Daniel Lubetzky

Lubetzky cites data that entrepreneurs' success rates rise with each attempt, roughly from 10% to 20% to 30%.

“But by the time that they've tried it twice, it doubles from 10% to 20%. By the time they're the third time entrepreneur, it triples from 10% to 30%”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 43:27

Lubetzky agrees with O'Leary's rule of thumb in general but says founders not gaining momentum after three to five years should pivot.

“I think as a rule of thumb, If you're not gaining momentum after three to five years, you need to pivot”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 42:33

Lubetzky advises founders to dominate in one venture before expanding.

“So focus on one venture, get it right, win, dominate, and only start the second line extension or venture once you're dominating”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 32:03

Lubetzky argues that consumer product entrepreneurs must focus on consumer pull and repeat sales rather than pushing product onto shelves.

“The first sale is interesting, the easiest sale. It's the second sale and the third sale that matters”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 31:00

Lubetzky says he sold KIND because the company could not control its brand internationally, and still questions whether it was right.

“it's a very tough thing for an entrepreneur to decide. And even today I ask myself if it was the right decision”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:13:16

Lubetzky says KIND grew at triple-digit rates annually on average for its first ten years while remaining cash-flow positive and profitable.

“For the first 10 years, on average, we grew triple digits every year and we did so cash flow positively”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 59:07

Lubetzky asserts that in consumer packaged goods the product matters above all else.

“What I say in consumer product goods, product is king. You can have the best marketer, the best salesperson, the best supply chain”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 55:15

Lubetzky recounts that basil pesto, which he disliked, came to make up most of PeaceWorks' sales, teaching him not to trust his gut alone.

“By the time that it scaled... Basel was 80 or 90% of our sales. And it tells you, listen to yourself, but not too much”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 36:41

Lubetzky says commerce is not sufficient but necessary for peace, as one piece of a larger mosaic.

“Something very important to understand is that commerce is not sufficient, but it's necessary. It's a piece of the mosaic”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 7:13

Lubetzky argues that a mission helps but cannot substitute for a product and service that stand on their own.

“It's nice to have a mission. I think it gives you a lot of fuel to keep going. It attracts team members”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 5:33

Lubetzky advises founders to vet investors by discreetly asking other portfolio companies rather than questioning investors directly.

“You need to look at other companies that these guys have invested in and discreetly, quietly, and confidentially try to get a sense”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:09:29

Lubetzky recounts that an early minority investor tried to force him to sell them a controlling stake, and advises founders to vet investors' values.

“they tried to push me out and they tried to force me to sell them a controlling stake in the company”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:06:55

Lubetzky defines kind leadership as honest problem-solving, in contrast to nice leadership that avoids discomfort.

“A nice leader doesn't cause problems. A kind leader solves problems. A nice leader is very polite. A kind leader is very honest”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 57:51

Lubetzky describes KIND's egalitarian culture in which every full-time employee became eligible for stock options after six months.

“anybody after six months of working full-time at Kind was eligible to get stock options and you would vest over a period of time”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 56:51

Lubetzky says KIND's sampling budget rose from $800 to $800,000 in a year and later to $20 million, driving rapid growth.

“that first year, we went from $800 to $800,000. Wow. in sampling, and within a few years, we were giving $20 million of product for free”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 52:56

Lubetzky distinguishes frugal, gluttonous, and resourceful spending cultures, arguing resourcefulness is the ideal.

“Frugality is when you will not waste a cent, but you will not invest a cent either”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 53:18

Lubetzky argues for a confederation of sovereign Israeli, Palestinian, and Jordanian states rather than a single state.

“I think Jordan, Palestine, Israel, each are very small pieces of land. They should all form a confederation and create an alliance”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:29:25

Lubetzky argues Hamas's long rule had sapped Gaza's entrepreneurial spirit and that his initiative aims to revive it through loans and know-how.

“we have a whole methodology to create a builder's village and a builder's ecosystem to try to help invest in entrepreneurs, help provide them loans”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:24:40

Lubetzky explains that American Shark Tank is a competitive free-for-all in which producers cut mics of sharks who don't get their questions in.

“ultimately, the producers turn off the mics of the sharks that don't get their questions in”

Young and Profiting (YAP) with Hala Taha: Entrepreneurship and Self-Improvement Podcast: Daniel Lubetzky: He Almost Quit After 10 Years, Then Built KIND Snacks Into a Multibillion-Dollar Business | Entrepreneurship | E421 (Oct 19, 2026) · Listen from 1:16:01