Poppi’s Co-Founder Became a Megamillionaire by Rejecting Work-Life Balance: ‘It’s OK to Live in Chaos’
Allison Ellsworth took calls from the hospital after giving birth and breastfed on Zooms. Now she’s worth over $100 million.
Allison Ellsworth doesn’t believe in work-life balance—and she has $100 million reasons why. The Poppi co-founder and her husband sold their soda company to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion last year, making them centimillionaires. But getting there meant taking business calls from the hospital bed after giving birth and breastfeeding on Zoom meetings. “I think it’s OK to live in chaos,” Ellsworth told The Wall Street Journal in a candid interview. “A lot of people talk about work-life balance. I think if you want to be successful, you kind of have to sacrifice that.”
The 39-year-old Austin entrepreneur landed her big break while nine months pregnant on “Shark Tank,” securing a $400,000 investment from Rohan Oza that helped transform her apple-cider-vinegar beverage into a soda empire.
Since the PepsiCo exit, Ellsworth has upgraded her house, bought homes for her mom and aunt, and now drives a $180,000 Cadillac Escalade. She spent roughly $27,000 on a stylist and recently took a $1 million family vacation to Europe. “What’s the point of having all this money if we can’t have fun with it?” she said.
Allison Ellsworth doesn’t believe in work-life balance—and she has $100 million reasons why. The Poppi co-founder and her husband sold their soda company to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion last year, making them centimillionaires. But getting there meant taking business calls from the hospital bed after giving birth and breastfeeding on Zoom meetings. “I think it’s OK to live in chaos,” Ellsworth told The Wall Street Journal in a candid interview. “A lot of people talk about work-life balance. I think if you want to be successful, you kind of have to sacrifice that.”
The 39-year-old Austin entrepreneur landed her big break while nine months pregnant on “Shark Tank,” securing a $400,000 investment from Rohan Oza that helped transform her apple-cider-vinegar beverage into a soda empire.
Since the PepsiCo exit, Ellsworth has upgraded her house, bought homes for her mom and aunt, and now drives a $180,000 Cadillac Escalade. She spent roughly $27,000 on a stylist and recently took a $1 million family vacation to Europe. “What’s the point of having all this money if we can’t have fun with it?” she said.
