The Heart of Entrepreneurship: Crafting Your Authentic Recipe for Success

From the creator of Melissa & Doug, an entrepreneur's guide to discovering and launching your unique vision

"Her toys took the market by storm, and in this book Melissa Bernstein shows what it takes to follow in her footsteps with your next big idea." --Adam Grant, PhD, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again

Entrepreneurship isn't for the faint of heart. Melissa Bernstein, cofounder of the wildly successful toy company Melissa & Doug and cofounder of the wellness company Lifelines, knows this firsthand. Connecting deeply with your soul and crafting a clear vision are central to launching a successful business. In The Heart of Entrepreneurship, Bernstein offers a guide to the creative and visionary process of bringing a business, product, or service to life.

Bernstein walks you through the method she uses when launching a new product or venture―a process she has guided hundreds of students through at Duke University and in Sounds True's Inner MBA(R) program. She likens this work to creating a new recipe. It involves:

- Cultivating a mindset of curiosity
- Gathering ingredients
- Diving deep into your area of intrigue
- Allowing ideas to simmer
- Assessing and altering as needed
- Serving your perfected recipe to consumers

Each chapter offers insights and practical exercises to help you apply these concepts to your own life and business.

Turning your passion into ideas that serve others requires courage and commitment and offers a profound sense of fulfillment. Bernstein explains, "You'll come to see that the solutions to both entrepreneurial challenges and life's most important questions are waiting (and have always been waiting) within your very soul."

Author: Melissa Bernstein
Publisher: St. Martin's Essentials / Sounds True
Published: 11/11/2025
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.61lbs
Size: 8.94h x 6.10w x 0.71d
ISBN: 9781649633897

About the Author
Melissa Bernstein is an entrepreneur, creative, and mother of six. She's cofounder of Melissa & Doug, a billion-dollar toy company, and Lifelines, a wellness brand offering sensory products to manage stress and enhance well-being. Melissa is the Entrepreneur in Residence for the Inner MBA(R) certification program created by Sounds True, LinkedIn, and Wisdom 2.0; cofounder of Duke University's Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs program; and author of LifeLines and Practice Makes Purpose.