Philippe Simonin had a dream to share dreams. Driven by a faith in creating a collaborative community where people support and help each other actualize their dreams, he founded Dreemit.org, a personal social online project aiming at creating hope and community.  Originally from a little village in France near the Alps, he now finds himself in the Bay Area, California, armed with a camera and an open heart as he dreams with people on the streets of San Francisco.

“When I came to San Francisco, I was amazed by the energy of the Bay Area and its people,” Philippe has said.  “The people of San Francisco and the Bay Area inspired me through their engagement; they taught me what it means to dream big and make a difference.  I loved it and wanted to share it. With two Japanese friends, Takuya and Eiko, we thought that it all starts with some people’s dreams and ideas. … Dreemit.org was born: What if we collect people’s dreams in life?”

Philippe has recorded 400 interviews of people from all walks of life in eight countries on their dreams and aspirations.  “My dream is to collect 1 million dreams, spread inspiration and build a positive community, helping as many people as possible to achieve their dreams,” Philippe has said.

“Dreams turned into reality are the quintessence of life ….  Experiencing this is unique, and a privilege. I wanted to share that experience with those far away.  So I left my mechanical engineering life and started a blog (making my parents worried): Now I interview strangers about their dreams! Once past the first uncomfortable seconds, when people look into my eyes and see that I mean it and I care, it’s wonderful.”

“I hear amazing stories. I’ve done this in eight countries — France, Sweden, Belgium, England, Spain, Portugal and Germany, as well as the U.S. — and so far Americans understand better than anyone the idea of a dream and tend to pursue their dreams more.”

Prior to Dreemit.org, Philippe worked mainly in the automotive industry in France, Sweden and Thailand.  He has more than ten years of experience in automotive technical program management, and has worked on several award-winning trucks.  He completed his engineering degree in France, Austria and Germany, and holds an MBA from the Lyon School of Management.  He also completed a one-year Transformation Programme in Positive Psychology and Collective Intelligence at the Ecole Centrale in Paris in 2014.

Though Dreemit.org is still in its infancy, it was awarded second place in the San Francisco Startup Weekend Hackathon in July 2016.  As Philippe has said, “I am getting amazing and positive feedback with some very friendly and profound answers from people who accept and trust me. How this project will evolve is still to be defined.  I will learn by doing with your help hopefully.”