Jon Umstead turns moonshining history into business lessons

Jon Umstead’s new book Against the Grain uses American moonshining and bootlegging history to draw lessons for entrepreneurs on pricing, differentiation, reputation and resilience. The book is available now on Amazon, with a public launch event set for Sept. 17 in Urbana, Ohio.

Why it matters: - Against the Grain packages entrepreneurship lessons in a narrative drawn from American moonshiners, bootleggers and distillers. - The book aims to show how old survival tactics map to modern business problems like customers, pricing, branding and execution. - The release adds another business title for Jon Umstead, who has spent more than 30 years leading teams and building companies.

What happened: - Jon Umstead released Against the Grain: Business Lessons from the Still – What Rule-Breakers Already Know on Amazon today. - The book uses American moonshining, bootlegging and distilling history as its central framework. - A public launch celebration is scheduled for Sept. 17 from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at The Event Vault in Urbana, Ohio. - The launch event will include a moderated conversation, audience Q&A, cocktails and a bourbon tasting.

The details: - The book covers customer understanding, pricing, differentiation, reputation, resilience and the value of challenging conventional wisdom. - The cast of historical figures includes George Washington, Prohibition-era rumrunner Bill McCoy, Prohibition-era moonshiner Birdie Brown and moonshine legend Marvin “Popcorn” Sutton. - The book also includes a story about Umstead’s father, who says, “I can't work for other people. I might tell you where to go.” - Harlen Wheatley, Master Distiller at Buffalo Trace, provided a cover blurb for the book. - Umstead said moonshiners understood customers, reputation, differentiation, pricing and distribution even if they did not use modern business language. - Umstead has also taught business courses and makes moonshine. - Umstead previously wrote Business is ART: Articulate, Revise, Track.

Between the lines: - The book is designed to make business lessons stick by leading with stories instead of management jargon. - Umstead’s pitch suggests that rule-breaking is less about lawlessness and more about questioning stale assumptions. - The platform around the book, Champaign Shine, extends the concept into a podcast and blog, signaling an effort to build an audience beyond the book itself. - Glenn Becker, CEO and founder of Signature Workspace, called the book a “must-read” and said he highlighted passages for use in executive meetings.

What's next: - Umstead’s launch event in Urbana will mark the book’s first public celebration. - Champaign Shine will continue through the Against the Grain podcast and The Stillhouse Blog. - The book’s business lessons are positioned to reach readers through both the Amazon release and related media tied to the author platform.

The bottom line: - Against the Grain uses moonshining history to argue that many startup basics were understood long before modern business schools named them.