AFTER TURNING POPPI, A PREBIOTIC SODA she invented IN HER KITCHEN, INTO ONE OF THE biggest beverage success STORIES OF THE DECADE, Allison Ellsworth IS OFFICIALLY IN HER boss era.
Fresh off poppi’s blockbuster sale to PepsiCo and a full-circle return to Shark Tank as a guest shark, Ellsworth is betting on herself. But beyond the billion-dollar headlines and soda aisle domination, Ellsworth’s secret ingredient has always been her ability to make ambition feel relatable. She speaks candidly about building a company while pregnant, learning how to let go as a founder, and choosing family over burnout.
It should be no surprise, then, that Ellsworth is invested in building a life that actually feels good behind the scenes. This new chapter in her life is all about investing, mentoring, and helping the next generation of women founders dream bigger. And while she may have helped reinvent soda, she’s also redefining what success after the exit can look like: slower mornings, bigger purpose, and finally drinking her coffee while it’s still hot. Read about Allison Ellsworth’s journey in her C&C 100 interview below.
You’ve accomplished so much since the last time you were featured on the C&C 100 list, including you having a full circle moment on Shark Tank. What’s been the biggest pivots you’ve made in your business since then?
Going back on Shark Tank as a guest shark wasn’t just a milestone moment, it was a reminder of how far I've come. The biggest pivot is that I’m no longer just trying to prove something. Now, I’m building with purpose, clarity, and a much deeper sense of responsibility to the community we’ve created.
Early on, I was in pure hustle mode: scrappy, reactive, and focused on proving that the product worked and that we deserved a seat at the table. Now, the shift has been toward building something much bigger than just a product. It’s about creating a brand that people feel emotionally connected to and see themselves in.
And on a personal level, it’s been about stepping into leadership in a different way trusting my instincts more, protecting my energy, and being really intentional about where I spend my time.
What is the one thing you'd tell other founders about preparing for an exit, both from a business and a personal perspective?
You spend years building something that becomes part of your identity so when you exit, there’s both incredible pride and excitement, but also a real sense of loss. It’s not just a business. Give yourself space to process the change. Your role, your pace, even your purpose will evolve and that can feel disorienting at first. Lean into the uncomfortableness of it. Embrace the change. The biggest shift is realizing you’re not losing what you built, you're just stepping into a new chapter of it.
From a business perspective, preparation is everything. The strongest exits happen when you’ve built a real, durable company, not one dependent on you. That means clean financials, repeatable systems, and a leadership team that can run the business without you in the room. Buyers aren’t just buying your product, they're buying predictability, scalability, and confidence in what happens next.
“I’ve realized that life without purpose isn’t a fun way to live, so this chapter has been about redefining that purpose.”
What’s a risk you’ve taken in this latest chapter of your career that paid off?
Stepping into a completely new role as a guest shark on Shark Tank.
It pushed me out of my comfort zone in a different way, I wasn’t the founder pitching anymore, I was on the other side making real-time decisions, evaluating businesses, and trusting my instincts in a very public setting. That’s a muscle I hadn’t had to use in the same way before.
But it ended up being incredibly rewarding. It challenged me to grow, gave me a new perspective on building and investing, and reminded me how far I’ve come.
What was the biggest mindset shift required to go from where you started to where you are now?
The biggest mindset shift has been going from doing everything to learning how to step back and advise.
In the early days, I was in every detail every decision ran through me. Now, it’s about trusting the team to lead and execute without me in the room. That takes a completely different kind of confidence. What’s been really rewarding is that letting go has created space, space to think bigger, explore new ideas, and even start thinking about other businesses. It’s also given me more time with my kids, which has been incredibly meaningful.
I’ve realized that life without purpose isn’t a fun way to live, so this chapter has been about redefining that purpose. Not from a place of pressure, but from curiosity, which has made it really exciting.
What is something you will not sacrifice in the name of success? Have you ever had to turn down opportunities to stay aligned with your values?
Earlier in my career, I probably would have said yes to everything. But I’ve learned that not every opportunity is the right opportunity. Learning to say no is actually a really powerful skill. It shows clarity, confidence, and a clear sense of direction. I’ve definitely had to turn things down, and that’s not always easy. But every time I’ve trusted that instinct, it’s created space for something better and more aligned to come in. Success for me now isn’t just about growth, it's about building something I’m proud of without compromising what matters most: time for me and my family.
Your journey of being pregnant and growing a family while also growing a massive brand has inspired so many. What advice would you give to women who want to follow a similar path?
Honestly, I won't sugarcoat it….. it's hard. There were moments when I was pregnant, exhausted, and still trying to show up fully for Poppi, and I questioned everything. But what I've come to realize is that the two things actually fuel each other in ways I never expected. I made a decision early on that I wanted to have a successful business and be a mom at the same time. I did not want to pick.
Being a mom made me a better founder. It forced me to be more intentional with my time, more decisive, and honestly more fearless, because when you've grown a human, you stop being quite so scared of a difficult conversation.
My biggest pieces of advice would be:
Stop waiting for the "right time." There is no perfect window. I didn't have everything figured out when we started poppi, and I definitely didn't have everything figured out when I became a mom. You build the plane while you're flying it and that's okay.
Build your village early. You cannot do this alone, and trying to is a trap. Lean on your partner, your team, your community. Asking for help isn't a weakness, it's strategy.
Give yourself permission to not be perfect at both simultaneously. Some days poppi needed more of me. Some days my kids needed more of me. The goal isn't balance every single day, it's harmony over time.
And most importantly….your story is your story. The authenticity of being a real woman, a real mom, building something real? That's not a liability. That's your superpower.
What does success look like to you right now versus when you first started?
When we first started, success looked like survival. Stephen and I were making this apple cider vinegar drink in our kitchen, selling it at farmers markets, just trying to get people to try it. Success back then was someone coming back the next week to buy more. It was keeping the lights on. It was getting onto Shark Tank and so much sacrifice.
The metrics were simple because they had to be, we didn't have the luxury of thinking bigger than the next 90 days.
Now? Success looks so different. We've built something that genuinely changed the way people think about soda, that you don't have to choose between something that tastes amazing and something that's actually good for you. That was always the dream, but I don't think I let myself fully believe we'd get there.
Today, success to me is impact at scale. It's a 15-year-old girl who feels good about what she's putting in her body because she chose a poppi instead of something that made her feel terrible. It's knowing we helped shift an entire industry.
But honestly, and this is the part people don't expect me to say, success now also looks like being present for my kids. Early on I sacrificed so much of that time because I had to. Now that we've built something sustainable, success means I don't have to miss everything. That feels like winning in a way that no revenue number ever could.
The goal posts move. And I think that's healthy, it means you're growing.
What’s something you would do more of if you had the time?
Sleep….and I'm only half joking.
But truly, I'd spend more time being still. I'm always moving, always solving the next problem, and I rarely just stop. More slow mornings, more coffee without a phone in my hand, that's a luxury I'm working toward.
I'd also pour more time into mentoring women in the early stages of building something. I get so many messages from women who are exactly where I was six years ago, scared, underfunded, wondering if anyone will believe in their idea. I want to be the person who tells them to keep going.
And more travel with my family. Real travel, not airports on the way to meetings, but actually being somewhere with my kids, fully present.
It all comes back to the same thing: presence. More time would just mean more of that.
Rapid fire POP QUIZ:
The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning is:
Get my kids ready for school, drink coffee
If I had one more hour in the day, I would:
Get another hour of sleep
A song that describes the era I’m in right now is:
“on top of the world” imagine dragons
My current obsession is:
finding the best gluten free chicken ceasar wrap in every new city.
Three words to describe the legacy I want to leave behind:
Proof, Purpose, Permission