Daniel Lubetzky
- Social Entrepreneur and Civic Leader,
- Founder of KIND Snacks and Builders,
- Shark on ABC’s Shark Tank
Travels From
Texas
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Daniel Lubetzky Speaker Biography
Daniel Lubetzky is a Builder. 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 lasting solutions to our world’s most difficult challenges.
The son of a Holocaust survivor, Daniel is committed to building bridges across perceived lines of divides to ensure nothing like what his father lived through happens again. His early work focused on bridging divides in the Middle East through economic cooperation, which introduced him to food entrepreneurship. In 2004, Daniel founded and operated KIND Snacks out of his windowless basement, and went on to grow KIND into an iconic multibillion-dollar brand known for its pioneering role in health transparency and its commitment to making the world kinder.
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 solutions that advance the will of the people.
Daniel is a proud political independent who brings a values-driven lens to everything from entrepreneurship to civic life. His insights have been featured in TED, TIME, Newsweek, CNN, and Fortune. 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’s work has been recognized with honors including The King Center’s Beloved Community Award, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award. President Obama named him a Presidential Ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship.
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.
Why the World Needs More Builders — and Less ‘Us vs. Them’
Daniel Lubetzky—founder of KIND Snacks and the nonprofit Builders Movement—urges a shift from polarized thinking toward a “builder’s mindset.” He suggests reframing our problems not as us vs. them, but rather as all of us vs. extremism—positioning extremism, not people, as the true adversary. Lubetzky traces this philosophy back to his early venture, PeaceWorks, which brought Arab and Israeli entrepreneurs together through a shared business project—transforming “us versus them” into meaningful, collaborative action. Rooted in his personal history—his father was a Holocaust survivor—Lubetzky emphasizes that if builders don’t act, destroyers will fill the void, potentially replaying history’s darkest chapters. This talk isn’t just theoretical—it’s the foundation of the Builders Movement, a global initiative aimed at equipping people to uncover hidden common ground and build on it with real solutions that advance the will of the people.
From OR to AND — Unlocking Enduring Innovation
The marketplace of ideas is strongest when diverse, even opposing, perspectives come together around shared values. Innovation thrives not despite our differences, but because we harness them constructively. Leaders who shift from an “OR” mindset to an “AND” mindset—anchored in trust, communication, and shared purpose—unlock creativity and lasting solutions. Daniel Lubetzky has seen this firsthand. From helping communities in conflict find common ground to building KIND’s ownership culture, he has shown how trust and open debate turn opposing views into opportunities. By challenging false assumptions—like the belief that food can be healthy or tasty but not both—KIND created a breakthrough product that redefined healthy snacking. And because these solutions addressed real consumer needs, they endured long after diet fads faded. In this keynote, Daniel reveals the problem-solving methodology behind KIND’s success and introduces the Builder’s Mindset: a way of leading that rejects false choices, embraces “AND,” and delivers transformative, enduring innovation.
