Lauren Maillian Bias writes that from ages 8 through 12 she operated a lemonade stand on Manhattan’s Upper East Side that netted up to $300 a day. At age 19—before she was even old enough to drink legally—this enterprising young woman became the chief operating officer of a highly regarded boutique winery in West Virginia. She married, had two children, divorced and earned a degree in marketing from New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2011 Bias launched Luxury Market Branding, a strategic marketing company, and soon after became a founding partner at Gen Y Capital Partners, which offers venture capital to early-stage companies.
Now 29, Bias has written a memoir about her entrepreneurial experiences, sharing the setbacks she overcame and the lessons that propelled her forward. She stresses the importance of identifying your end goal and formulating a plan (and a backup plan) to lay out the steps needed to reach the goal. Equally important is pinpointing your nonnegotiable set of personal and professional rules that “help you maintain your inner compass… and that you’re not willing to break.”
Bias interrupts the narrative with boxes of wisdom from her business colleagues along with her reflections on taking control of your own voice, opening yourself up to serendipitous opportunities, rebounding gracefully and living life on your terms. Her thoughtful, readable, all-around excellent memoir overflows with fresh ideas and offers a thoroughly modern take on navigating and succeeding in today’s business world.
by Lauren Maillian Bias
May
BenBella Books; $24.95
