20 Lessons from 20 Years of ZICO: Mark Rampolla’s Earned Insights

Mark Rampolla — February 25, 2025

The expe­ri­ence of found­ing and run­ning a com­pa­ny usu­al­ly feels intense, excit­ing, exhaust­ing, gru­el­ing, and reward­ing.

What­ev­er the out­come, those who have endured this expe­ri­ence for more than a few years usu­al­ly gain valu­able knowl­edge and insight. This is espe­cial­ly if they are reflec­tive and self-aware, reflec­tive oper­a­tors make good strate­gists.

As a founder and oper­a­tor, I built ZICO into a thriv­ing bev­er­age com­pa­ny that has endured more than 20 years. Since then, I’ve helped hun­dreds of founders both per­son­al­ly and with Ground­Force Cap­i­tal.

Hav­ing bought ZICO back from Coca-Cola, I’m in a unique posi­tion to help reimag­ine our strat­e­gy once again with decades of hard-earned lessons.

Now, I’m shar­ing 20 Lessons from 20 Years of ZICO – insights on build­ing great teams, ensur­ing brands are built to last, stay­ing healthy and sane dur­ing the dri­ve for suc­cess and free­dom, and more. For entre­pre­neurs at all stages, I hope these lessons help guide your jour­neys.

1. See and Face Reality

Entre­pre­neurs are so opti­mistic that they some­times fail to see real­i­ty. Igno­rance is not bliss – it’s fatal. Those who see and face real­i­ty win.

2. Know – and Celebrate – Yourself

Ange­les Arrien, a great anthro­pol­o­gist, told this sto­ry:

The wis­est elder in a vil­lage (let’s call him ZICO) went to the moun­tains to speak to the angels before his death. When he returned, he was white as a ghost.

The vil­lagers said, “ZICO, you’re our wis­est, most respect­ed elder. What could they have told you that scared you so?” He said the angels told him what they would ask him when he died:

“ZICO, why weren’t you ZICO?”

I want every­one to avoid that regret – wast­ing years not real­ly know­ing or cel­e­brat­ing who they are and what makes them unique.

3. Take 100% Responsibility

There is free­dom and pow­er in tak­ing 100% respon­si­bil­i­ty for your sit­u­a­tion in life and busi­ness.

Start by ask­ing:

• How did I/we cre­ate this sit­u­a­tion?
• How could this be hap­pen­ing for us, not to us?

4. Always Be Learning, Always Be Growing

When you are in the ear­ly stages of a busi­ness, you will have a com­plete­ly new job every six months (or soon­er). The onus is on you to rise to the occa­sion.

Be curi­ous, chal­lenge your­self, and adapt.

5. Emotions are Teachers

Humans devel­oped emo­tions over thou­sands of years because they help us sur­vive and thrive.

They are not good or bad – they are just data. Feel, expe­ri­ence, and get curi­ous about your emo­tions.

6. Practice Gratitude

Grat­i­tude isn’t just nice, it’s sci­ence. Peo­ple run through walls when they feel appre­ci­at­ed, and those who give grat­i­tude feel ener­gized in return. Start every day with a grat­i­tude prac­tice.

7. Be Here Now

The only thing you can affect is the present. How can you be here now?

Check in with your­self:

• Is this the best use of my time?
• Am I ful­ly present?
• Do I real­ly want to be here?

8. Ask if the Opposite is True

Before you make a deci­sion, chal­lenge your assump­tions:

• Are you sure?
• What if the oppo­site were true?

9. Think Win-Win-Win

Sit­u­a­tions are big­ger than you and the oth­er per­son. What does your com­pa­ny, cus­tomer, or team need? Find­ing com­mon ground cre­ates more oppor­tu­ni­ties for suc­cess.

10. Become an Inverse Paranoid

I real­ized I couldn’t con­trol what peo­ple say or do, but I could con­trol my mind­set. I decid­ed to become an inverse para­noid. When I woke up for my 4:30 am runs, I would say out loud:

“Every­one loves ZICO.”

Even­tu­al­ly, this mantra shift­ed my mind­set and that allowed me to con­tin­ue through tough times and see the poten­tial in every sit­u­a­tion. Every inter­ac­tion.

I decid­ed to become an inverse para­noid. I went through life and busi­ness believ­ing that every­thing – every­one – was for me. Why not assume the same?

11. Talent, Talent, Talent

In real estate, the adage is loca­tion, loca­tion, loca­tion.

In entre­pre­neur­ship, it’s tal­ent, tal­ent, tal­ent.  Focus on time, place, and fit. Hire for today’s needs and solve for the future when it arrives.

12. Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast

Iden­ti­fy your val­ues. Define them through behav­iors. Rein­force them dai­ly. A high-per­form­ing cul­ture will always out­per­form a per­fect strat­e­gy with no cul­ture.

13. Be Ferocious with your Calendar

Time and atten­tion are your most valu­able assets. Pro­tect them fierce­ly. Can­cel unnec­es­sary meet­ings. Block focus time. Make your time and ener­gy non-nego­tiable.

14. Consistency is the Refuge of Fools

Con­sis­ten­cy is admirable, but it can also be a trap. Ask your­self:

• What are my non-nego­tiables?
• What’s flex­i­ble?

Be will­ing to piv­ot when nec­es­sary.

15. Just Roll Out of Bed

My friend and Olympic Decath­lete Bryan Clay gave the ZICO team advice for get­ting through tough days:

“Just get out of bed. Just get on the track. Even­tu­al­ly, I think, well, I’m already here – I might as well start train­ing.”

Get on the track. It doesn’t mat­ter how. It doesn’t have to be pret­ty. Show up, do your best, and the rest will take care of itself.

16. Be like a lion. Rest, watch, wait.

Be cau­tious about always doing, always mov­ing, always being in action.

Be like the lion – rest, play. wait. But also watch, lis­ten, and smell.

Then, when it’s time to hunt: Hunt.

17. Elevate Problem-Solving

Prob­lems aren’t just hur­dles to clear—they’re invi­ta­tions to ele­vate. Shift from reac­tive to proac­tive think­ing:

“What can I learn about my busi­ness, team, or myself from this prob­lem?”

18. All Work, No Play? No Fun at All

Make what you do fun or find the fun in what you’re doing. Inject­ing play and joy into work builds teams, dri­ves results, and fuels your best ideas.

19. When in Doubt, Throw It Out

If it’s not a full body “YES,” it’s a no. Let go of what no longer serves you and make space for what does.

20. Freedom Does Not Equal Success

For years, I thought free­dom came at the end of the road – after the next mile­stone or win. I’ve learned that free­dom doesn’t come lat­er. It starts now.

As ZICO enters its next chap­ter, these lessons remain my com­pass. They remind me why I’m here: to pay it for­ward, sup­port the next gen­er­a­tion of lead­ers, and help them cre­ate busi­ness­es – and lives – they’re proud of.

At Ground­Force Cap­i­tal, we invest in com­pa­nies that aim high­er. But more than cap­i­tal, we bring expe­ri­ence, insights, and lessons hard-earned from years in the trench­es. My focus is now on help­ing founders nav­i­gate the same chal­lenges I faced: stay­ing ground­ed in real­i­ty, build­ing strong teams, and mak­ing deci­sions that align with their val­ues and vision.

These lessons guide how I eval­u­ate oppor­tu­ni­ties and sup­port lead­ers. I look for founders who know them­selves, take full respon­si­bil­i­ty, and are ready to adapt and grow.

They’re the ones who trans­form obsta­cles into oppor­tu­ni­ties and build busi­ness­es that endure.