Unconvention - by Sri Kaza (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

WINNER OF 4 BOOK AWARDS, including Axiom Business Book Awards bronze winner, Independent Press Awards winner, American Legacy Awards winner, and Royal Dragonfly Book Award honorable mention.

When big businesses dominate the headlines, leveraging their scale to outpace the competition, small business owners often feel like they're fighting an uphill battle. But what if the very qualities that make your business small could become your greatest strengths?

Unconvention shatters the myth that success is about scaling up, cutting costs, or mimicking corporate giants. Drawing on data from tens of thousands of small businesses and years of hands-on experience, this book reveals a powerful, counterintuitive truth: underdog, owner-operated businesses possess unique advantages that can outmaneuver even the largest corporations.

Through compelling stories and insights, Unconvention explores how small businesses survived and thrived during challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, even as over 30% of small businesses were forced to close while large enterprises received preferential treatment. These stories illustrate how successful entrepreneurs stayed true to their convictions and leveraged their distinct strengths to win.

This book provides a roadmap for entrepreneurs to unlock their full potential using The Underdog's Principles:

• Positioning: Serve a focused set of customers who value your uniqueness.
• Proximity: Build deep, personal relationships that create loyalty and understanding.
• Purpose: Create a meaningful business driven by values beyond just profits.

Unconvention celebrates the small business owner who succeeds not by competing on price or scale, but by embracing authenticity, boldness, and a relentless focus on their unique purpose.

For entrepreneurs navigating the challenges of corporate competition, this book is both a strategy guide and a source of inspiration. Whether you're a startup founder, small business owner, or aspiring entrepreneur, Unconvention offers practical insights to help you thrive in today's competitive landscape.

Stop trying to play by someone else's rules. It's time to rewrite the playbook and unleash the power of your owner-operated business.

Review Quotes

"In a world obsessed with scale and certainty, Unconvention is a refreshingly honest look at how underdogs win by staying small, staying human, and staying true. Sri reminds us that what looks naive--like care, proximity, and purpose--might actually be strategic brilliance." --JOSHUA BERRY, Award-winning author of Dare to Be Naive

"Sri Kaza's Unconvention wonderfully reframes what many see as small business limitations as their greatest competitive advantages. Through practical frame-works and compelling examples, Kaza shows how authenticity, focus, and genuine connection create business models that not only outcompete corporate giants, but bring deeper fulfillment to owners, employees, and customers alike." --ASHISH KOTHARI, Author of Hardwired for Happiness & CEO of Happiness Squad

"As an entrepreneur, what I loved most about Unconvention is how clearly it affirms what so many small business owners feel but rarely hear: that being small can actually be your greatest strength. Through stories that are real, relatable, and rich with insight, Sri Kaza brings strategy to life and shows how connection, clarity, and purpose are what truly drive success." --LESLIE RAE, Cofounder of The SmartBusiness Academy

"Having built businesses that serve accountants and their small firms, I've seen firsthand how the principles in Unconvention create lasting competitive advantage. Sri Kaza articulates with remarkable clarity how small businesses can succeed, not despite their size but because of it. His Underdog Principles provide a strategic framework that transforms how entrepreneurs approach everything from pricing to customer acquisition to talent management." --IAN VACIN, Cofounder of Karbon, a practice management solution for accounting firms

"Sri has a gift for entertaining storytelling combined with real-life experience in the business of going up against the big guys. A great read for any aspiring entrepreneur or small business leader seeking practical advice for success." --JEFFREY PIERSON, Former head of the Small Business Investment Company, US SBA

About the Author

SRI KAZA is a business leader and small business advocate with a career spanning corporate strategy, entrepreneurial ventures, and dedicated support for small businesses. He holds multiple engineering degrees from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Northwestern University.

His consulting career at McKinsey & Co. included nearly a decade advising Fortune 500 companies on operations, sales, and strategy, followed by an executive role at Viking Cruises. After 15 years working with large organizations, Sri pivoted to directly supporting small businesses through innovative ventures.

Over the last ten years, Sri's executive leadership roles have focused on supporting small businesses. He led the employment tax credit business line helping small businesses take advantage of government incentives at Tax Credit Co., now a part of Experian. He founded Talytica, a data analytics startup that helped small businesses evaluate job applicants.

Most recently, as CEO of ForwardLine Financial, Sri helped to scale up the private equity-owned company and facilitated its sale to a new investor. Through these roles, Sri was able to help tens of thousands of small businesses achieve their goals, and has become a passionate advocate for entrepreneurship.