Billion Dollar Moves™ with Sarah Chen-Spellings | Global Venture Capital Women of the New Frontier: Capital, Ownership & The Founder’s Journey w/Allison Ellsworth, Rachel Roy & Theresa Fette
We’re back—kicking off our 2026 season live from SXSW Austin with the Ayana Foundation. Featuring: Allison Ellsworth on scaling Poppi from kitchen experiment to a $1.95B sale to Pepsi; Rachel Roy on creative control, brand ownership, and navigating legal battles; Theresa Fette on the identity shift after exit—and choosing yourself over the title. From Shark Tank moments to hard decisions behind the scenes, this is a candid look at what happens after the spotlight. If you're building, scaling, or thinking about your next move—this one’s for you. Timestamps/Key Takeaways 00:00 Panel Introduction: Women of the New Frontier 01:40 Meet the Panelists: Origins in Soda, Fashion, and FinTech 04:14 The Poppy Story: From Oil & Gas to Probiotic Soda 06:16 Launching in a Pandemic: The Rebrand and the Power of TikTok 09:19 Why Embarrassment is a Secret Weapon for Success 10:20 Rachel Roy on 25 Years of Creative-First Design 12:22 Lessons from a Namesake Brand: Why Names Matter in Business 15:25 Theresa Fette on Luck, Law, and the 50% Opportunity 18:28 Understanding Self-Directed IRAs and the Bitcoin IRA Pivot 21:05 Fighting for Your Name: Rachel Roy’s New York Supreme Court Battle 25:26 The Shark Tank Turning Point: Getting the Deal with Rohan Oza 27:14 Founder Advice: Knowing Your Value and Staying the Face of the Brand 31:36 Negotiating the Exit: Turning a $27M Offer into $100M 34:48 Choosing Partners: Aligning Core Values and Saving Your Soul 37:19 The Power of the Board Seat: Retaining Control vs. Valuation 40:45 Can You Scale and Stay Authentic? The Future of Poppy and Pepsi 43:08 The Identity Crisis After an Exit: Life as an Intuitive Leader 48:42 Audience Q&A: What Investors Really Look for in a Founder 51:21 Testing for Resilience: The Number One Marker for Success 53:14 Advice to a Younger Self: Navigating Stress, Lawsuits, and Motherhood 56:04 Final Takeaways: Why Failure is Inevitable and Fun is Fuel -- About the speakers Allison Ellsworth is the founder of Poppi, a prebiotic soda brand she scaled from her home kitchen to a massive $1.95 billion exit to Pepsi. Rachel Roy is a world-renowned designer and the founder of her namesake brand, Rachel Roy Design, who has spent over 25 years navigating the complexities of creative control and brand ownership. Theresa Fette a serial entrepreneur and tax attorney who pioneered the self-directed IRA space in FinTech, successfully exiting three companies and currently leading Bitcoin IRA and Digital Trust. -- Billion Dollar Moves Podcast | The Top Global Venture & Business Podcast for Founders & Funders | Backed by HubSpot Podcast Network Conversations with billionaires, unicorn founders, and the world’s leading funders. Hosted by Sarah Chen-Spellings, Billion Dollar Moves examines how enduring companies — and the capital behind them — are built. Through long-form conversations, the show explores decision-making under uncertainty, capital allocation, and the inflection points that shape category-defining businesses. From early platform backstories to allocator frameworks used across private markets, the focus is on judgment, incentives, and long-term value creation — beyond headlines and hype. New episodes weekly. Built for those who take the long view.
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