3 Wealth-Building Lessons From New ‘Shark’ Daniel Lubetzky
Written by
Terence Loose
Edited by
T. Woods
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Shark Tank’s latest regular, Daniel Lubetzky, is a self-made billionaire who navigated his 2004 startup, Kind Snacks, to a $5 billion sale in 2020 to food product giant Mars, Inc. Yet along the way, Lubetzky had his share of mistakes, doubts and challenges. Here are three core pieces of advice that took him from minnow to shark.
Trust Your Vision and Take Calculated Risks for It
In 2008, when Lubetzky desperately needed venture capital to realize his Kind vision, he made a deal with private equity firm VMG Partners, who invested $16 million. But it came with a condition: Lubetzky had to sell the company in five years.
The problem came in five years, when Kind was a success, but Lubetzky didn’t want to sell. He believed in his company and his vision, and that Kind could grow much more. So, he put everything on the line, buying back shares from VMG Partners so he could retain control — and taking out around $200 million in loans to do it. If Kind took a hit in revenue, it could have cost Lubetzky everything.
Of course, the gamble paid off and in 2020, when Lubetzky sold Kind to Mars, it made him a billionaire. But, said Lubetzky, despite a lot of sleepless nights, his move was well-researched. “It was not just a total cowboy move, where I was doing it blindly,” he told CNBC’s Tom Huddleston Jr. “I would call it a very calculated risk, a very thoughtfully designed risk.” So, believe in your vision, but be sure to do your homework.
Find People Who Will Tell It to You Straight
Surrounding yourself with “yes-men” is a sure recipe for disaster, according to Lubetzky. But, it might be more difficult than you think to find people — qualified, intelligent people with experience — to give their honest opinion. “If you don’t surround yourself with those people, then it is so much harder to [achieve success] because you can go into ‘I’m amazing’ mode, and not realize when you are screwing up,” Lubetzky told Ece Yildirim of CNBC.
Lubetzky said you want to find advisors and employees who are self-reflective, kind, enjoy a certain amount of expertise in your business area, and have emotional intelligence. This is a high bar, but if you truly want to be successful, it means seeking out a team of these people to help you realize your vision.
Put Away Your Phone and Computer
Not forever, but for a long walk, or a deep thought session. Lubetzky is a fan of asking a lot of questions, not only of your team of candid advisors, but of yourself. “Close your eyes and just think,” he told Huddleston Jr. “‘What do I want? What is important to me? What do I want to get out of life? What do I want to accomplish?'”
After all, if you are choosing an entrepreneurial path, you will be spending a lot of time pushing toward success. So, you need to know that you are committed and pursuing something that will make you happy, as well as successful.
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