The Heart of Entrepreneurship
Crafting Your Authentic Recipe for Success
by Melissa Bernstein
You must sign in to see if this title is available for request. Sign In or Register Now
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date Nov 11 2025 | Archive Date Dec 26 2025
Sounds True Publishing | Sounds True
Talking about this book? Use #TheHeartofEntrepreneurship #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
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® 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.”
Marketing Plan
Preorder outreach to author’s small but highly engaged IG community and Melissa & Doug IG social followers
Dedicated emails to Sounds True’s conscious business segment, including Inner MBA Certification Program alumni and new students for which Melissa has been the entrepreneur in residence
Cross-promotion with Duke University’s Melissa & Doug Entrepreneurs Program and Wisdom 2.0
Social advertising campaign on LinkedIn and Instagram
Appearance on Sounds True One
Amazon AMS campaign, plus Amazon A+ page
National print & digital outreach with a focus on entrepreneurship, spirituality and mind/body/spirit media
Select podcast outreach, focusing on wellness, spirituality and business/entrepreneur programs
Potential book launch event (s) with tie-in with authors’ speaking schedule
Available Editions
EDITION | Other Format |
ISBN | 9781649633897 |
PRICE | $19.99 (USD) |
PAGES | 256 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews

Did you like it the Alex Hormozi books, but don't know "how to really start doing your thing"?!
So this is for you!
This is a beautiful blending of stories and methodology in enterpreneurship, showing the step by step to start (even with fear, or exciting, smiles) your own business plan
Takes your by the hand to know your idea, stop lying to yourself and become objective and have some solid background in every step
A great and stimulating read, and conjoiting with the Hormozi books will give you the KEY TO YOUR OWN BUSINESS TODAY!

If you are looking for a read with deeply personal, refreshingly honest, and profoundly inspiring guide to building a business and a life that are aligned with your true self. Best known as the co-founder of the beloved toy company Melissa & Doug, Bernstein brings a rare blend of entrepreneurial expertise and emotional insight to the table. This book goes beyond the typical “how-to” startup manual. Instead, it invites readers to reconnect with their purpose, tap into their creativity, and define success on their own terms. Bernstein shares her journey with vulnerability and candor, illustrating that the path to meaningful work isn't always linear and that the inner work is just as important as the outer hustle. What sets this book apart is its emphasis on authenticity. Rather than offering a one-size-fits-all formula, Bernstein encourages readers to craft their own “recipe” for fulfillment by blending passion, purpose, resilience, and self-awareness. Her reflections are supported by actionable advice and thought-provoking exercises that make this both a motivational read and a practical toolkit.

Taste the signature dish of the Master Chef of Entrepreneurship Melissa Bernstein. Like any signature dish, entrepreneurship takes not only creativity but also courage, not just ideas but unique inspiration, strong ideology, critique depersonalization, and thoughtful self-care. For the fresh entrepreneur, the book outlines critical steps with transparent stories to demonstrate its principle. Be prepared for some repetition and a total commitment to the food theme, but also, a fresh perspective you will not find in any similar book (e.g. how to handle personal fears and potential disasters). For the launched entrepreneur, the reader should find tweaking tips and meaningful motivation to move forward like using curiosity, criticism, competitor deceit productively. The seasoned entrepreneur learns the power of returning to the basics and the pleasure of regaining or simply maintaining one's internal motivation. For any potential or current business owner, the book offers an opportunity to examine yourself and your If you are looking to start something new, find SPACE for The Heart of Entrepreneurship,

Welcome to Melissa Bernstein’s kitchen! In her new book, she cooks up dozens of recipes about how to build your business, from facing your fears to launching the brand new product line. Using personal experiences from her companies Melissa and Doug’s Toys and Lifelines, Bernstein guides us through what it took to get on top and gives nice step-by-step recipies to follow in the path of greatness! Highly recommend!
Readers who liked this book also liked:
Chris Lowney with Judy Wearing
Business, Leadership, Finance, Religion & Spirituality
Steve Mostyn
Business, Leadership, Finance, Health, Mind & Body, Nonfiction (Adult)
Dean Foster
Business, Leadership, Finance, Multicultural Interest, Nonfiction (Adult)
Mark Thompson and Byron Loflin; Foreword by Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
Business, Leadership, Finance, Nonfiction (Adult)
Lynn Bruines
Biographies & Memoirs, Business, Leadership, Finance, Self-Help
Blake Morgan
Business, Leadership, Finance, Nonfiction (Adult)