WEBVTT - Bloomberg Talks: Allison Ellsworth

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<v Speaker 1>Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news, A.

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<v Speaker 2>Pool behind us, lots of people around us. There's a

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<v Speaker 2>lot going on.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, a lot of people drinking poppy too. Did you

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<v Speaker 1>see that.

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<v Speaker 2>I did see that.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots of people are drinking poppy. You know, find a

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<v Speaker 1>problem and fix it. That's the context of talking about

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<v Speaker 1>this company.

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<v Speaker 2>How many times when we talked to you venture capitalists

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<v Speaker 2>like they say, that's what people have to do, that's

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<v Speaker 2>how you have to think about starting a company. And

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<v Speaker 2>that's exactly what our next guest has done. And sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>it's a personal like problem or situation that leads you

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<v Speaker 2>to creating an amazing company, one that actually gets bought

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<v Speaker 2>out by PepsiCo for one point ninety five billion dollars,

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<v Speaker 2>and that happened last year. We're talking about Poppy. Allison

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<v Speaker 2>Ellsworth is co founder of the company, and she joins

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<v Speaker 2>us here and uncharted. Welcome, Welcome, Nice to have you

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<v Speaker 2>here with us.

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<v Speaker 3>Thank you, and hey, let's call it two billion right.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh okay, okay, we're round up. We're good.

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<v Speaker 1>We're good.

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<v Speaker 3>Round up.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a lot of money. Tell us though, I love

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<v Speaker 2>the backstories I watch these guys. Know Shark Tank a

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<v Speaker 2>lot that was certainly something that played in But tell

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<v Speaker 2>us about how you came to create this company.

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<v Speaker 3>I think, like most great things, I created it because

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<v Speaker 3>I had a personal problem. I had some gel gut

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<v Speaker 3>health problems. I started drinking apple cider vinegar. Hated the taste,

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<v Speaker 3>and I wanted to create something that tasted better. Have

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<v Speaker 3>you guys ever taken a shot of apple cider vinegar? No?

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<v Speaker 1>I have not.

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<v Speaker 2>I know lots of people who have.

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<v Speaker 3>It's disgusting. So I went to my kitchen and I

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<v Speaker 3>created the first version of Poppy, went on to get

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<v Speaker 3>a deal on Shark Tank, and now we're in every

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<v Speaker 3>grocery store in the nation. It's wild.

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<v Speaker 2>It is pretty wild.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a really crowded space, and it's hard. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>you could walk in into any sort of convenience store

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<v Speaker 1>or grocery store and those are the companies that have

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<v Speaker 1>succeeded in getting the shelf space. Just getting the shelf

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<v Speaker 1>space is difficult. How did you do that?

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<v Speaker 3>In the beginning, we hired really smart people. So after

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<v Speaker 3>getting a deal in Shark Tank, our network was opened up.

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<v Speaker 1>So that's where everything changed.

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<v Speaker 3>You bring in people that know the industry. Beverage is

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<v Speaker 3>really hard. Someone downstairs just asked me they wanted to

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<v Speaker 3>do a beverage, and I said, what, it's capital intensive.

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<v Speaker 3>You have to have a lot of money. You're shipping

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<v Speaker 3>liquid across the US, manufacturing shelf life. There's so many

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<v Speaker 3>things that go into it, and you really want to

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<v Speaker 3>surround yourself with smart people and the beverage industry small

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<v Speaker 3>so network, network network.

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<v Speaker 2>It's really about who you know in the beverage really,

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<v Speaker 2>because you're fighting for shelf space essentially, right.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, and then you're working with the retaillers and we

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<v Speaker 3>were before the time, like we were calling ourself soda.

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<v Speaker 3>We were revolutionizing sofa the next generation, and they were

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<v Speaker 3>like that's hilarious, you know, And so they didn't know

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<v Speaker 3>where to put us on the shelf stacks. Like basically

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<v Speaker 3>we're in the sparkling water set. We were, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>in enhanced water. They didn't know what we were. It

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<v Speaker 3>was hard.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, now, the idea of a functional beverage, like everybody

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<v Speaker 1>kind of knows about that. You guys were early to that.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, I'm curious what you see out the landscape

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<v Speaker 1>right now that is missing, Like if you were to

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<v Speaker 1>develop something right now, what.

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<v Speaker 3>Would it be well, I am developing something right now

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<v Speaker 3>and we're launching the fall to fit that gap. But

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<v Speaker 3>it's what it is is it has to be better

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<v Speaker 3>for you and not so better for you that it's

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<v Speaker 3>just like people don't understand and there's a lot of

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<v Speaker 3>adaptogens and all of these things. Protein is really big

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<v Speaker 3>right now, but I don't know. Would you like to

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<v Speaker 3>drink a carbonated protein drink.

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<v Speaker 1>I've tried a carbonated protein drink. It wasn't easy to drink.

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<v Speaker 3>It's tough. I'm telling you, I wouldn't do that, but

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<v Speaker 3>I will say something that's just a little bit better.

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<v Speaker 3>And that's what we did at Poppy.

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<v Speaker 1>So have you figured it out?

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<v Speaker 3>I have figured out we're launching in the fall.

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<v Speaker 1>But launching as is right now? Or do you still

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<v Speaker 1>have to iterate on the product? Now?

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<v Speaker 3>We're loaded, we're hiring, we're going And it's one of

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<v Speaker 3>those things that what we have so much we learned

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<v Speaker 3>at Poppy from building team and scaling that, like why

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<v Speaker 3>would we not do it again?

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<v Speaker 1>Are you raising money for it? Are you bootstrapping it?

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<v Speaker 3>A little bit of both? Right now, we're going to

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<v Speaker 3>use our own money for about you know, two point

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<v Speaker 3>five million or so, and then I would love to

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<v Speaker 3>de risk and bring in strategic partners that can help

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<v Speaker 3>really catapult the business.

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<v Speaker 2>What are you learning about the marketplace in terms of products,

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<v Speaker 2>types of products that people want today?

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<v Speaker 3>You know, it's that movement within MAHA that we're really

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<v Speaker 3>seeing no dies, no artificial ingredients. It like actually drives

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<v Speaker 3>me insane when like have cheetohs or doritos and Pepsi's

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<v Speaker 3>changing that, right, They're taking the dice out of it.

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<v Speaker 3>So I think it has to be just ten percent

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<v Speaker 3>better or thirty percent better. It can't be one hundred

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<v Speaker 3>percent better for you. People still want full flavor. America

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<v Speaker 3>likes flavor. It has to taste good and that has

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<v Speaker 3>to be king. Taste is king?

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<v Speaker 2>Is it more expensive to do things so expensive? Yeah?

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<v Speaker 2>And without all these additives are.

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<v Speaker 3>It really is cut And people get really confused around

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<v Speaker 3>the word like natural flavors.

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<v Speaker 2>Natural makes nothing.

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<v Speaker 3>It's very confusing and how it's made and what are

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<v Speaker 3>in the natural flavors? No, it is, but if you

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<v Speaker 3>think of like, you're not organic, it's not non gmo.

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<v Speaker 3>There's so many things that go into it. So I

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<v Speaker 3>think it just has to be better for you. I

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<v Speaker 3>do think non GMO is important and people are reading

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<v Speaker 3>labels more than ever.

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<v Speaker 2>Is it more expensive to do though, It's absolutely more expensive.

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<v Speaker 3>Okay, yeah, artificial ingredients, all of those things are really cheap.

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<v Speaker 3>But really what the most expensive thing is the packaging.

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<v Speaker 3>The packaging more so than what goes into it, and

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<v Speaker 3>then the shipping cost and all of that goes into it.

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<v Speaker 1>We're speaking to Allison elsewhereth the co founder of Poppy,

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<v Speaker 1>which she sold for two billion dollars to PEPSI. We'll

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<v Speaker 1>call it that last year. She joins U at the

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<v Speaker 1>Uncharted Summit.

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<v Speaker 2>You can round it up. You are so right.

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<v Speaker 1>You're doing this for a second time, essentially, and I'd

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<v Speaker 1>imagine you learned a ton the first time you did this.

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<v Speaker 1>What are you doing differently to get this product onto

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<v Speaker 1>the shelves, to get into the hands of consumers, to

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<v Speaker 1>get consumer and brand awareness across the country that you

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<v Speaker 1>didn't necessarily know how to do until you maybe failed

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<v Speaker 1>at doing this or found the right niche for it

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<v Speaker 1>with Poppy.

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<v Speaker 3>Where entrepreneurs fail a lot of times as they refuse

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<v Speaker 3>to professionalize their business. So the first thing we're starting

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<v Speaker 3>with this time as an ORG chart, we're seeing what

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<v Speaker 3>can we do to build an incredible team around us,

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<v Speaker 3>and you hire eighteen months ahead. You don't hire for now,

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<v Speaker 3>and you don't let your ego get in the way

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<v Speaker 3>of growth of like I need to do, I need

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<v Speaker 3>to do every job. And that's one of the biggest

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<v Speaker 3>mistakes the entrepreneurs do is they don't hire people smarter

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<v Speaker 3>than them because they think they know everything. So for us,

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<v Speaker 3>that's one of the biggest lessons is professionalize the business,

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<v Speaker 3>bring in like incredible people and build a platform that

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<v Speaker 3>can scale.

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<v Speaker 2>What is it like to sell a business that's been

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<v Speaker 2>you know, your baby and you created it and it

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<v Speaker 2>was really personal for you. I've talked to lots of founders,

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<v Speaker 2>you know, a lot of them have their name on

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<v Speaker 2>the company. And when you let go, you know, initially

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<v Speaker 2>it's great because it's a lot of work, a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of hard work, and your whole life is the business.

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<v Speaker 2>But at some point it's like it's hard.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I mean essentially it was ten years of my life,

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<v Speaker 3>never taking vacations. I had three kids while doing it,

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<v Speaker 3>and then you're gone, right, the business has gone overnight.

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<v Speaker 3>You're no longer in eighty hours a week and people

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<v Speaker 3>don't talk about the post exit blues. It's a real thing.

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<v Speaker 3>It's an emotional roller coaster. And look, money gives you

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<v Speaker 3>freedom to do what you want, when you want, with

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<v Speaker 3>whomever you want, but it doesn't give you purpose. So

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<v Speaker 3>find your purpose and that's what we're doing again, because

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<v Speaker 3>if you find your purpose, money will come.

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<v Speaker 2>How soon did you have to find your purpose after something?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean it took us. I've cy goll for like

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<v Speaker 3>four months and then I was like, okay, I beat

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<v Speaker 3>my husband a couple times. I was like, okay, I'm

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<v Speaker 3>over this, and uh, you know, we had fun, but

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<v Speaker 3>I've really missed the team. I missed the build. It's

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<v Speaker 3>just the entrepreneurialism that people have. That's the craziness, right,

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<v Speaker 3>It's why we do it.

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<v Speaker 1>What's it like raising money this time around it? Because

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<v Speaker 1>you don't I'm guessing you don't really have to be

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<v Speaker 1>proactive about it. People are knocking down the door after

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<v Speaker 1>an exit like that.

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<v Speaker 3>It's actually like so many people are like bagging to

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<v Speaker 3>actually invest, but for me, we are only going to

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<v Speaker 3>take strategic money that can actually make a move. And

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<v Speaker 3>it's when I say strategic, it's the network. It's how

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<v Speaker 3>can we network in them.

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<v Speaker 1>So money from a distributor, money from a company that

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<v Speaker 1>could potentially.

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<v Speaker 3>Retailers, people that can celebrities, influencers. Talent is a huge

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<v Speaker 3>piece of how we skilled Poppy.

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<v Speaker 2>But it matters because you want to be able to

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<v Speaker 2>drive where you want to go.

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<v Speaker 3>Correct, Yes and small right. I think I could probably

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<v Speaker 3>call a lot of retailers and go into them really quickly,

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<v Speaker 3>but I think you have to be intentional and build

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<v Speaker 3>a brand, start and like those better for you retailers

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<v Speaker 3>from the whole foods to the targets to the sprouts,

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<v Speaker 3>and then really grow versus going so mass so big,

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<v Speaker 3>which I think a lot of people could make a mistake.

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<v Speaker 2>Sure, you don't want to make the announcement.

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<v Speaker 3>Now, I know, not a great audience I love. Yes,

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<v Speaker 3>I know, but yeah, stay.

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<v Speaker 2>Tuned, Okay, we will come back. Thank you when you

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<v Speaker 2>could make the announcement. Ellison Ellsworth, she is co founder

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<v Speaker 2>of Poppy, joining us right here at Uncharted