South Africa, Sept. 14 -- For most founders, that might have been the end of the story. For Murison, it became the turning point for the next chapter.

"It put us into a fight position to stay afloat, no matter what," he says.

"That don't-die mindset saw us, three years later, back to almost 50 people in the agency." By 2023, Two Tone had not only rebuilt its team but was also taking what Murison calls "brave leaps" - reopening in Kenya alongside Gil Kemami, a veteran of the advertising industry in East and West Africa.

The one-man operation in Nairobi has since grown to nearly 50 people, winning regional and global accounts that typically go to the industry's biggest players. This year, the agency also retained its Telkom retail accoun...