Daniel Lubetzky: the three stages of turning a weird idea into a real business

Daniel Lubetzky, the well-known "Shark Tank" investor and founder of the Kind Snacks brand, has learned from his own experience that ideas which sound strange at first can actually lead to the biggest successes. In his view, entrepreneurs shouldn't dismiss their most unconventional thoughts too early — because those very ideas often go on to become the biggest businesses.

As an example, Lubetzky points to the Kind snack bar produced by his own company, as well as the Ring smart doorbell invented by Jamie Siminoff — a company Amazon acquired in 2018 for roughly $1 billion. "That's exactly where those seemingly crazy things came from — both the Kind bar and the Ring that Jamie Siminoff invented. It comes from pushing your thinking beyond the usual boundaries," he said.

There are plenty of examples like this in the business world. Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky has said that the idea of strangers sleeping in each other's homes was initially seen by people as "crazy." Spotify founder Daniel Ek recalls that the company's original goal — making any song instantly and legally available to everyone — was regarded at the time as an "unworkable idea."

Ahead of the September 3 premiere of Lubetzky's podcast "Build or Break," he spoke with Business Insider and revealed his three-stage method for turning any offbeat business idea from a thought into reality.

The first stage is being a curious creator. According to Lubetzky, no filters should be allowed during brainstorming: "When you're brainstorming, you should just be brainstorming. Don't let yourself apply any filters, as if you're specifically hunting for the dumbest idea." He stresses that founders need to move beyond the obvious options and put every thought on the board, no matter how unusual it seems — that's exactly how original ideas are born. "The crazier you think, the more you add to your board. Nothing should be filtered out, because to create something nobody has thought of yet, you have to push yourself beyond that boundary," he says.

The second stage is being a strict critic. After stepping away from the brainstorm for a while, founders need to methodically vet the remaining ideas: do they have the skills required, will customers actually want this product, does it make economic sense, and could a competitor do it better? "After the break, you start applying all the filters: Can I actually pull this off? Do I have the skills I need? Is the effort and money worth the outcome? Does the customer really need this? Is there a competitor who could do this better than me?" Lubetzky says. According to him, this stage requires being tough on your own idea, applying roughly twenty filters to narrow the list down to the idea that is both the most creative and genuinely achievable.

The third stage is being a relentless fighter. Once an idea successfully passes this "mental test," the entrepreneur needs to stop second-guessing and get to work. "If you still think the idea is worth pursuing, at some point you have to shift from critic to believer — and make it happen no matter what," Lubetzky says. He notes that this approach applies not just to startups but also to building a company, an invention, a school, or bridges between groups of people — because each of us gets to choose how we use our ideas and energy. "We can all be builders or destroyers. Whether we wake up trying to tear each other down or fighting to solve problems together — that's up to us," he says.