The Ledger
Every statement that passed quotation and attribution checks. Mix any filter with any other: certainty 1/5, debate potential 5/5, or both at once.
why aren't all 16 resolved? a statement only gets an assessment when the public record can support or contradict it. opinions and what-ifs never can, and 0 checkable ones are still open, waiting for their date. predictions held up or didn't; assertions are supported or contradicted. on every card: ▮▮▮▮▮ certainty · ▮▮▮▮▮ debate potential. speakers are clickable
Ellsworth: An IPO Cannot Solve Beverage Brands' Distribution Needs
“And then yes, there's the option to go IPO, but then you don't have a distribution partner. So it's just a really tough situation to be in, in beverage.”
Steven Ellsworth: Married co-founders have more resilient commitment than typical partners
“I think maybe the reason that you start to see more married couples do this together is because in theory, a married couple has already committed a hundred percent. They are fully, fully committed. So they've already established that. Whereas I think other co-…”
Steven Ellsworth: Poppi CMO contracted Super Bowl ad before securing funding
“Our CMO actually signed the contract to buy the Super Bowl ad before we had the money to pay for the ad.”
Poppi Founders Sold 100% of Company Without Retaining Operational Roles
“What a lot of people don't realize is we sold 100% of the company. A lot of times you'll do a two-step deal where if it was probably, I would say if it was that situation, we would have stayed in our roles and kept going. But you don't sell your company for tw…”
Poppi Cannot Be Sold at Lakers Stadium Due to Concession Contracts
“We are the official soda of the LA Lakers. We can't be sold there at the stadium because of existing contracts.”
Oza: Celebrity partnerships fail unless the talent genuinely connects with the brand
“And I think it's important for them to feel the brand because when they do, they go above and beyond. And when we go forward and I'll talk about other brands, it makes a massive difference, especially on entrepreneurial brands.”
Oza: Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner drank Poppi without being paid
“And I think then it started laddering up to the point that big names like Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner, all like, were just drinking the product.”
Oza: Modern influencers broadly demand brand equity over flat cash deals
“And now every influencer wants an equity plan the same way that artists and celebs wanted it back in the day.”
Allison Ellsworth: Poppi never ran a Google ad in first four years
“We never ever have ran a Google ad. And our number one KPI was brand awareness. For the first four years of business was brand awareness.”
Allison Ellsworth: Early viral TikTok generated $100K in Amazon sales overnight
“Honestly, what worked is one night I sat down, it was a Friday night, I just got in the shower, my hair is wet, and I just told my story. And it connected on such another level that it went viral, did a million views while we're sleeping. We did a 100,000 doll…”
Allison Ellsworth: Solo founders should treat their first hire like a co-founder
“I think it would be really hard to do it as a solo entrepreneur, right? The highs are so much higher, but the lows you actually have like support. And so like, I think that if you don't have a co-founder, find someone, your first hire is probably going to be b…”
Steven Ellsworth: Poppi hit over $500M revenue in 2024 after Super Bowl ad
“But we were, I think, forecasting three 50. 200 to three 50 is really what that number was supposed to be for 20, 24. And as I mentioned, we hit five, over 500, north of five hundred million that year. And so I would say, yes, it paid off.”
Steven Ellsworth: Poppi used Amazon affiliate links to monetize checkout redirects
“Another little crazy hack, this is a, this is like a pro tip, is because we were directing traffic to our website, to Amazon, we actually made it an affiliate link. So Amazon was actually paying us. To direct traffic from our website to Amazon while also colle…”