Hidden Gems: Meet Mark Rampolla of GroundForce Capital

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Rampolla.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I grew up in Pittsburgh, the youngest of six in a family that valued social activism, education, and faith more than business or financial success. My father was a nuclear physicist, my mother a religious educator and counselor, and there wasn’t an entrepreneur—or even a businessperson—in sight. But from an early age, I was driven. I liked working, making money, and dreaming big.

In college at Marquette, I did a stint at IBM during the “blue suit and white shirt” days. It gave me a taste of corporate life, but something in me craved more meaning, more connection, and more adventure. So after graduation, I found myself off the dirt path—literally—as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Costa Rica. That’s where I fell in love with entrepreneurship—not the kind built on pitch decks and equity rounds, but the kind rooted in solving real problems for real people.

That experience shaped everything.

After Peace Corps, I earned dual MBA and Environmental Management degrees from Duke, met my future wife, and took another swing at corporate life—this time at International Paper. We spent a few years in Memphis, and then headed back to Latin America, where I ran packaging businesses with 300 employees and over $100M in revenue across the region.

I was a big fish in a small pond with a clear path to the C-suite—but deep down, I knew it wasn’t for me.

While still living in Central America, I began dreaming up ZICO Coconut Water. I saw the opportunity and believed I could bring something better and more natural to the world. So I moved with my wife and two young daughters to New York to chase the dream. It was anything but easy. For years, I was selling cases out of the back of my truck, hustling in bodegas and gyms, making just enough to keep going. But by 2009, ZICO was gaining traction, and we relocated to LA to build the West Coast.

In 2013, ZICO was one of the fastest-growing beverages on the planet, and Coca-Cola acquired the company. I thought that chapter was over—but years later, I bought it back, and today we’re scaling it again with a renewed purpose.

After the sale of ZICO, I became a hyperactive angel investor, and eventually co-founded PowerPlant Ventures, and now GroundForce Capital. Today, we partner with the next generation of mission-driven brands like Liquid Death, Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, OWYN, Bobbie Baby and Vive Organic.

But here’s the truth: despite all my “success”, I came to realize I—like so many entrepreneurs—had bought into a myth.

We think building a business will make us free. But often, it does the opposite.

My new book, An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Freedom, is the guide I wish I had. It’s about waking up from the hustle, redefining success, and building a business—and life—that actually feels free.

Because what’s the point of building something great… if you lose yourself along the way?

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not at all! Is any interesting road smooth? I guess maybe I just like the rough, rugged, paths. Perhaps i was influenced by Pittsburgh’s infamous potholes.

I struggled to find meaning as a Peace Corps volunteer in a tiny village in rural Central America.
I struggled to find my path post grad school, when I didn’t tick all the typical boxes that big companies were looking for.
I struggled to find myself as a young leader, running my first business in Latin America
I struggled like hell to build ZICO while perpetually running out of money
I struggled to stay health, sane and be a “good” father and husband while grinding away at ZICO for nine years
I struggled to find myself after selling ZICO: Who was I now? What was my identity now without ZICO? What I did I really want? How did I define success vs what I thought I should want or what others seemed to want or have?
I struggled to transition from an entrepreneur to an institutional investor.

And yet I see that all of those are also just a story I’m telling myself. Sure they were challenging but when I look back on any specific day or specific moment, those series of individual present experiences, there was never anything wrong. Nothing needed to change. I wasn’t wrong. I just wasn’t then able to relax, and let my path emerge.

I believe we are all on a path, but it usually needs to emerge. Underneath the sometimes smooth, sometimes rough road is a path that if we are quite, if we slow down, become present and observe, has usually been there all along and we’ve always been on it.

As you know, we’re big fans of GroundForce Capital. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
At GroundForce Capital, we invest in visionary founders building brands that make people and the planet healthier. We think like creatives—because we are—and partner with entrepreneurs not just to grow great companies, but to help them realize their full potential as humans.

We’ve backed brands like Liquid Death, Beyond Meat, Thrive Market, and Vive Organic by combining deep operational experience with soul-level support. What sets us apart? We know the founders journey. We know growth get’s hard. And when it does, we are there to support and challenge founders and their teams to dig deep, open up, question everything and find a way through. A business can usually only grow as fast as its leaders. We help leaders grow so they can grow their businesses.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Heading out on my bike for a day of adventure. Maybe into the woods. Maybe to the park for a pick up basketball game. Maybe with friends or alone. I loved the freedom to wander, explore and find adventure any and everywhere.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://markrampolla.co
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marksrampolla/
• Other: https://groundforcecapital.com

Image Credits
All personal photos. Painting is mine, inspired by the lose of my house in the Palisades Fires.