love online.