Do Book Company snaps up entrepreneur guide from Unbound co-founder Kieran

The Do Book Company has acquired Do Start by Dan Kieran, co-founder of crowdfund publisher Unbound.  

Publisher and founder Miranda West obtained world rights directly from the author, who stepped down as Unbound c.e.o. earlier this year.

Do Start: How to create and run a business provides an overview of starting, running and exiting a business, covering subjects including building a brand, raising money and dealing with investors, confronting weaknesses, managing mental health, leadership, power, culture, building teams, spreadsheets and financial literacy. It will publish in April 2023 in paperback and e-book.

“Setting out to create a successful business can be intimidating,” the synopsis reads. “Launching and running a company will not only test your creativity and resilience but push you beyond any preconceptions of what you thought you were capable of. Being an entrepreneur is the greatest self-improvement exercise you can ever embark on. With the right guidance, and perspective, you will discover the true win is not the company you build or the money you make, but the person you become.”

West said: “I have known Dan for years and am so excited that we are finally working together. Like all our authors, Dan will be writing from first-hand, hard-won experience. He was instrumental in taking Unbound from concept to profitable, award-winning publisher with an entirely different business model. They were the plucky disruptors in an established industry who gradually won over authors and agents and built a highly engaged community. 

“It is testament to how Dan operates as an entrepreneur with honesty, integrity and passion. Do Start will be a brilliant addition to the start-up genre, and uniquely will encourage founders to keep their own mental health and wellbeing in check as for many it is one of the hardest things they’ll ever do – but also one of the most rewarding and exhilarating.”

Kieran added: “Being an entrepreneur – or, as I like to call it, going to a casino with your reputation – is the most thrilling and terrifying thing I have ever done. This book will take you through how it feels to start and run your own business and act as a guide to refer to when you are unsure of who – and what – to rely on. Being invited to give a Do Lecture in 2015 was a key moment in my journey, so I am thrilled to be writing this book for Miranda and The Do Book Company. I know many of the journeys the other authors on her exceptional list have been through, and I’m humbled to be in their illustrious company.”