The Power of Positive Drinking: Spreading Hydration and Good Vibes

The mental health crisis remains prevalent in modern society. Life’s stressors, whether you are a child, college student, or adult, seem to be weighing heavily on people more than ever. But through the power of positivity, one Ursinus College student is trying to boost mental health through a simple, yet effective, business venture.

Franco Mazza ’25 is the co-founder of Positivo, a sustainable water bottle brand that focuses on spreading good, positive vibes to its customers. Mazza came up with the idea, along with his childhood friend and business partner Thomas Conselyea, a student at Lycoming College. Now both collegiate wrestlers, the duo started the brand based on their own experiences on and off the mat.

“We’ve been wrestlers our whole lives, so we’ve been big on having a positive mindset, especially since it’s something people lack in our world today,” Mazza said.

The idea for the product was inspired by Coca-Cola’s “Share a Coke” marketing campaign from the 2010s, where individual cans and bottles would have names on them, encouraging people to buy the product in search of a specific name. The success and staying power of that campaign led Mazza and Conselyea down the path of placing positive affirmations on reusable and sustainable water bottles, a simple, yet effective idea.

“Nowadays, people carry around their phone and a water bottle everywhere,” Mazza said. “Whenever somebody takes a sip, the message is visible and it’s a consistent reminder.”

Some examples of quotes include “Anything you can imagine you can make real,” “My potential is limitless,” and “Happiness is a result of your internal state.”

Although the initial idea for the brand was born in Mazza’s hometown of Roxbury, N.J., the meat and potatoes of the business was crafted at Ursinus’s U-Imagine Center for Integrative and Entrepreneurial Studies. Mazza didn’t know the resources the U-Imagine Center could provide to him until he was encouraged by his wrestling teammates to reach out to Director of Entrepreneurship Maureen Cumpstone.

“We had our business idea, but we just needed some guidance to find out a lot of the logistics stuff,” Mazza said. “That’s the support the U-Imagine Center provided.”

Mazza began his work with the U-Imagine Center in the Jumpstart program, which is structured to help students further evolve their ideas into reality. That program matched him up with Dominic Nottoli ’25 as a peer mentor. Over the summer, Mazza participated in the Digital Spark program, which funds a cohort of undergraduate students to work under the mentorship of local businesses. Mazza was introduced to Ursinus alumni Rob Wrzesniewski ’91, the senior vice president of global private banking & wealth management solutions at SEI.

“Dominic was big in the startup phase, helping us find co-packers and work on some digital marketing,” Mazza said. “We met weekly with Rob, and we would give him our problems and he helped us come up with solutions.”

From the work done with Nottoli, Wrzeniewski, and Cumpstone, Positivo officially became a reality. A big step came from U-Imagine’s BEAR Innovation Challenge, where Mazza presented Positvio’s business plan along with Max Parnis ’27. The duo finished third in the competition, earning a monetary prize that helped get the LLC created and allowed them to buy their first order of bottles. Positivo sold 136 bottles in its first week of business, a benchmark that Mazza believes can serve as a good starting point for the company.

The ultimate goal for Mazza is to make Positivo a worldwide brand. He plans to offer companies the opportunity to customize the messaging on the bottles, along with making the bottles black to stand out more. The company already has a partnership with a restaurant in New Jersey and is looking to expand more into the gym and fitness space in the future.

For Mazza, the joy in it all lies in the power of positivity.

“We’re working towards our goals, and we want to help inspire people to achieve their dreams and be the best person they possibly can,” Mazza said.