In episode 2 , we sit down with two South African giants of the Away Game: 1995 Rugby World Cup winner and Wiesenhof Coffee founder Kobus Wiese, and Cape Classics and Indaba Foundation founder André Shearer.From lifting the Webb Ellis Cup to lifting espresso machines and wine cases in far-flung markets, we unpack how teams, attitude and sheer graft turn rugby lessons into global businesses.In this episode, we talk about:
● How the Springboks became South Africa’s best brand builder when everything else was failing
● Kobus’s blind date that turned into a marriage and a coffee empire
● André’s unlikely journey from teetotal medical student and model to New York wine merchant
● What it really takes to start a business in a country where no one knows your story
● Why attitude often matters more than CVs in building winning teams
● The brutal honesty of Players’ Player of the Year and what it teaches us about feedback in business
● The power of early childhood education and the vision behind the Indaba Foundation
● Why less than 1% of an education budget can break an entire economy over 20 years
● Coffee, wine and why the best leaders are willing to mop the floor and host the boardroom
If you love Springbok rugby, entrepreneurship, South African wine and coffee, this one is for you.
00:00 – Welcome to Winning the Away Game
01:06 – Introducing Kobus Wiese & André Shearer
02:32 – Springboks as South Africa’s greatest brand builders
03:12 – Flip’s dad, Jan Boland Coetzee and scrum lessons for life
07:16 – When did Kobus realise he could make it as a Bok?
10:12 – Herklaas Engelbrecht and falling in love with rugby
11:49 – André’s journey: medicine, modelling and stumbling into wine
14:11 – The first cellar tasting that changed everything
17:46 – Landing in New York with South African wine no one knew
23:22 – Two-sided marketplace: convincing farmers and US buyers25:53 – South Africa’s missing national brand story
28:12 – Kobus’s second date that led to Wiesenhof Coffee
31:33 – Chaos on day one and learning the trade from scratch
35:30 – The real lows of entrepreneurship and finding trustworthy people
38:12 – Building a business in New York with no network43:59 – The ethics of relationships and why partners matter more than terms
49:37 – Rugby lessons for business: sacrifice, attitude and honesty
53:46 – Rowing, leadership and leading from the front60:51 – The Indaba Foundation and early childhood education
65:05 – From 46% to 92%: what early learning can unlock
71:23 – Entrepreneurs, honest government and proper parenting
81:57 – Kobus’s next chapter dream: classical music and the violin
83:40 – Backs play the piano, forwards move the piano
84:08 – Wrap-up and how to support the work
About Winning the Away Game:
We are Justinus Adriaanse and Flip van der Merwe.
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Winning The Away Game is available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and on the Winning The Away Game website at www.wtagpodcast.com.
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Winning The Away Game is produced by Jonathan Warncke