If you want start a businessdon't try to follow in someone else's footsteps – not even Daniel Lubetzky.
Lubetzky, who founded Kind Snacks in 2004 and sold it in March 2020 for a estimated at 5 billion dollarssaid entrepreneur in a new interview that while his journey may inspire others, he doesn't want aspiring entrepreneurs to follow closely behind.
“If you try to follow in someone else's footsteps or follow their playbook, it's not likely to work because it's such a disruptive market,” Lubetzky said. “You want to talk to yourself, you want to listen.”
Daniel Lubetzky. Photo by Brad Barket/Getty Images for Fast Company
Lubetzky urges anyone considering starting a business to ask themselves, “What do I care about?” to find their unique purpose.
That mission could be as diverse as reducing microplastics in the ocean or providing quality education to more people, he said. Regardless of the exact goal, big or small, it should be there to give an entrepreneur staying power.
“It gives you the fuel to be strong,” Lubetzky said. “When you start a business, you're going to have a lot of challenges. But if you're doing it for something you really believe in, you're much more likely to overcome those petty moments or jealousy or whatever. Those feelings are they get inside all of us”.
Lubetzky lives by this philosophy in his businesses – all the companies he has started have strong social missions. In 1994, he founded Works of Peacea Mediterranean food company with MISSION of “building and maintaining a profitable company while doing good in the world.” The company brought together people from different communities in sell food products HOW sauces.
In 2004, he launched Kind Snacks with slogan “Do good things for your body, your taste buds and your world.” According to 2022 Type Impact reportKind is fulfilling its mission by donating and volunteering with organizations like Wellfare, which addresses food insecurity. Polite employees have volunteered over 55,000 hours since the company started within their local communities.
Twenty years after its inception, Kind snack bars can be found in more 150,000 grocery stores around the US with a global presence in over 30 countries.
Lubetzky, meanwhile, is joining the regular cast on season 16 of ABC's Shark Tank, premiering Friday, Oct. 18. He has appeared as a Shark guest over five seasons, with one standout $1 million investment at Yellow Leaf Hammocks, a handwoven hammock company, in 2020 as well as agreements with other companies.
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And although Lubetzky is investing in up-and-coming TV entrepreneurs, he still doesn't want them to copy him.
“A brand is a promise, and a great brand is a promise well kept,” Lubetzky said. “And so if you're trying to be everything to everyone, you'll end up being nothing to no one.”