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Fortune
Fortune
Dave Smith

Billionaire who sold two companies to Coca-Cola says he tries to persuade people not to become entrepreneurs: ‘Every single day, you can go bankrupt’

Mike Repole sits in front of a microphone (Credit: Rob Carr—Getty Images)

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.

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