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What happens when you build a global brand, sell it to one of the world's largest companies for $200 million, and then realize it's not what you actually want to be doing? According to Mark Rampolla, the real lesson isn't about the exit or the buyback. It's about understanding that growth isn't something you do. It's something you become.
In this episode of the Strategy & Leadership Podcast, Anthony C. Taylor speaks with Mark Rampolla, founder and CEO of ZICO Coconut Water, co-founder and managing partner of GroundForce Capital, and author of An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom, about what it really takes to build brands that matter and lead entrepreneurs who can scale them. Mark spent nine years grinding to build ZICO into one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the world. He sold it to Coca-Cola in 2013. Then, when the company was being divested years later, he and his partner bought it back for a fraction of the original sale price and rebuilt it.
But the story of two Zico chapters is just the framework. What Mark has learned from backing nearly 100 companies at GroundForce Capital, sitting on 40-plus boards, and helping raise over a billion dollars in capital is something that changes how you think about leadership, entrepreneurship, and what actually separates founders who break through from those who don't. Anthony and Mark explore the difference between what works the first time and what works the second time, why self-reflection and curiosity are the most powerful indicators of future success, why the transition from founder to CEO breaks most people, and what it really means to treat people the way they want to be treated.
What You Will Learn in This Episode
- Why growth is an inside job and what that actually means for founders and leaders
- The surprising pattern Mark has noticed across nearly 100 companies he's backed is what separates high performers from the rest
- Why strategy and execution matter far less than people think when building a company
- How to spot the real indicators of someone's future success as a leader, and why they're not what you'd expect
- What Mark learned by building Zico twice, and why the second time around required completely different thinking
- The founder to CEO transition, why it's harder than most people realize, and what actually determines who makes it
- How to identify the niche that makes your brand resonate and build unstoppable velocity from that foundation
- Why the platinum rule changes everything about how you lead teams and relationships
- What a $600 million asset management firm looks for when evaluating founder teams and company potential
About Mark Rampolla
Mark Rampolla is the co-founder and managing partner of GroundForce Capital, a $600 million institutional asset management firm focused on growth-stage consumer brands. He has backed nearly 100 companies, served on 40-plus boards, helped raise over $1 billion in capital, and contributed to creating over $5 billion in enterprise value.
Before GroundForce, Mark founded and led ZICO Coconut Water from 2004 to 2013, growing it into one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the world before selling it to The Coca-Cola Company. The company was later divested as part of Coca-Cola's portfolio restructuring, and Mark and his partner bought it back at a significant discount, rebuilding the brand as ZICO Rising.
His investment portfolio includes companies like Liquid Death, Osoba (robotics for educators), Vive Organic, OWYN, Flying Embers, Partake Brewing, and others that are reshaping the consumer products space. Mark is the author of An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom and High Hanging Fruit. He holds an MBA in Business and Environmental Management from Duke University and spent three years as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central America, where he first discovered coconut water.
His current focus is helping founders upgrade their internal operating system through his Sprint program and exploring AI-enabled personal assessments that help leaders and teams understand each other more deeply.
Connect with Mark Rampolla
Website: https://www.markrampolla.co/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marksrampolla/
Instagram: @markrampolla
Books: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom (https://markrampolla.co/the-book)
About the Strategy & Leadership Podcast
The Strategy & Leadership Podcast is hosted by Anthony C. Taylor, a strategic advisor to mid-market leadership teams ($30M to $300M) across North America.
Anthony works directly with CEOs and senior leaders to help them align their teams, clarify priorities, and execute strategy effectively in complex organizations.
On this show, he interviews founders, executives, and industry leaders about what actually works when strategy has to survive execution.
Strategy Resources for Leaders
Work with a Strategic Planning Facilitator https://www.smestrategy.net/strategic-planning-facilitator
Connect with Anthony Taylor on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonyctaylor604/
Produced by Rednyne Productions https://www.rednyne.com
