Daniel Lubetzky, the founder of KIND Snacks and Shark Tank investor, is launching a new weekly podcast called “Build or Break” premiering September 3, 2026, featuring candid interviews with prominent entrepreneurs, athletes, entertainers, and business leaders about their failures and how they overcame them to achieve success.
The podcast includes guests such as Matthew McConaughey, Barbara Corcoran, Chip and Joanna Gaines, Chris Paul, Mark Cuban, Kendra Scott, Jason Alexander, Jamie Siminoff, and Steven Bartlett. Rather than celebrating accomplishment alone, each episode explores the resilience, mindset, relationships, and courage required to keep building when others would have given up, according to a press release announcing the launch.
Lubetzky said in a statement that “the ‘us versus them’ narratives in today’s media tend to leave us all feeling powerless,” and that one antidote is “creating, innovating, solving problems, and believing again in our power to build things.” The podcast aims to showcase how ordinary setbacks can become the foundation for extraordinary achievements.
Extending beyond audio, Lubetzky has created “Art of Failure,” an immersive pop-up museum at 22 Wooster Street in New York City that opened September 3 and runs through September 5, 2026. The free exhibition displays rejection letters, failed prototypes, discarded ideas, audition tapes, handwritten notes, and other artifacts that preceded breakthrough success—all presented as priceless works of art. Barbara Corcoran contributed a persuasive letter she wrote to the executive producer of Shark Tank after initially being rejected for the show, which ultimately convinced them to reconsider and give her a position.
Lubetzky himself has faced repeated failure. He disclosed that his famous KIND brand was “almost never born” and that he experienced “setbacks like crazy that just destroyed me.” He credits his father, a Holocaust survivor, with shaping his resilient spirit. At age 12, after learning about his father’s experience, Lubetzky developed insomnia and dreamed of becoming a magician with “authentic, magical powers to force people to get along.” He eventually realized that entrepreneurship and the private sector held the keys to bringing people together through business and commerce.
Beyond KIND Snacks, Lubetzky founded the Builders Movement (also called Builders initiative), a nonprofit organization focused on helping citizens overcome “us versus them” thinking to solve problems together. The movement represents his broader mission to reduce polarization and foster collaboration across divides. He serves as a social entrepreneur and civic leader working to increase appreciation for shared humanity.
“Build or Break” releases new episodes weekly on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms. The first three episodes were available at launch. The podcast is a program of the Lubetzky Family Foundation, which seeks to help people overcome divisive narratives through entrepreneurship and creative problem-solving.
Sources
- Globe Newswire — Official press release announcing the launch of Build or Break podcast and Art of Failure gallery, August 25, 2026
- Yahoo Entertainment / People — Interview with Lubetzky about the podcast and gallery, featuring his comments on failure and resilience, September 3, 2026
- CBS News — Video interview with Lubetzky discussing his podcast and business philosophy, September 3, 2026
