Daniel Lubetzky, Founder of KIND, on Reaching a $7 Billion Valuation, Why Builders Beat Destroyers, and How Many Nickels It Costs to Stick to Values

On this episode of Invested, Michael Eisenberg sits down with Daniel Lubetzky — founder of KIND Snacks, Shark Tank investor, and founder of the Builders Movement — for a wide-ranging conversation about building enduring companies, the values behind them, and using business as a tool to bring divided people together. Daniel shares how KIND grew from a $10,000 idea into a multibillion-dollar brand with only $5 million in primary investment, why he named the company after his father Roman, a Holocaust survivor, and how a decade of failures with his first venture, PeaceWorks, taught him everything he needed to build KIND. He and Michael also go deep on the Middle East, the origins of the “oppressor vs. victim” framework, why good intentions so often produce bad outcomes, and how the Builders Movement is working to equip citizens to solve problems rather than tear each other apart. Drawing on Daniel’s journey from a Jewish school in Mexico City to Stanford Law School to the set of Shark Tank, this episode weaves together entrepreneurship, parenting, resilience, and the conviction that — as Daniel puts it — values create value. **They discuss:** - How KIND grew from $10,000 to a multibillion-dollar company with just $5M in primary investment - Why Daniel named the brand after his father, a survivor of the Kovno ghetto and Dachau - The decade of failures at PeaceWorks that made KIND possible - Why “values are only values when they’re tested and cost you something” - Saying no to the zero-sugar fad — and the courage to know what you are not - Builders vs. destroyers: the three Ds and the four Cs of a builder’s mindset - Why he believes we’re raising a generation without the agency to solve problems - What the Abraham Accords prove about challenging conventional wisdom - Why he joined Shark Tank full-time — and the deal he thinks could be worth billions - Fixing Section 230 and confronting the harms of social media Best known as the founder of KIND Snacks, Daniel is a social entrepreneur whose work spans industries, ideologies, and borders—always rooted in the same mission: to equip people to think flexibly, solve problems creatively, and build durable solutions to our world’s most difficult challenges. Today, through Camino Partners, Daniel and his team of investor-operators back leaders building businesses taking an enduring approach to enhancing consumers’ lives. He is also the founder of Builders, a movement helping people move beyond "us vs. them" mindsets. Builders equips citizens to uncover hidden common ground and build on it – with durable solutions that advance the will of the people. After five seasons as a guest on Shark Tank, Daniel joined the cast full-time in 2024. He is also the author of The New York Times-bestseller Do the KIND Thing. Daniel holds a BA in Economics and International Relations from Trinity University and a JD from Stanford Law School. A proud U.S. citizen who immigrated from Mexico at 16, he enjoys time with his family and a good magic trick. If you want to understand how to build a brand that lasts, why failure is the raw material of success, and what it takes to build bridges in a divided world, this episode is essential viewing. **Please rate this episode 5 stars wherever you stream your podcasts!** **KEY TOPICS**  00:00 – A Multibillion-Dollar Brand, No Investment Needed 01:47 – Why He Named It KIND 04:10 – His Father Roman, a Holocaust Survivor 09:19 – Moshe Pupik and the PeaceWorks Years 14:09 – The Night He Bummed a Ride From Michael Dell 17:34 – The Bus Ride That Set His Life’s Mission 20:39 – “I Wear My Failures Proudly” 22:22 – What the Abraham Accords Prove 24:59 – Builders vs. Destroyers 30:17 – Give Every Kid a Different Initial 33:00 – When Good Intentions Go Wrong 37:22 – Values Only Count When They Cost You 39:33 – Saying No to the Zero-Sugar Fad 41:26 – Why He Sold KIND 44:10 – Why He Joined Shark Tank 48:14 – How He Saved Neuro Gum 52:00 – Force-Feeding Manhattan, One Store at a Time 60:29 – Fixing Section 230 & Social Media **RESOURCES** Follow Daniel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daniellubetzky  Subscribe to Invested: https://content.aleph.vc/invested Learn more about Aleph: aleph.vc  Sign up for Aleph’s monthly email newsletter:http://aleph.vchttps://newsletter.aleph.vc/ Subscribe to Aleph’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@aleph-vc/ Follow Michael on Twitter: twitter.com/mikeeisenberg Follow Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mieisenberg/ Follow Aleph on Twitter:https://twitter.com/mikeeisenberghttps://x.com/aleph?s=20  ‍Follow Aleph on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/aleph-vc/ ‍Follow Aleph on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aleph.vc/ **CREDITS** Executive Producer: Erica Marom  Producer: Sofi Levak, Dalit Merenfeld Video and Editing: Nadav Elovic  Music and Creative Direction: Uri Ar  Content and Editorial: Jackie Goldberg Design: Nimrod Sapir