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Owner of a Snack Firm Made a $220 Million Error that Netted Him $5 Billion

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Owner of a snack firm made a costly error that would cost him $220 million, but his enormous risk paid off as he received a $5 billion return.

I only make life mistakes…

This is the amazing tale of Daniel Lubetzky, the person responsible for Kind Snacks.

The brand is already well-known; visit any supermarket and you’ll find Kind’s nutritious snack bars, which are renowned for being tasty and including recognizable ingredients like almonds and whole grains.

But it wasn’t nearly as well known back then as it is now.

Its origins were a $16 million fund from the private equity firm VMG Partners, as described in CNBC Make It’s The Moment series of the time.

An important provision of the arrangement required Lubetzky to sell his business within five years in exchange for the investment.

Even though it looked like a good plan at the time, after four years he had seen Kind develop and was convinced he was still the right candidate.

He told the magazine, “Four years into the deal, I was seeing that Kind might become so much bigger.

“My investors were keen to see me sell the business and were pressuring me to do so.

“My goal was to see the business grow for many years to come. Their goal was to exit the business and recover their investment.

Lubetzky had a difficult choice to make: abandon the business and risk missing out on one of his life’s most important tasks, or figure out a method to repurchase the business from VMG.

Even though the latter alternative appears like the best one, he would need to find $220 million for the deal and take a chance on losing everything in order to make it happen.

He took the decision to take a leap of faith, but it wasn’t taken lightly.

“I got a really strong feeling that this was not the end — nor the beginning of the end — but the beginning of the beginning,” said Lubetzky. “And I wanted to keep going.” He continued.

“But that was a nerve-wracking time. What if something goes wrong? Suddenly, you’ll be in so much debt that you might even lose your business.

“I couldn’t sleep at night. We most likely had a loan for about $200 million.

Even though he had done his homework and was confident in Kind’s future, anything can happen.

However, the procedure wasn’t easy and the negotiations continued until 2014.

Sales more than doubled that year alone, as reported by CNBC, and when Lubetzky attempted to sell off Kind to Mars six years later, it was reputedly worth a staggering $5 billion.

According to Lubetzky, “I am still a significant stakeholder in Kind today, and I still mentor them.”

“Kind is still expanding by double digits, and we’ve agreed with our colleagues at Mars that Kind will be a separate standalone platform.

“It’s not only that following this route has brought me more financial success. Kind might not have currently reached the tens of millions of customers daily if this had not happened.

Entertainment

Reports Claim that Quentin Tarantino is Finally Done Writing His Final Movie

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Quentin Tarantino is getting ready for his victory lap after serving for more than 30 years as one of the most innovative and explosive figures in American cinema. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tarantino has finished writing the script for his tenth and final movie, which is slated to be released this fall and is tentatively named The Film Critic.

The Grand Setting

The Film Critic will be set in the 1970s, continuing Tarantino’s 1969 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’s love letter to that decade. Given Tarantino’s well-known passion for the movie industry (he owns Los Angeles’ New Beverly Cinema and released a collection of essays about the industry in November), it only makes sense that he would end his filmography with a film about the medium itself.

A Few Notes

Director’s don’t become better as they age, Tarantino famously told Playboy, explaining why he would quit creating movies after his tenth. Usually, the final four movies in a filmmaker’s oeuvre are the poorest. A win in either category for The Film Critic would be a true Hollywood ending for the 59-year-old auteur, who is all about his filmography and believes that “one bad film fucks up three good ones.” Tarantino has won two Best Original Screenplay Academy Awards, for Django Unchained and also Pulp Fiction, but despite being nominated for both Best Director and Best Picture.

In Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino made his directorial debut in 1992, and he would go on to become one of the most important directors of the modern era. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his most recent film, received ten Academy Award nominations and two wins. We may anticipate learning more about The Movie Critic in the upcoming months as filming appears to be starting soon.

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Entertainment

Marvel Reports that Robert Downey Jr. Will Not Return to the MCU

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It would seem that it is certain that Robert Downey Jr. won’t make another appearance in a Marvel film in the future. Despite the fact that Tony Stark lost his heroic battle in Avengers: Endgame, many people had hoped that he may somehow make a comeback in upcoming films. Deaths no longer have to have any significance because Marvel has been experimenting more and more with the multiverse theory.

Moving Forward

Marvel executive Stephen Broussard indicated that Phase Five will put a lot more of an emphasis on fresh characters that were initially introduced in Phase Four in an interview with io9 (via Gizmodo). That also entails permanently saying goodbye to certain long-time favorites, most notably Iron Man. “Well, I think one of the meta-narratives of Phase Four was about new characters. It was about new people stepping into mantles.” is what he had to say regarding the matter.

A Huge Addition

Harrison Ford is reportedly joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so this news is timely. The 80-year-old star, who has starred in some of the greatest movie franchises ever, including Star Wars and Indiana Jones, will reportedly have some pretty big shoes to fill. Hot Mic with John Rocha and Jeff Snider reported that Harrison will reportedly take over for William Hurt, who passed away in March at the age of 71, in the Marvel films as General Thaddeus E. “Thunderbolt” Ross.

Now, Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan will star in a standalone Thunderbolts film. A crew of supervillains are enlisted to carry out government objectives, according to the synopsis. A fan page claims that the release date is scheduled for July 26, 2024. Ford has since inked a contract with Marvel, and, according to journalist Sneider, he will star in the next Captain America: New World Order.

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Entertainment

Nicolas Cage Makes Far Out Claim on If He Wants to Join the MCU

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Nicolas Cage is a unique talent. He has produced stupid action pictures, moving family dramas wrapped in mystery, ridiculous vampire movies, and even a self-spoof movie. He is, so to speak, genre-free. The traditional superhero genre, though, is one that would be less without Nic Cage, and Hollywood’s most adaptable actor isn’t about to change that anytime soon.

As Big as It Gets

Cage’s response was straightforward when asked about his career and the likelihood of seeing him in a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie during a recent interview with Variety. “I’m Nic Cage, I don’t need to be in the MCU,” so there you go, he’s  much larger than Marvel, greater than DC. Greater than whatever may result from the two being combined in some odd love child situation, which we can only guess is the ultimate fantasy of neckbearded comic book superfans everywhere.

The View from Up Here

Nic Cage is him. Really though, Cage has arrived at a moment in his career where he is free to do whatever the hell he wants. For goodness’ sake, he comes from the Coppola family. They are Hollywood blood and royalty. Even though he has no immediate plans to appear in a Marvel movie, Cage does acknowledge others. “I’ve gotta be nice about Marvel movies, because I named myself after a Stan Lee character named Luke Cage,” he admitted to Variety.

He was then questioned about the current situation of contemporary superhero films, which are box office powerhouses packed with wonder, action, and never-ending storylines that are released in “phases”. While we all still know him as Ghostrider, who’s to say he won’t be in any MCU film just yet? Then again, he’s been doing pretty well with a lot of his projects. You keep doing you Nic! 

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