Undaunted: Overcoming Doubts and Doubters

Goldin debuts with a disappointing look at how she founded Hint Water, a flavored water company. She traces her ambitious nature to her childhood; as the youngest of five, she writes, she was used to having to push for what she wanted. Post-college, she hustled and wound up working in e-commerce at AOL, but, feeling unfulfilled, resolved to become an entrepreneur. On a health and fitness kick, Goldin started making fruit-infused water for herself and got the idea for Hint. She received plenty of discouragement, including from “an executive at one of the world’s largest beverage companies [who] told me no one would want my unsweetened flavored water.” She proved the doubters wrong with the company’s success after its 2005 founding, marked by milestones that included deals with Whole Foods and Starbucks. Unfortunately, the advice component promised by the title feels peripheral and is limited largely to the titles of the book’s chapters—“Create Your Own Opportunities,” “Know When to Move On.” It’s a decent enough professional memoir, but it comes up short on the kind of substantive guidance aspiring entrepreneurs might hope for. Agent: Carol Franco, Kneerim & Williams. (Oct.)