# Rosa Li

> Rosa Li is the founder and CEO of wildwonder, the sparkling beverage brand she built around the herbal tonics her grandmother brewed in Beijing. A Stanford MBA and former private equity investor, she traded Wall Street spreadsheets for a homemade carbonation rig made from a beer keg, launched in 2020, and landed a deal with DoorDash CEO Tony Xu on Shark Tank in 2023. wildwonder now reaches 3,000-plus retailers across 40 states and has sold millions of cans.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at wildwonder
- **Organizations:** wildwonder, Rosali Tea (former)
- **From:** China
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BA, Economics, Northwestern University, Study abroad, London School of Economics, MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **Known for:** Founded wildwonder, billed as the first sparkling beverage to combine both prebiotics and probiotics, Closed a $500,000 deal with Tony Xu on Shark Tank (Season 14), Grew distribution to 3,000-plus retailers across 40 states, including Target, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods and Erewhon

## Career timeline

- **Childhood** — Raised by her grandmother in China until age 12, then moved to the United States
- **College** — Landed a Goldman Sachs finance internship as a sophomore; competed on the debate team
- **Post-college** — Worked in investment banking, private equity and venture investing
- **2014** — Earned her MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business
- **2015-2017** — Ran Rosali Tea, an artisanal loose-leaf tea business that did not take off
- **2018** — Began building wildwonder (originally Tea Crush), tinkering with herbs and carbonation in her home kitchen
- **2020** — Officially launched wildwonder in glass bottles; reached 100-plus local stores including Whole Foods
- **2021** — Switched from glass bottles to cans; raised a $2.1M seed round
- **2023** — Appeared on Shark Tank Season 14 and closed a deal with guest shark Tony Xu, DoorDash CEO
- **2024** — Named to Inc.'s Female Founder 250 and ranked among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Pacific region

## Achievements

- Founded wildwonder, billed as the first sparkling beverage to combine both prebiotics and probiotics
- Closed a $500,000 deal with Tony Xu on Shark Tank (Season 14)
- Grew distribution to 3,000-plus retailers across 40 states, including Target, Kroger, Sprouts, Whole Foods and Erewhon
- Sold more than 5 million cans since 2020
- Named to Inc. Magazine's 2024 Female Founder 250 list
- Recognized by SPINS as one of the fastest-growing beverage brands in the U.S.
- Built a company that commits 5% of profits to women and marginalized communities

## Latest updates

- **2024-03** — Named to Inc.'s 2024 Female Founder 250 and ranked 14th among the fastest-growing companies in the U.S. Pacific region.
- **2024-01** — Recognized by SPINS as one of the fastest-growing beverage brands among U.S. multi-outlet retailers.
- **2025-06** — wildwonder logged its most recent reported funding milestone.

## Links

- Website: https://drinkwildwonder.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lirosa
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/teacrushco
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosalisays
- Facebook: https://facebook.com/teacrushco

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/rosa-li
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-21