After founding Thankyou with his best friend Jarryd Burns and wife Justine Flynn in 2008, Daniel Flynn challenged Ray White’s Connect 2022 conference goers to flip their thinking and inspire bold new paths forward.
Mr Flynn pushed the audience of almost 3000 people to question the way things have always been done to see ground-breaking results.
At just 19 years old Mr Flynn was jolted into action after learning that 900 million people lack access to water, while Australia’s bottled water industry was worth $600 million.
Thankyou presented a company that turned typical notions of consumerism on its head by investing 100 per cent of its profits into ending global poverty.
To date, Thankyou has raised over $17 million and is well on its way to helping a million people in need across 22 countries.
But Mr Flynn said things had not been handed to him on a platter.
Thankyou had to jump many hurdles before the official launch of Thankyou water. After being rejected by the major supermarkets, the team launched a viral YouTube campaign targeting 7/11, asking people to make videos telling the convenience store they would buy Thankyou if 7/11 stocked it.
“When our product launched at 7/11 on day one we out sold Evian and started raising millions of dollars,” Mr Flynn said.
“We then moved on to making personal care products.
“After five years of the major supermarkets saying no to us, we launched another campaign on YouTube, The Coles and Woolworths campaign. We also flew huge banners behind helicopters across Melbourne asking the supermarkets to stock Thankyou personal care products.
“Five hours after the meeting at Coles and three hours after the meeting with Woolworths they both said yes. The handwash is now the number one selling hand wash in Australia.”
Thankyou then launched their first book, Chapter One, which Mr Flynn said would help fund chapter two - the future - and launch Thankyou products globally.
The book was sold with a “pay what you want price” with the lowest price paid being five cents, and the highest price being $50,000.
Ten years on, after working with consultants, Thankyou finally had a plan to launch its products globally - and then the pandemic hit.
Mr Flynn said in a time that could have seen financial ruin for Thankyou, the company pivoted and created a hand sanitizer product which led to the distribution of $10 million in profits to projects during the pandemic.
He said the secret to making any dream come true was getting out of your comfort zone.
“Get out and stay out,” he said.
“There is a circle that represents your comfort zone, and outside that circle is where the magic happens.
“The thing about fear is it robs us of taking remarkable steps. Can I encourage you to choose remarkable?”
