Poppi is a fashion brand that happens to be soda. Stephen Ellsworth, Co-founder of Poppi, joins us to walk through the operating choices behind turning a vinegar problem into a modern soda badge. It’s how you build, scale, and exit a consumer brand. It’s another signal that Austin’s flywheel is real and accelerating. 

Highlights

• 01:48 Dark days, PMF before funding
• 08:05 Farmers market to Whole Foods
• 14:50 Rebrand beat Shark Tank awareness
• 24:58 Poppi as Fashion
• 33:46 Make healthy default via taste
• 38:54 AI palate mapping
• 46:48 Austin needs cross-sector collisions
• 51:40 What's Next Austin?

Guest Links
Stephen Ellsworth: Instagram, LinkedIn
Poppi: Website, X, Instagram
 

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Austin Next Links: Website, X/Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn
Ecosystem Metacognition Substack