Poppi co-founder Allison Ellsworth is instructing her young children on investing principles.
She funded $5,000 Fidelity accounts for her three kids, letting them choose stocks and face market dips.
Ellsworth and her husband stepped away from Poppi last year following its $1.95 billion sale to PepsiCo.

Allison Ellsworth, CEO and co-founder of Poppi, revealed she established $5,000 investment accounts for her three children, all under age 10.

During a Wall Street Journal interview published Sunday, Ellsworth described her strategy for financial literacy amid the family's recent fortune.

She and husband Stephen Ellsworth sold their prebiotic soda venture Poppi to PepsiCo last year for $1.95 billion. Her kids - ages four, seven, and nine - expressed strong curiosity about investing.

"We set up three Fidelity investment accounts for them," she explained. "The stock market has struggled lately, leading to a $65 loss that left them stunned."

Pressed on whether the children selected stocks or ETFs, Ellsworth said they chose "safe" options like Apple and Microsoft amid slim choices.

She started each with $5,000 to create real impact.

"Putting $5,000 in each feels significant for kids to observe growth," Ellsworth noted. "With just $100 or $200, there's little to learn, so $5,000 struck us as the right starting point."

She called it "adorable" that her oldest bought PepsiCo shares to become an "investor in Poppi."

Ellsworth and her husband freely discuss finances with the children in age-suitable terms, sharing wealth details while warning against schoolyard bragging.

"I aim for them to steward this generational wealth wisely," she said. "We're navigating this balance as a family."

The Ellsworths launched Poppi in 2016, landing Shark Tank investment while she was pregnant with their first child. They now advise the brand after last year's exit.

Ellsworth is savoring the windfall with a month-long Europe trip, stylists, a private chef, and a new Austin-area home.

She's joined by other leaders promoting early investing. MyOutDesk founder Daniel Ramsey, a millionaire, equipped his three children with Roth IRA brokerage accounts to grasp compounding; he urges parental guidance.

Flag Luxury Group co-founder Dayssi Olarte de Kanavos told CNBC she and her husband gave each middle-school child a low-risk sum to invest, requiring explanations to "demystify" the process.

Investing