Mark Rampolla — Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Founder Groundforce Capital
Published:
We had a very core, strong branding culture, but both were agile. What was interesting is Coke actually did quite a good job keeping integrity of brand and integrity of quality, but they had no agility. You can have integrity with agility — in fact, you have to have both as a leader and as a brand. They didn’t have that.
What does Mark Rampolla say on The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström?
Mark Rampolla, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Founder Groundforce Capital, says: Mark Rampolla recounts the rise, sale, and reacquisition of Zico Coconut Water to illustrate tensions between entrepreneurial agility and corporate scale. He explains how focusing on a passionate micro-community drove early brand momentum, how a mentality of "building to sell" can erode long-term durability, how large organizations can preserve brand artifacts but lose agility, and why modern brand leadership is stewardship rather than ownership.
From: The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström
Cite as: Mark Rampolla. (2026). On The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström. Retrieved from https://research.agilebrandguide.com/insights/mark-rampolla-we-had-a-very-core-strong-branding-culture-but-both-were-a