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Braving Business: Tales of Entrepreneurial Resilience and Courage in the Face of Adversity

The Price of Freedom: Mark Rampolla on Entrepreneurship, Success, and Reinvention

Braving Business: Tales of Entrepreneurial Resilience and Courage in the Face of Adversity

Tal J Zlotnitsky

Entrepreneurship, How To, Business, Education

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 March 2025

⏱️ 74 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In season 4's first episode of Braving Business, we sit down with Mark Rampolla, a trailblazing entrepreneur, investor, and author who didn’t just build a brand—he built an entire category. As the Founder of ZICO Beverages, Mark turned coconut water from a niche health trend into a global phenomenon, ultimately selling the company to Coca-Cola in 2013.

But success didn’t come easy. Five years on the verge of bankruptcy, high-stakes negotiations with Coca-Cola, and personal struggles—including chasing shiny objects, burying emotions, and relying on substances—shaped his journey in ways he never expected. Mark has since redefined what success means, stepping into the role of investor and mentor, and now as Co-Founder and Managing Partner of GroundForce Capital, he backs mission-driven consumer brands like Liquid Death and Thrive Market.

In this conversation, Mark opens up about:

  • Why the traditional entrepreneurial success formula is broken—and how to flip it.
  • How being first to market nearly killed ZICO, and how he finally turned it around.
  • The biggest mistakes founders make when raising capital—and how to fix them.
  • Why real freedom isn’t something you wait for—it’s something you create right now.
  • Lessons from losing millions as an investor—and how he learned to play the game differently.

Mark’s upcoming book, An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Freedom, explores how founders can reclaim control of their lives, and in this episode, he shares his hard-won lessons on balancing ambition with well-being, success with self-awareness, and risk with resilience.

Oh, and yes—he really did personally unload 5,000 cases of ZICO in his early days.

Key Takeaways:

  • The path to freedom isn’t through financial success—it starts with mindset and intention.
  • Entrepreneurs fail when they chase growth for growth’s sake instead of aligning with their deeper purpose.
  • Raising capital is a skill, and most founders make it harder on themselves by not understanding the game.

Connect with Mark Rampolla:

Contact Us: Visit www.bravingbusiness.com for more information, resources, and episodes.

Mark’s story is raw, real, and packed with lessons for any entrepreneur—whether you’re building your first startup or trying to find your way back to the freedom you thought success would bring. This is one episode you don’t want to miss.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hey there, I'm Talz Latnitsky from Ignite IT Consulting. You know me from the Braving Business

0:07.2

podcast, but when I'm not behind the mic, I'm helping tech startups and established companies

0:12.1

ignite their full potential. I also help entrepreneurs and businesses in distress reset for success.

0:18.6

With over three decades of entrepreneurial success,

0:21.4

I bring hands-on experience to drive growth,

0:23.8

navigate turnarounds, raise capital,

0:26.2

and lead to innovation.

0:28.0

Whether it's executive coaching or strategic transformation,

0:30.9

I'm here to turn your business challenges into success stories.

0:34.8

Visit igniteitconsulting.com and let's spark that change together.

0:39.8

That's igniteit consulting.com. Your journey to business brilliance starts now.

0:47.0

And one last quick thing. If you enjoy this episode, please stay on after the show to learn more

0:52.1

about the braving business podcast and other great episodes for you to discover.

0:56.0

And now, let's get the show started.

0:58.0

Well, hello. Today we're going to be starting off a little bit different than we

1:17.2

normally do because there's a lot of pain out in the nation right now, especially out

1:21.9

in California. Of course, we had some pain before in the Carolinas, but I'm wearing a shirt today that I've worn before. I try not to

1:30.3

double wear shirts. But I'm wearing a shirt today that was in support of the fires in Hawaii.

1:35.3

Right now in California, there are fires that are devastating and people are being affected.

1:42.2

And unfortunately, our guest today, which Tal and I are going to bring in right now,

1:46.0

is a gentleman who has suffered the loss of his house firsthand due to these fires.

1:52.9

And Richards, we're so sorry, Mark.

...

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