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Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently --- and Succeeding

Review

Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently --- and Succeeding

Can you run a successful (and huge) business and still call yourself “honest”? That’s what Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, cofounders of Honest Tea, explain in the graphic novel business book MISSION IN A BOTTLE.
 
Honest Tea began in 1998, and just a year later it was already a million-dollar company. By 2011, when it was snapped up by Coca-Cola, it was generating $75 million. It’s refreshing to think that such a small endeavor can lead to such a huge business, and even more so after you read about the ups and downs that went into making the company work. Major setbacks and a few missteps in decision making threatened to take the new tea company down before it truly flew.
 
It’s fascinating to see a business book such as this unfold in graphic novel form (reportedly, Goldman’s sons read comics, which inspired him to put out a business book in the same format). If you’re an entrepreneur, or aspire to be one, you’ll learn a lot of inside-business tricks here, especially when it comes to resourcefully marketing a new brand.

MISSION IN A BOTTLE is breezy --- it’s a fast and completely enjoyable read --- but it’s also packed with some solid business potential for those looking to know how to go about building a successful business brand.

The pair shares several important business lessons after each chapter, all of which are inspiring for potential new business owners. (“Don’t start unless you’ll survive imitation”; “Don’t compromise on the big things, but compromise on everything else”; etc.). MISSION IN A BOTTLE is breezy --- it’s a fast and completely enjoyable read --- but it’s also packed with some solid business potential for those looking to know how to go about building a successful business brand.

Reviewed by John Hogan on October 1, 2013

Mission in a Bottle: The Honest Guide to Doing Business Differently --- and Succeeding
by Seth Goldman, Barry Nalebuff, and Sungyoon Choi

  • Publication Date: September 3, 2013
  • Hardcover: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Crown Business
  • ISBN-10: 0770437494
  • ISBN-13: 9780770437497