Episode 1469: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom

Episode 1469: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom

May 24, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 1469

About this episode

Mark Rampolla shares his journey of building and scaling ZICO Coconut Water and the challenges of returning to a business after selling it.

Derek Champagne talks with Mark Rampolla, Founder of ZICO Coconut Water. Mark is also the author of the book High-Hanging Fruit and new USA Today bestseller: An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom . Mark built ZICO Coconut Water from nothing, sold it to Coca-Cola for over $200 million, then made a decision most people thought was insane. He bought it back and now he’s scaling it toward a billion-dollar brand. The hardest leadership moment wasn't the exit or the early grind. It was deciding to come back after he had already "made it." That required convincing himself first, then his team, then everyone who thought He had lost my mind. For free resources mentioned on the podcast and to order Mark’s new boo k: https://www.markrampolla.co/ Business Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

People in this episode

Host: Derek Champagne

Guest: Mark Rampolla

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: ZICO Coconut Water, Coca-Cola

Books & works: High-Hanging Fruit, An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom

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