Mike Repole, the billionaire entrepreneur who cofounded and sold beverage giants Glaceau and BodyArmor to Coca-Cola for a combined $9.7 billion, has an unexpected message for aspiring business owners: Don’t do it.
In an interview with the School of Hard Knocks, a popular social-media channel known for interviewing wealthy entrepreneurs, Repole shared his contrarian view on entrepreneurship, emphasizing the brutal realities that most success stories gloss over.
“I spend more time talking people out of being an entrepreneur,” Repole said. “The first five years for an entrepreneur, I call the survival years. Every single day, you could go bankrupt.”
Repole’s cautionary advice carries significant weight given his impressive business track record. The 56-year-old Queens, N.Y., native first made his fortune when he cofounded Glaceau with J. Darius Bikoff in 1999. The company, which produced Smartwater and Vitaminwater, grew from $1 million in first-year sales to over $1 billion in revenue by 2007, when Coca-Cola acquired it for $4.1 billion.
Following that success, Repole cofounded BodyArmor, a sports drink company, in 2011. It gained significant attention a few years later in 2014, when NBA legend Kobe Bryant invested $5 million for a 10% stake, becoming the brand’s creative director. In November 2021, Coca-Cola purchased the remaining 85% of BodyArmor for $5.6 billion, making it the beverage giant’s largest-ever brand acquisition.
