Poppi Founder Pitched 9 Months Pregnant, Sold for $2B

When Allison Ellsworth stepped onto the Shark Tank stage in 2018, she had two things on her mind: landing a deal and not going into labor on national TV.

The odds weren't in her favor. Only 0.21% of applicants from her season both made it on the show and struck a deal. But after six months of intense preparation, Ellsworth and her husband secured $400,000 from investor Rohan Oza for 25% of their company, then called Mother Beverage.

The product was simple. Ellsworth had started mixing fruit juice, prebiotics, and sparkling water in her kitchen three years earlier, creating a drink with the health benefits of apple cider vinegar but none of the sour taste. She even made the sharks take a shot of straight vinegar before trying her version.

Ten days after filming, Ellsworth gave birth to her baby boy. Two years later, she rebranded the drink as Poppi with bold, bright packaging that popped off shelves.

The real breakthrough came when Ellsworth shared her Shark Tank story on TikTok. The video generated $100,000 in sales in just 24 hours and helped rocket Poppi to the number one soda brand on Amazon.

Last year, PepsiCo acquired Poppi for $1.95 billion. The company now generates over $500 million in annual revenue. While the exact figures weren't disclosed, the deal likely made Ellsworth a multimillionaire.

Why This Inspires

Ellsworth returned to Shark Tank last month, this time sitting in the investor chair. She partnered with Lori Greiner (who had rejected her pitch in 2018) to invest $250,000 in a hair tie company for athletes.

Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs? Forget perfection. "You don't need the perfect brand. You don't need the perfect product," she told Fortune. "You just need to start. Start awkwardly, start messy."

The preparation mattered, though. Ellsworth practiced her pitch for six months, knowing that being ready would calm her nerves. And those nerves? She sees them as a good sign. "If you're not nervous, you're not living," she said. "You're not pushing yourself."

The worst advice Ellsworth ever received was to be more professional and change who she was. Instead, she credits her authentic, sometimes awkward approach for her success. "I think fun fuels success," she said.

From a kitchen experiment to a billion-dollar brand, Ellsworth's journey proves that authenticity and preparation make a powerful combination.