Hidden Gems: Meet Deedee Tsegaye of Deethiopian

Today we’d like to introduce you to Deedee Tsegaye.

Hi Deedee, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve honestly always been the person who was selling something. In high school I was selling products while studying STEM, and when I studied abroad in India in 10th grade I coded for the first time and it just made sense. I knew from then that I was going to be in tech and I was going to be building things. I went to Georgia State in Atlanta, and in 2024 I launched my first product on TikTok Shop. Nobody knew it was me behind it. We hit six figures in the first quarter. In December 2025 I launched my first tech startup and got to 30k+ users in 30 days. Now I’m solo building my second startup while running multiple businesses and creating content. It’s a lot but it’s exactly where I want to be.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Honestly? Just trying to juggle everything. There’s no off switch when you’re running multiple businesses and also creating content and also building a startup. The other big one was losing my co-founder after my first startup. That one hurt but it also made me decide to build my second one solo, which comes with its own challenges. Building alone is hard, especially when you’re already spread thin, but at least everything is in my hands.

We’ve been impressed with Deethiopian, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I’m a tech founder and content creator. I run a TikTok Shop brand that hit six figures in its first quarter, launched a tech startup in December 2025 that got to 30k+ users in the first 30 days, and I’m currently solo building my second startup. On the content side I post as @deethiopian and just share what the journey actually looks like. It’s not always pretty but it’s real.

Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
I’m not the most social person if I’m being honest, but I’ve never been scared to reach out when I need to. My advice is just don’t overthink it. Put your work out there, be consistent, and don’t wait for someone to come find you. A genuine message goes a long way. A lot of my best connections have come through my content, not from networking events.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://deethiopian.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deethiopian
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@deethiopian