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For years, venture capitalists have been\u00a0skeptical of beverage startups<\/a>, citing thin margins and brutal distribution as reasons most brands never break out. But a new wave of \u201cfunctional soda\u201d companies has been challenging that assumption, including\u00a0Poppi, the prebiotic soda brand that grew from a kitchen experiment into a\u00a0$1.95 billion\u00a0acquisition by PepsiCo<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n On this episode of TechCrunch\u2019s\u00a0Equity<\/a>\u00a0podcast,\u00a0is joined by Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth to talk about building a beverage startup in a venture world dominated by SaaS and AI. From pitching on Shark Tank while nine months pregnant to going viral on TikTok and buying a last-minute Super Bowl ad, Ellsworth breaks down what it really takes to build a category-defining consumer brand \u2014 and what she looks for now that she\u2019s back on Shark Tank as an investor herself.<\/p>\n Subscribe to Equity on\u00a0YouTube<\/a>,\u00a0Apple\u00a0Podcasts<\/a>,\u00a0Overcast<\/a>,\u00a0Spotify<\/a>\u00a0and all the casts. You\u00a0also can\u00a0follow Equity on\u00a0X<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Threads<\/a>, at @EquityPod.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n