Vinjamuri spent time with seven entrepreneurs who created brands that way, and he dedicates a chapter to each, including Gert Boyle of Columbia Sportswear, Julie Aigner-Clark of Baby Einstein, and Roxanne Quimby of Burt's Bees.

What Vinjamuri calls an "accidental brand" is usually developed by an individual not trained in marketing. The entreprenuer has experienced the problem that the brand "solves" and controls the brand for at least 10 years.

Baby Einstein's Aigner-Clark was a new mother trying and failing to find videos with classical music and foreign languages for her baby, while Quimby was a hitchhiker picked up in Maine by a beekeeper, who shared her values.

Building a brand this way does have its rewards.

Quimby founded her company for $400 and sold it for $175 million.

Aigner-Clark sold her business for $40 million to Disney.

Photograph: The book cover of Accidental Branding