Podcast episode
Episode 386 – Scaling Poppi: Farmers Market to $2B Pepsi Exit | Stephen Ellsworth
A $2 billion exit sounds like the finish line. For Stephen Ellsworth, co-founder of Poppi, it was the start of one of the hardest seasons of his life. Stephen sits down with Justin Forman to unpack the full arc of Poppi’s story — from a Dallas farmers market and a Wyoming kitchen, to Shark Tank, to becoming one of the largest exits in beverage history when PepsiCo acquired the company.
EPISODE NOTES
A $2 billion exit sounds like the finish line. For Stephen Ellsworth, co-founder of Poppi, it was the start of one of the hardest seasons of his life. Stephen sits down with Justin Forman to unpack the full arc of Poppi’s story — from a Dallas farmers market and a Wyoming kitchen, to Shark Tank, to becoming one of the largest exits in beverage history when PepsiCo acquired the company.
Stephen gets specific about the decisions that mattered most: rewriting Poppi’s formula a week before pitching on Shark Tank, the internal fight over whether to market Poppi as a health tonic or a soda, and the moment his team turned down a $1 billion offer because the deal — and later a $1.65 billion offer — didn’t feel right. He’s just as candid about what came after the money hit the bank account: an unexpected identity crisis, isolation, and a season of learning to sit still.
The conversation closes on what’s next — a season Stephen calls “preferment,” not retirement — and how a faith that had gone dormant since his teenage years was reawakened through the entrepreneurial journey itself, from a providential tax refund to the conviction to walk away from money that didn’t align with what felt right.
Chapters:
00:00 Cold open: reflecting on a $2 billion exit
01:07 From farmers market to a $2 billion Pepsi exit
02:21 When “better for you” also has to taste good
03:43 Apple cider vinegar, marriage, and the taste breakthrough
05:30 Rewriting the formula one week before Shark Tank
06:17 From taste to nutrition: the customer journey
06:43 White cans vs. colored cans: the branding pivot
08:09 Scaling through Shark Tank and beyond
08:27 Explosive growth: $3 million to $500 million
10:15 Pepsi’s first offer — and why they walked away
12:02 The hard truth about the day after the exit
12:34 Two distinct days: signing vs. the money hitting
16:29 FDE Foundation Groups
17:27 A new season: “not retirement, it’s preferment”
20:31 The awkward gap between wealth and generosity
22:10 Setting up a Donor Advised Fund and vetting nonprofits
23:57 Bringing entrepreneurial thinking to giving
24:16 From Mormon roots to a faith reawakened by entrepreneurship
27:45 Walking away from a $1.65 billion offer
28:14 Meeting the Holy Spirit in the entrepreneurial journey
29:13 Closing thoughts and how to take action
30:25 FDE Foundation Groups closing message
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Faith Driven Entrepreneur is an educational website hosted by Faith Driven Movements (501c6) and FDM Foundation (501c3) nonprofit corporations whose mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize people to use their time, talents and other resources in the marketplace. Faith Driven Movements brings together leaders from around the world that seek to make a financial, social, environmental and spiritual impact through their business ventures. The website is intended to be an opportunity to exchange ideas for educational purposes. Faith Driven Movements is not responsible for the opinions, advice, statements, materials, presentations, data, images, videos, documentation and other information (collectively, the “Materials”) expressed or otherwise shared by guest contributors (including without limitation podcast guests, conference speakers, guest writers, participating companies and investment professionals). The Materials are for informational purposes only, and the statements, views and opinions expressed at any presentation or in any Materials are those solely of the presenter and not of Faith Driven Movements. Hosts and Guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. Further, Faith Driven Movements does not endorse or recommend any presenter, promoter, investment advisor, strategy, company or any views mentioned at any conference or in the Materials. Under no circumstances will Faith Driven Movements (or their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, or agents) be liable for the accuracy, quality or reliability of any of the presentations or Materials, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of presenters, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from any presentations or Materials. By visiting the site you agree to comply with the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.
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Faith Driven Entrepreneur is an educational platform hosted by Faith Driven Movements, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to inspire, educate, and mobilize people to use their time, talents and other resources in the marketplace. Faith Driven Movements brings together leaders from around the world that seek to make a financial, social, environmental and spiritual impact through their business ventures. The website is intended to be an opportunity to exchange ideas for educational purposes. Faith Driven Movements is not responsible for the opinions, advice, statements, materials, presentations, data, images, videos, documentation and other information (collectively, the “Materials”) expressed or otherwise shared by guest contributors (including without limitation podcast guests, conference speakers, guest writers, participating companies and investment professionals). The Materials are for informational purposes only, and the statements, views and opinions expressed at any presentation or in any Materials are those solely of the presenter and not of Faith Driven Movements. Hosts and Guests may maintain positions in the companies and securities discussed. Further, Faith Driven Movements does not endorse or recommend any presenter, promoter, investment advisor, strategy, company or any views mentioned at any conference or in the Materials. Under no circumstances will Faith Driven Movements (or their respective trustees, directors, officers, employees, or agents) be liable for the accuracy, quality or reliability of any of the presentations or Materials, any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of presenters, or any direct, indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages arising from any presentations or Materials. By visiting the site you agree to comply with the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct.