[piano intro] - Hello, I'm Nido Qubein, welcome to "Side By Side".

My guest today is a philanthropist and an entrepreneur.

He learned about the importance of kindness and humor from his father, who was a Holocaust survivor.

Those traits became synonymous with who he is as a leader.

You may know him as the creator of Kind, the fastest growing snack company in the nation, but that is just part of who he is.

Today, you and I will meet Daniel Lubetzky.

- [Announcer] Funding for "Side By Side", with Nido Qubein, is made possible by... - [Announcer] Here's to those that rise and shine.

To friendly faces, doing more than their part.

And to those who still enjoy the little things.

You make it feel like home.

Ashley HomeStore; this is home.

- [Female Announcer] For over 60 years, the everyday leaders at the Budd Group have been committed to providing smart, customized facility solutions to our clients and caring for the communities we serve.

[soft music] - [Male Announcer] Coca-Cola Consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola Consolidated, your local bottler.

[energetic music] ♪ - Daniel Lubetzky, welcome to "Side By Side".

I gotta tell you, my friend, I've spent half my net assets buying your product, Kind snacks.

You can't go anywhere and not see Kind snacks, on college campuses, in airports, in stores, on airplanes.

You've gotta tell me, how did you get the idea, and what made you start this company called Kind?

- Thank you, Dr. Qubein, it's an honor to be here with you.

The idea came because I had started a company before, then called Peaceworks, to bring neighbors together, to use business through economic operation.

And through that company, I had kind of learned the natural food business.

But I was very frustrated, that when I was going up and down the streets, selling my products and I needed a healthy snack, I couldn't find something that I could feel good about.

So I had the idea to create a product that was versatile, that could travel with you, that was nutritionally dense, healthy, and tasty, and that's how it all began.

- And why did you call it Kind?

- I called it Kind in honor of my father, the day that I was- - Your father, Holocaust survivor, who inspired you measurably in your life?

- Yeah, my dad was far and away my best friend and mentor, and he was a Holocaust survivor.

And in spite what he went through, with all the darkness that he witnessed, he was a very, very kind person, and he was very kind to everybody.

Everywhere he went, he was trying to brighten people's lives.

And so it was an inspiration to him.

The company was launched the year he passed away, and it was a very difficult but interesting year.

'Cause it was also a year of a lot of growth for me, even though I missed him a lot.

I did a lot of prayer, and a lot of introspection, and a lot of meditation.

And I grew a lot while suffering, missing him, but trying to emulate and trying to do a very, very small part to try to live up to who he was.

But also Kind is... because we were looking for a human adjective that would describe our three core attributes.

That's kind to your body, meaning very helpful, kind to your taste buds, it has to be delicious, and kind to the world, that we try, in our small way, to make this world a little kinder, one snack and one act at a time.

- Did you think of it just one morning while you were shaving, or did you get a focus group, and advertising company, and a whole host of talented people?

- Definitely no focus group, that... but it was a journey.

I started thinking about it...

I was, for years, looking for healthy snacks.

I knew there was an opportunity in that space, because I was very frustrated with my own snacking options, but it took a long time to figure out what product would work; it took a long time.

If you had seen, Dr. Qubein, the names that were considering, instead of Kind.

Now it's Kind, it's almost funny to think about other alternatives, but we had all sorts of terrible brand ideas, till we stumbled upon Kind.

And even our mission and the way I explained it, it took us many years to refine it, and refine it, till we really understood ourselves, exactly what we were.

But from the very, very beginning, we did have very clear guardrails about what we were not, and what we were gonna be.

So in contrast to my prior company, Peaceworks, where I was young and I was making a ton of mistakes, because I wanted to be everything to everyone.

At Kind, from day one, we were very disciplined about never sacrificing our core attributes.

Always had to be nutritionally dense, it always had to lead with healthful ingredients, like almonds, or whole fruit, or whole nuts, or whole grains.

It always has to be tasty, even if it's nutritious, but if it's not tasty, we won't launch it, and vice versa.

And as far as our social mission from the beginning, when we called it Kind, the aspiration was to make this world a little kinder, but the mission evolved a lot, because at the beginning, we thought we needed to do kindness to the others.

So we were a motley crew of 12 people trying to carry people's groceries.

And that's how we were manifesting our Kind mission.

And then we realized that it was much more powerful to help others unleash their kindness.

- Mm.

- And to create a Kind movement.

And that's when it really took off.

- And what year did you start?

What year was the company founded?

- The company was conceived in 2003, and we started selling in 2004.

- So Daniel, this is amazing, 2003, just a mere two decades ago.

And now you literally can't go anywhere and not see a Kind bar somewhere.

And I actually hold this bar in every speech I give, because I quote you from your wonderful book, which is titled "Be Kind", yes?

- "Do the Kind Thing".

- "Do the Kind Thing".

And I talk about the fact that you are not an optimist, you are an actionist, and I talk about the...

I quote you, talking about the difference from your book.

But everybody recognizes the brand; that's a phenomenon.

How did you do that?

- Well, in terms of the first question you asked, about how do we get so widely spread?

It really was hard work, day in, day out, creating a commitment and a culture.

Where I was on a date with my wife, and I would pass the supermarket.

"Do you mind, just two minutes, to check if the products are on the shelves?"

And she was very patient and loving, and encouraging our team to do the same.

And for everybody to just always be thinking, you know, "Are we in the right set, are we...?"

So it was just a lot of knocking on doors, walking up and down the streets, waking up at 6:00, 7:00 AM in the morning.

It was not like a overnight success, it was... people felt it that way, because eventually they started discovering it, but it was a lot of hard work.

And then really, the biggest part of the success, I think, is the product, that the standards of quality are very high.

I mean the number one ingredient in our products are almonds, are very nutritionally dense, and expensive ingredients, compared to all competitors whose number one ingredient might be sugar, or some form of like filler.

And the cost, they are 19 cents per pound, ares are $3 per pound.

So people can sense the difference in terms of quality.

And I think ultimately, the market is not swift, it takes a while for the inertia of the prior entrance to move out, but eventually it is an efficient market.

And the market... eventually the products that are on the shelves, are the ones that consumers want.

And so we kept winning and winning, and we stay awake every day, because other people now have the same passion that I had 20 years ago, and they're trying to get in.

And so you need to make sure that you maintain that entrepreneurial hunger, we call it, "hungry hunting", to try to really [sniffs] sniff out those opportunities.

- Yes, yes.

- Never get complacent.

- And you've... somewhere I've read, or I've heard you speak about, the three Cs of entrepreneurship; what are those?

- The three Cs are about when you are thinking of launching a venture, how do you conceive of a venture?

There are three very distinct phases: there's the creative, the critic, and the crusader.

And if you mangle them and mix them up, you're gonna end up with a mess; you have to separate them.

The creative process is where nothing other than innovation has to be on your mind, you have to come up with disruptive ideas.

And if people think they're stupid, they're probably even better.

You have to encourage that creativity.

Then once you've come up with a really, really disruptive idea, that really questions and challenges assumptions, you need to enter the critical phase.

And then at that time you need to literally change your hats and your mindset, and be your own worst critic.

And really kick it around and say, "Okay, this is a really creative idea, but will it work?

Can I stand up to the competition?

Does the consumer really want this creative idea?

You know, this fit, and is it really, really what the world needs?

And can I actually execute it?"

And you need to be your own worst critic.

And then if you go through that trial by fire, an intellectual fire, and you survive, then you need to flip the switch for the third phase, and it's the crusader.

Once you go to the third phase, nobody can stop you.

You have to make it work, and you cannot hesitate and start having doubts.

You should listen and calibrate, but you need to get to the destination, because it's gonna take longer to get to your final journey, to get to the destination.

And you have to have the staying power to listen, to pivot, but to continue, continue fighting till you break through.

- And along this journey, there is something we all know called "risk".

How does Daniel Lubetzky, especially in the early days, manage risk?

- So two answers to that, Nido.

First of all, I'm lucky that I didn't know how hard it would be.

And once I had one of my mentors tell me that he loved how naive I was.

And I got very upset that he called me "naive".

And this was when I was starting the OneVoice Movement, to empower moderates in the Middle East to fight against extremism.

And he said, "No, no, I don't mean it in a negative way.

I meant it that, if you knew how hard this journey was, maybe you wouldn't pursue it."

But sometimes the power of not knowing is what's gonna propel you to actually try it.

The other thing though, is that I am an entrepreneur, I definitely am comfortable with risk.

But it's very calculated risk, it's things where I have enough knowledge to feel comfortable with risk, it's not...

I'm not gambling, I'm not just...

I'm thinking strategically, and then I have enough confidence in myself to try to pursue, and I'm just gonna work really, really hard and work harder.

And so it is true that entrepreneurs tend to have a much greater comfort with risk, but good entrepreneurs are not just gonna be gamblers.

They're actually gonna think very carefully about how to maximize the chances of success.

- And how to deal with the worst thing that can happen.

- And yeah, and prepare for the worst.

And some of my transactions always have some sort of like hedge, or they were designed to hopefully maximize the upside, and limit the downside.

- And... What drives you?

I think, what drives you, I've watched you very carefully.

I've watched you receive a major award with the Horatio Alger Association, Distinguished Americans.

I've read your story, I've read your book, you have this inner desire to create positive change in the world.

And it began in one direction, and of late, you start another organization, I believe it's called Starts With Us.

And it has a mission and a vision, and it represents your values.

What is it?

And why did you start it?

- Well, I'm very honored that you've agreed to be one of our founding partners in Starts With Us.

And it's 125 foremost business leaders, and incredible figures like Chef Jose Andres, and Dr. Bernice King, from the Martin Luther King Center, and Will.I.Am, and incredible business leaders.

And it's a lot of people that recognize that our nation, and our society, is moving in the wrong direction, in terms of the bad habits that we're forming, where we're being very, very unforgiving.

We're very judgemental, very quick to judge, very slow to forgive, and we're not listening to the other.

We're not trying to respect that people might have a different perspective.

A lot of it has to do with how social media operates, and makes us live in echo chambers, and service algorithms for the stuff we wanna hear, rather than what we might need to hear.

And we're trying to help all of us, young and old generations, recapture the daily habits that made America the incredible country that it is.

Which is rooted in respect, in kindness, in curiosity, in compassion, in the courage to work together.

And it's about providing a toolkit for daily habits that will help all of us as individuals, our businesses, our families, and our nation, operate the way we did the first couple hundred years; not the way it's been the last several years.

And it's a lot from the lessons and the contrast of what I saw when I was building bridges.

The common thread in everything I do is trying to build bridges, because of what my father experienced and what I was taught when I was a little kid.

And I think it really did traumatize me, or shape me, or... And, you know, I promised myself that I would try to prevent what happened to my father from happening again.

So every venture that I've launched has some element of trying to bring people together.

And Starts With Us is in the United States, because for many years I was working in the Middle East, and I didn't realize that our nation is now about as divided as the places that we were starting to promote healing outside.

And I think it's a very important point, where all of us, every one of your viewers, needs to recognize that it's upon... it starts with all of us starting to practice those daily habits.

Because something that's interesting, Nido, is that in terms of values, we're actually much more aligned than people realize.

- Yes.

- And even if they deeply disagree with one another, they assume that their value set's different.

But in fact, Americans, from the left and from the right, are very compassionate.

Americans from the right and from the left wanna help those people left behind.

They wanna help the other, they want the level playing field, they want fairness, they want freedom.

And yes, there are some key differences, not to dismiss, but there's a lot of things that bring us together.

And, you know, I was raised in Mexico City, but I also... which was not a perfect democracy and still isn't.

But I also lived a lot of my life thinking about what my father went through in the Holocaust.

And so I do not take for granted democracy.

You're also an immigrant, right?

- Yes.

- So I think we really, really value how powerful this nation is.

- Yes, yes.

- And with all of its imperfections, it's kind of like, to paraphrase Churchill, it's the worst, except for all other models.

- Yes.

- I mean, there's nothing better, in terms of a nation that has done so good for the world.

And with all of our mistakes that we've made, we just have so much to give, and we need to lead the nation, because if we don't, the rest of the world's gonna be infected with all this division and fragmentation.

- Yeah, you know, what's amazing about you is that you have a great sense of awareness.

You're aware of these issues, but more importantly, you've succeeded measurably in business.

And now you're taking so much of your resources that you accrued in business, to invest in making the world a better place and in creating awareness in others.

You're an actionist, you're actionalizing what you believe, in a way that I believe everybody can buy into it.

I doubt anybody would say to you, "No, it's not important to bring us together, it's not really important to build bridges, who wants to do that?"

We all feel that way.

And you've done a remarkable job.

- But the problem in this mission is... You're right, in some missions it's like, "Does this even make sense, do they want it?"

No.

And here, everybody wants it, everybody recognizes the problem, everybody agrees with the solution.

But you know what's hard?

Practicing it.

- Mm.

- Because when I talk to somebody, they will unavoidably agree, but then think the problem's on the other side.

We did a survey, and I think it was 65% of Americans thought that Americans are too judgmental, but only 8% thought that they were too judgmental.

65% thought others are judgemental- - Other people are.

- And they said, "You are too judgemental."

- Yes.

- But I'm not, I'm judging that you're too judgmental.

And across the board- - That's ironic, isn't it?

- Very ironic, and across the board, all of the data showed that people think that the people that are not listening, are on the other side; but their side, their tribe, is right, and they're listening.

No, all of us are suffering from these malaise of the bad habits that we're forming.

All of us have to work harder to try to listen to the other side, to try to be respectful, to understand that we don't have all the answers, and the person that disagrees with us is not evil.

It's not possible that 50% of the population is evil, it's just not true.

- Yes.

- I mean, I have almost never met a person that I don't actually like, let alone think that they're a bad person.

- Sure, well, you have a great growth mindset about it all and that's why it works.

But how is it that we change people's feelings?

I mean, you were talking about beliefs, right?

Beliefs lead to behaviors, lead to results.

How do we change beliefs in people?

- Habits, I think we've been thinking about this for years.

We need to change our habits, start with little pieces.

Like if normally you read this newspaper, start trying to read a couple newspaper articles from sources that you find uncomfortable.

And try to find, not just what you disagree with, which will be instinctive, but what you can agree on.

Where are they making fair points?

And then go to your sources and say, "Where can I find the holes in the way they're writing?

What things are they not proving themselves on?"

Try to put yourself in the shoes of the person arguing to other side, and very slowly, but surely, learn to listen.

And it's not because I want you to change who you are, or your values, or your perspective.

You're actually gonna be more effective in life if you understand the other side.

But it's just... you know, I grew up here, I immigrated to America in 1984.

And I remember seeing this incredibly iconic politicians that vehemently disagreed, and fought with one another, and then went to dinner together.

- Yes.

- And were best friends, best friends.

And they were across the ideological aisle.

Why can't we understand that that's possible?

That you can have a deep disagreement of certain issues, and still count them as friends, why... Now people don't want their children to marry someone from the... that comes from the other political party.

- You're talking about civility- - Civility.

- respect, right?

Fairness, justice.

Well, let's talk for a moment... You've, you know, you founded Kind, you're doing all of this good work that's philanthropic, it's stewardship, but you're also investing in other companies.

Like, is it called SOMOS?

- Yeah.

- It's in North Carolina, this company, no?

- No, the one that's in North Carolina is Creative Snacks.

We bought a factory- - Creative Snacks.

- Yeah, in High Point University's... near High Point University in High Point, North Carolina.

We're very proud, we have a factory who make Creative Snacks Pretzels, and a lot of Kind products.

It's an incredible team.

That's Creative Snacks.

And then SOMOS is a Mexican food brand that... the team is all over the United States and Mexico.

- And by the way, in your free time, you sometimes do a gig on "Shark Tank".

- Yeah.

- How'd you get into that, and why would you get into that?

- They called me and they invited me, and I immediately said, "Yes."

My kids and I regularly watch it, I think it's a great platform to teach entrepreneurship.

- Yes.

- 'Cause it it's an entertaining way to teach young and old people a lot of concepts about business.

And it's a tough thing to do, it's intellectually very stimulating, you're in this stage with four other sharks, and it's very real, it's not staged at all.

- You don't prepare for it.

- You do not know- - You don't know what's coming up?

- You do not know.

- It's really honest, it's- - Literally the... You know, you might get five seconds before, when you sit down, and like, "Oh."

I try to claim... set the display.

- Yeah.

- But sometimes they're covered.

- You have no idea, no idea.

- The displays are covered.

So you will get five seconds before the audience; nothing.

And then the presentations are very clean.

The only thing is that a show might be recorded for 45, 50 minutes, and it gets edited to a 12-minute segment.

So there is editing, but the editing is very true to live.

They just... people are screaming past each other, so they edit that stuff out.

But [snaps fingers] you have to very quickly think on your feet, and listen to the other sharks, and listen to all the cues, it's... - Have you invested in some of those companies?

- I've invested in a few.

- Have they done well for you?

- Some of 'em done well, all of them are a tremendous amount of work.

They're like the early stage Peaceworks, the very earliest of stages of Kind, and they need a ton of love.

And the entrepreneurs are fantastic, so they deserve the support, but it's a lot of work.

- All right, Dan, you're a young man, you have already accomplished amazing things in your life.

You are doing excellent work for society, teaching us all that our similarities are much more ample than our differences.

What's next for you?

- It's probably just deepening the areas that I mentioned.

You know, businesses with purpose, and civic initiatives that have entrepreneurial DNA, that are gonna move fast and have an impact.

I thought about politics, I don't think I have the DNA for it, because politics, by its nature, is very divisive.

I just don't think I can do that.

I think I wanna unite people rather than polarize.

I don't like parties and politics.

I think parties, themselves, it's a problematic concept.

George Washington felt it was a mistake.

Many people, Einstein, others saw that partisanship, it blinds you.

It makes you think that your side must be right at all times, and then helps you stunt your growth, because you're fighting for your team, rather than fighting for truth, for fighting for your patriot, how do you say "patriot", for your... to be a patriot for your nation.

So I think I'll stay on my... [chuckles] - Stay in the business sector and the- - Business, philanthropy, and entertainment that has an impact on society.

- Yes.

And the future's bright for you, for sure.

Are you gonna write another book?

- Can I just say, in terms of the, "Future's bright for you", I'm tremendously worried.

I think it's my nature, perhaps, because I'm a confused Mexican-Jew.

Perhaps because of my father's upbringing, and what he went through, but I'm always worried, but I'm more worried now than I have ever been, about where things are heading.

The good news is what you said, that I don't just wallow in my suffering, I do something about it.

And like you said, I'm an actionist.

I try to not just be an optimist or a pessimist, which for me are limited terms, because, "Okay, but what are you gonna do about it?"

So- - Right.

- rather than see if the glasses half full or half empty, let's just fill up that glass.

And so I'm very optimistic because I'm determined.

But I really do think about these issues a lot, they do keep me up at night, and I want my children to inherit the world you and I inherited.

I mean, we're very blessed.

America, over the last 50, 70 years, has helped to expand democracy, and freedom, and freedom of thought, and open markets, and civility, and the quest for knowledge.

And all those things are under threat if we don't, all of us, work together, to make sure that we don't take any of these things for granted, and we invest- - Yeah.

- every day in one another.

You told me not to say this, you can edit it out if you need to.

But what I love about High Point University is that it's a Premier Life Skills University, because we need to learn how to relate to one another.

This is, at the fundamental building block, of society.

- Yeah.

It really is, and preparing for a future that's global, that's ever competitive, ever changing with technology, and all the rest, the humanness becomes diluted if one is not careful.

But you are doing your part, and you're inspiring us all to participate and be engaged and involved.

And I thank you for that, on behalf of all of us, and wish you the very best.

Thank you for being with me today on "Side By Side".

- Thank you, thank you, Dr. Qubein.

[mellow music] ♪ - [Announcer] Funding for "Side By Side" with Nido Qubein is made possible by... - [Female Announcer] Here's to those that rise and shine.

To friendly faces doing more than their part.

And to those who still enjoy the little things.

You make it feel like home.

Ashley HomeStore; this is home.

- [Female Announcer] For over 60 years, the everyday leaders at the Budd Group have been committed to providing smart, customized facility solutions to our clients and caring for the communities we serve.

[soft music] - [Male Announcer] Coca-Cola Consolidated is honored to make and serve 300 brands and flavors locally.

Thanks to our teammates.

We are Coca-Cola Consolidated, your local bottler.