Mark Rampolla

n 2004, Mark Rampolla had made it. He was making $300,000 a year, traveling the world with his family, and poised to rise to the top of a Fortune 100 company. There was just one problem: he had lost his passion at work and was struggling to find his next project. Suddenly Rampolla realized that his big idea was hanging right overhead. From his time in the Peace Corps and now living in Central America, he and his family came to love drinking coconut water, just like the locals. It had long been a staple in Latin American culture, but few had seen any potential in importing it to the U.S. Undeterred, he launched ZICO Coconut Water. In less than a decade, his start-up was one of the global leaders of an $8 billion new beverage category. ZICO’s success brought hundreds of millions of dollars to struggling farmers across the tropical world, while also delighting American consumers with a healthy beverage alternative. Join Mark Rampolla on Thursday, July 21st as he shares the gritty details of ZICO’s rise, and also shares important takeaways about how social responsibility can pay off, including: · The benefits of setting up a business that gives back to everyone involved · The importance of aligning your business with things you personally want in your life · The way that focus on social impact always performs better than traditional models · How big food companies are exacerbating a consumerist problem globally, and what should be done to alleviate the situation. Rampolla’s story is an inspiration to others who want to succeed because of, not in spite of, their values. This book is for people who believe that it’s their duty to reach higher than just the bottom line to build businesses driven by passion, purpose, and integrity. Above all, it’s a call to arms for a new generation of entrepreneurs who want to disrupt the old model and do good by doing business. Mark Rampolla is the cofounder and Managing Partner of Powerplant Ventures, which invests in emerging growth companies that intend to remake our global food system to deliver better nutrition in more sustainable and ethical ways. He was the founder and CEO of ZICO Beverages from 2004 until 2013, when it was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company. Mark has also been a personal investor and advisor to dozens of early stage businesses addressing important social challenges in the food, beverage, and technology industries. He started his career as a Peace Corps volunteer in Central America and later operated packaging businesses across Latin America and the Caribbean for International Paper. He lives just outside of Los Angeles with his family.