'Shark Tank' star Daniel Lubetzky shares 3 steps to turn a wild idea into a viable business

Daniel Lubetzky knows firsthand that awesome business ideas tin sound far-fetched astatine first.

But the "Shark Tank" investor and Kind Snacks founder says entrepreneurs should not disregard their astir outlandish ideas excessively soon because they're the ones that tin move into immoderate of the astir successful businesses.

"Out of those crazy things — that's erstwhile the Kind barroom comes out, the Ring instrumentality that Jamie Siminoff invented — it has to travel from the reasoning extracurricular of pushing yourself," he said, citing his company's Kind snack barroom and the smart-doorbell institution acquired by Amazon successful 2018 for astir $1 billion.

The business world is littered pinch specified examples. Airbnb cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky has said group thought it was "crazy" to ideate strangers staying successful 1 another's homes. And Spotify laminitis Daniel Ek has described the company's original purpose — making each opus instantly and legally disposable — arsenic an "impossible idea."

Ahead of the motorboat of his "Build aliases Break" podcast connected September 3, Lubetzky shared pinch Business Insider his three-part model for turning immoderate business thought — nary matter really bizarre — from a brainstorm into reality.

1. Be a funny creative

"When you're brainstorming, you person to only brainstorm," Lubetzky said. "You person to not let immoderate filters to use because it's almost for illustration you request to beryllium looking for the stupidest idea."

He said founders should push beyond the evident options and put each thought connected the board, nevertheless unrealistic it whitethorn initially appear. The extremity is to flight conventional thinking, because that is wherever original concepts tin emerge.

"The crazier you go, the much you put connected your board," he said. "You cannot select thing retired because you person to push yourself extracurricular of that container for you to travel up pinch thing that cipher other has ever travel up with."

2. Be a consummate critic

Then comes the captious stage.

After stepping distant from the brainstorm, founders should interrogate the ideas that stay pinch discipline, Lubetzky said.

They should see whether they person the basal skills, whether customers want the product, whether the economics work, and whether competitors could do it better.

"You return a break and past you commencement applying each of the filters," he said. "Do I person what it takes to do this? Are these the skills that are necessary, and do I person each those skills? Is the input-to-output relationship worthy it? Does the user really want it? Is location nary different title that tin do it better?"

This shape requires founders to beryllium reliable connected their ain ideas.

"You person to use 20 filters and inquire really reliable questions to cleanable up your brainstorm list and area successful connected the point that's astir imaginative but really you tin propulsion it off," Lubetzky said.

3. Be a committed crusader

Finally, erstwhile an entrepreneur has subjected an thought to that "intellectual proceedings by fire," they request to extremity second-guessing themselves and execute, Lubetzky said.

"If you still judge that your thought is worthy pursuing, erstwhile you're ready, you request to move from being a professional to being a believer," he said. "And you person to conscionable spell and execute it nary matter what."

Lubetzky said the model applies beyond startups. People tin build companies, inventions, schools, aliases bridges betwixt groups, he said, but they besides person a prime successful really they usage their ideas and energy.

"All of america tin beryllium builders aliases destroyers," Lubetzky said. "It's up to america to determine whether we aftermath up successful the greeting and effort to tear each different apart," aliases usage those devices "to lick problems together."