Masterclass

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Free Masterclass — Coming Soon

How to Become the CEO Institutional Capital Will Back

The same lens Mark uses across the table at GroundForce — in a 45-minute masterclass.

Mark Rampolla sits across the table from thousands of $5–20M founders a year. He's picking 20 he believes can become backable and developing them personally. This is the masterclass he's filming for the rest. Get on the waitlist — we'll send it to you the day it drops.

The Stage Between Making It and Actually Making It

Sound familiar?

You're doing $5M–$20M in revenue but still operating like you did at $1M
Your team is growing but every decision still runs through you
You're the bottleneck you keep trying to hire around
People keep telling you you're "crushing it" — and you smile while running on fumes
You know you need to lead differently but nobody's showing you how
You're comparing yourself to founders who seem to have it figured out

There's a name for this stage. Mark calls it Founder Puberty — the messy in-between where the business has outgrown the way you built it, but you haven't outgrown who you were when you built it.

You can't skip it. But you can navigate it with a map — and that's the masterclass.

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The dual lens — founder and investor

Mark built ZICO from a van to a $200M+ Coca-Cola exit. Then sat across the table from thousands of founders as an institutional investor. He's seen this transition from both sides.

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The frame — Founder Puberty to Backable CEO

Where you are, where you're going, and why most founders never make it across. The stage and the destination, named together.

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Shift 1 — See yourself

The most expensive blind spot in your company isn't in your P&L. It's in the mirror. The patterns running you, the gap between how you think you're showing up and how you actually are.

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Shift 2 — Let go of who you were

Heroics built your company. And heroics are killing your company. Why being indispensable is the trap, and what it costs you from the investor seat.

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Shift 3 — Become who the business needs

You're not hitting the market's ceiling. You're hitting your own. The identity shift — not a skill upgrade — that separates founders who plateau from CEOs that get backed.

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What the other side actually looks like

The morning nobody calls and everything keeps running. The vacation where nothing breaks. The week where you do less and the business produces more. That's the version of you institutional capital wants to back.

Meet Mark

Your Host

Mark Rampolla built ZICO Coconut Water from a van and a crazy idea — sparked during his time as a Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica — into a global brand acquired by Coca-Cola for over $200 million. A 1 in 10,000 outcome in the beverage industry.

Then he did something most people thought was insane: he bought it back. And now he's doing it again.

After ZICO, Mark co-founded GroundForce Capital, a $700M fund, where he's sat across the table from thousands of founders as an institutional investor. He's backed nearly 100 companies, been on 40+ boards, and written two bestselling books — High-Hanging Fruit and An Entrepreneur's Guide to Freedom.

He's been through the founder-to-CEO transition three times himself. He's watched thousands of other founders go through it from the investor's chair. And he keeps seeing the same pattern: brilliant people with incredible businesses stuck in a stage nobody prepared them for.

This is the masterclass version of the conversation he wishes he'd had at $12M in revenue.

ZICO: $200M+ Exit to Coca-Cola

Co-Founder, GroundForce Capital ($700M Fund)

Nearly 100 Portfolio Companies

40+ Board Positions

2x Bestselling Author

Forbes 30 Under 30 Mentor

This Masterclass Is For You If

You're a founder or CEO doing $5M–$20M in revenue
You have a team of 5–30+ people and the complexity is getting real
You're post product-market fit but pre-institutional capital
You want to learn from someone who's been on both sides: the founder's chair and the investor's chair
You're ready to hear what's actually holding you back — even if it's uncomfortable

This Is Not For

Pre-revenue startups looking for a launch playbook
Founders looking for growth hacks or "10X" tactics
Anyone who wants to be told what they want to hear

The Details

Masterclass Info

Format

On-demand video — watch on your own time

Runtime

~45 minutes, end-to-end

When

Dropping soon — waitlist gets it first

Cost

Free

Join the waitlist and we'll email you the link the moment it's live.

"Institutional capital doesn't back founders. It backs CEOs. And most founders never make that transition."
— Mark Rampolla

The version of you institutional capital wants to back. Mark is filming the map.

Free. 45 minutes. On your own time. If you're a founder between $5M and $20M — this was built for you.