Best friends turned business partners, Erica Rankin and Gillian Gallant, instantly hit it off in 2020 on Bumble BFF. At the time, Erica owned a protein cookie dough company that was sold in retail, and Gillian had an e-commerce business. While they were each building unique brands, they shared a similar story of pursuing entrepreneurship in their early 20s.
In 2024, they each lost their companies. But a trip to Mexico inspired their next chapter. They decided it was time to build something together, rather than pursuing new individual endeavors.
Four years after meeting on an app, they got the idea for their travel app, Doozi.
In Erica’s words, “Doozi will be the app you use to discover where to go for your next meal, trip, treatment, or experience. It is the lovechild of TikTok and Tripadvisor.” Say goodbye to tedious travel planning, and say hello to authentic content that builds your itinerary!
I discovered Doozi on the ‘gram and loved the behind-the-scenes look at Erica and Gillian’s journey. Their approach is fun and refreshingly authentic! They share the good and the messy of app development, brand building, and more. Also, did I mention, the app sounds like every traveler’s (and travel creator’s) dream?
Read on to join my convo with Erica:
The Journey to Create Doozi
Q: TikTok but for travel sounds like my new favorite app! When did you realize there was a need for something like this?
A: We are avid travellers & I’m currently a nomad. Both Gillian and I use Tiktok to plan our trips (in advance, or on a whim) and it’s not a platform optimized for travel. So it takes forever to actually find things, and it’s also hard to find old videos you save. And Tripadvisor is old school, dishonest, and pay to play, so you can’t trust that you’re finding the best places on it.
We realized there was a huge gap and wondered why no one had built a platform to solve this issue; so we decided to be the ones to build it.
Q: What has surprised you the most on your entrepreneurial journey?
A: There are always surprises in entrepreneurship, no doubt. Besides the endless learning curve, the coolest surprise has been community support.
It often feels like a very isolating journey – but I don’t think it needs to be. I started sharing my entrepreneurial journey on social media in 2020, and built a community of nearly 300k people who rallied behind what I was building.
I had customers really get behind what I was building, and support me in ways I wasn’t expecting. People always surprise you – and I think if your intentions are good, you are going to be rewarded.
Authenticity on Social Media
Q: Social media can be a highlight reel where people are nervous to get real. What inspires you to share your authentic story in building Doozi?
A: Prior to Doozi, as I mentioned, I had a food company called Bro Dough. In 2020, I hit a plateau in my business, and felt incredibly stuck. And when I would go onto social media, all I saw were other founders sharing their wins; announcing their successful raises, retail launches, hires, etc. Meanwhile I was in a kitchen until 3 AM, hand-scooping cookie dough, and bringing it up to my condo in a wagon I bought off Amazon.
I had weeks where everything went wrong; moldy product, 0 sales, customer complaints… I felt like I was doing everything wrong and moving so slow. But as I started having conversations with more founders, I learned that we were all in the same boat & doing the scrappy startup things no one sees online. So, I decided to put everything out on the internet to not only make other entrepreneurs feel less alone in their journey, but show the reality of what it takes to build a business.
It’s not easy, and the people who make it seem easy are leading their audience into something they are going to be disappointed in when they don’t have immediate success. People admire success, yes, but they connect with vulnerability. I want to be a person who makes others feel seen and normalizes adversity.
Q: Do you have any advice for women who want to share more of their personal journey on social media?
A: Don’t overthink it; post it.
Whenever I put something out on the internet, I ask myself if it could help at least 1 person. If the answer is yes, I post it. We are so much more powerful than we realize; even if you get 100 views, 1 person could go and completely change their life from seeing your content. And then that person can inspire more people to do the same.
It’s such a beautiful thing when you really think about it – social media can be powerful, if used with good intention.
I think it’s also important to understand that there will be people who don’t support you or want to see you win, but even the most successful people have haters. It’s just a part of the game. Focus on who you’re helping – that’s what matters.
If you keep everything you’ve learned to yourself, you do a disservice not only to others but also to yourself. We are most qualified to help the person we used to be.
My whole journey kicked off in 2017 when I was listening to a podcast called The MFCEO Project at my 9-5. It sparked this entire journey for me. If Andy (the host) hadn’t started that podcast, I don’t know where I would be. It gave me the courage to quit my job and chase the life I wanted.
Working Alongside Travel Creators
Q: Doozi will offer exciting opportunities for travel creators! Why are collaborations with real creators important to Doozi?
A: I am a creator myself, and I also travel full time. While I am not a full-time travel content creator, I understand how expensive that lifestyle is. Travel is not a cheap hobby, and travel creators do so much for people.
Think about it; you make memories that last a lifetime on your trips. Or even on a night out with your friends. Travel creators help you create these memories. It’s so much more than just putting together and posting some videos.
We realized that there isn’t a platform that supports these creators and gives them opportunities to fund their lifestyle & career. Doozi will be a TikTok-like platform specifically for travel and will also feature a portal where creators can access hundreds of opportunities. From in-kind experiences at restaurants, to full-blown paid creator trips.
We want to give creators as much support as we can to be successful at what they do; we are building this platform for them, and with them.
Q: Do you have any favorite travel creators whom you’d like to shout out?
A: There are two creators who have been incredibly supportive in our journey with Doozi.
Erin has supported us for nearly a year now. Not only does she have awesome content, but she is teaching us so much about the creator side of the business. Even though we’re small and still a startup, we wanted to thank her so we invited her to Mexico this past January. We spent 5 days together (and we were even roommates). We got to learn more about her, her goals, and how we can build a business that really supports creators.
The second creator is Carson. I first reached out to him a few months ago about getting onto Doozi, because we loved his content. He is someone who genuinely wants to help small businesses, and it shows through his content. While some creators are skeptical about what we’re trying to build, he was immediately invested and he’s now a part of our team.
These are two creators who are the foundation of the next biggest travel platform – and I am confident in that.
Following the Doozi Journey
Q: Where can we keep up with you and Doozi?
A: Follow us on socials, or make an account – we would love to have you join us on this crazy journey!
You can make an account & apply to be a creator here, and follow us on social media: @doozigirls
We are publicly documenting our journey of building a tech company with little to no resources, so you’ll see a lot of unhinged things. We are launching the app in March and we can’t wait to disrupt an industry that is suuuuuper outdated. Time to give some love to travel creators – it’s long overdue!
Megan Burton 