New Book by Vusi Thembekwayo and Michael Hinton Puts the Underdog at the Centre of Business Success
Being the biggest player in the room does not necessarily guarantee success. According to entrepreneur and investor Vusi Thembekwayo and business advisor Michael Hinton, being an underdog could be a business’s greatest competitive advantage.
The pair explore this argument in their new book, Underdogs: How Small Players Can Become Business Titans, published by Jonathan Ball Publishers and available at bookstores nationwide.
Officially published on 12 October 2026, the book challenges the widely held belief that success depends on becoming the dominant player in an industry. Instead, the authors encourage readers to embrace adversity, think differently and use their circumstances as an opportunity to innovate and grow.
“We have all been taught that the goal is to be the biggest player in the room. I think that is the wrong goal,” says Thembekwayo.
“The underdog is hungrier, listens harder and has less to protect. In business, that is a real advantage, and most people who have it do not realise it.”
Drawing on the experiences of internationally recognised brands such as Nando’s, Hyundai, Canva and Under Armour, the book examines how businesses that started with significant challenges managed to build successful brands.
Through these stories, Thembekwayo and Hinton identify practical lessons in innovation, leadership, perseverance and decision-making, demonstrating how smaller businesses can compete against more established players.
Hinton, who has spent more than 25 years working with leading African brands and corporate boardrooms, brings his experience as a business advisor and finance educator to the publication. He also lectures at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS).
He believes the principles explored in the book are particularly relevant to small and medium-sized enterprises, many of which must navigate limited resources, intense competition and challenging economic conditions.
“None of the businesses in this book began with perfect circumstances. What they had was the discipline to keep going and the willingness to do things differently from the big players. That is available to any business owner, whatever the size of the business,” says Hinton.
The collaboration combines Thembekwayo’s experience as an investor who has backed and built companies across several continents with Hinton’s expertise in finance and business strategy.
The result is a book that combines inspirational business stories with practical guidance for entrepreneurs, business owners and aspiring leaders seeking to build sustainable enterprises.
Rather than presenting success as a matter of luck, the authors emphasise the importance of the decisions people make when faced with uncertainty and limited opportunities.
“This is not a book about luck,” says Thembekwayo. “Every story in it is about choices people made when the odds were against them. Those are choices any business owner can make.”
Hinton adds that the book aims to help readers reconsider how they view setbacks and challenges.
“If this book teaches readers to look at their own setbacks differently, as material to work with and not as reasons to stop, then it has done its job,” he says.
Authors to launch book in three cities
To introduce the publication to readers, Thembekwayo and Hinton will participate in three launch events hosted by Exclusive Books in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.
Each event will feature a conversation with the authors, followed by an audience question-and-answer session and a book signing. Doors open at 18:00, with proceedings starting at 18:30.
The launch schedule is as follows:
Johannesburg: Thursday, 15 October 2026, Exclusive Books, Sandton.
Cape Town: Thursday, 5 November 2026, Exclusive Books, V&A Waterfront.
Durban: Thursday, 12 November 2026, Exclusive Books, Gateway.
Titled Underdogs: How Small Players Can Become Business Titans, the book is published by Jonathan Ball Publishers, carries the ISBN 9781776195961 and has a recommended retail price of R340.
It is available at bookstores nationwide and as an e-book, with an audiobook release expected soon.
Through their work, Thembekwayo and Hinton make a case for a different understanding of business success: that being smaller does not have to mean being weaker, and that the ability to adapt, persevere and challenge established thinking can help turn an underdog into a business titan.