Poppi Co-Founder, Who Sold Company for $1.95 Billion, Reveals 'Really Good Advice' She Got on Tipping as a Wealthy Person
Poppi Co-Founder, Who Sold Company for $1.95 Billion, Reveals 'Really Good Advice' She Got on Tipping as a Wealthy Person
Tabitha ParentFri, June 26, 2026 at 8:07 PM UTC
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Allison Ellsworth makes her guest debut on Shark Tank.Credit: Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty -
Allison Ellsworth broke down her newfound tipping philosophy in an interview following the $1.95 billion sale of her company Poppi, which she co-founded with her husband Stephen
Ellsworth shared how she talks about money now with her husband and children
The Poppi co-founder broke down some of the things she spends money on and what her personal spending limit is before she gets concerned
After Allison Ellsworth sold the popular beverage brand Poppi, which she co-founded with her husband Stephen Ellsworth in 2018, she found herself suddenly quite wealthy.The Ellsworths sold their company to PepsiCo for $1.95 billion in a deal that was finalized in May 2025. While speaking with The Wall Street Journal in a May 10 interview, the founder opened up about her financial journey — which began at her job in the oil and gas industry — and the way that her newfound wealth changed her life.There were a lot of considerations that Allison had to take into account as a result of the money that she came into in the spring of 2025, including what to splurge on and how to talk about finances with her husband.
Allison Ellsworth speaks on a panel on Oct. 12, 2025 in Universal City, Calif.Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty
Tipping was another consideration that Allison had to readjust after after the sale."What's your tipping philosophy?" asked reporter Gunjan Banerji in a clip from the interview posted to Instagram on June 12."So I got really good advice early on from somebody that went through an exit and they said, now that you have the wealth, share the wealth," Allison replied. "So more often than not, I'm 50 to 40%."
"I love that," Banerji said."It's a lot. I feel like it's like an easy way that I can give back to those and make their day special," Allison said.Throughout the rest of the 35-minute interview, Allison broke down everything from how much she spent on new services (like the $27,000 she put toward a stylist and the almost $1 million that the family spent on travel almost immediately post-sale) to how she had conversations about money with her three children under 9."I want them to be good kids and stewards of their money and this generational wealth that we've created," Allison told Banerji, opening up about the Fidelity investment accounts that she and her husband put $5,000 each into for their three children to learn about the stock market.
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Stephen and Allison Ellsworth attend Time100 on Oct. 30, 2025 in New York City.Credit: Taylor Hill/WireImage
She also recalls the point when the money from the deal hit her bank account. Her money hit the accounts first, and then a few hours later, her husband's came in. "I was like 'Woohoo I'm richer than you,' " she laughed. "We wanted to celebrate so bad," she said, but the pair still had a business to run.The couple even ended up getting into a huge fight the day that the money hit, as they weren't really aware of how to manage their expectations about their wealth. Banerji also got Allison to share what her worry-free spending number was. "$40,000," she replied, which also was the number she said she would spend without consulting her husband about first.There are no limits to what Allison will splurge on, she told Banerji. "I'm living my best life right now," she said.Allison also touched on the way that the sale allowed her to give back to her employees at Poppi."We gave equity to 99.999 percent of employees," she said. "We made 44 people millionaires. I had people crying to me saying that they bought their childhood house, they bought cars, they paid off their student loans."At one point in the interview, Allison summed it all up by asking Banerji one question: "What's the point of having all this money if we can't have fun with it?”
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