Daniel Flynn is the co-founder of Thankyou, a social enterprise that exists to help create a world that is free from extreme poverty.
Thankyou has raised over $17 million to its partners around the world to end extreme poverty, and has recently launched a new campaign, No Small Plan.
Through No Small Plan, Thankyou has sent out a partnership invitation to two of the world’s biggest companies – P&G and Unilever, asking if they will partner in making and distributing Thankyou products around the world.
Learn more about Thankyou’s No Small Plan: https://thankyou.co/
Daniel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danielflynn88/
Verbatim from the transcripts — each quote links to the moment.
“Post 4 words, I mean are you, tag P&G, tag Unilever. The hashtag is #thankyoutotheworld.”
“She had a break and her body stopped.”
“It's not easy, I'll be honest. I mean, going to New Zealand, we sat back and we went, flip, we're going for over a decade now and we're nearly at burnout.”
“The world doesn't change until someone imagines it different and then goes all in on that.”
“A good brainstorm, I think, begins with infinite possibility, not, you know, well, if it doesn't work risk, reputation, money, wasted time, investment.”
“We don't do it alone. That would be my message to everyone.”
“How we work at Thankyou is it can't fail.”
How do you approach a big idea without being crushed by fear of failure?
Lead brainstorming with the question 'what if it does work?' rather than starting from risk and downside, since beginning with infinite possibility produces more inspired, effective ideation than starting from fear of reputational or financial risk.
How should leaders balance remote work freedom with team cohesion when returning to a new normal?
Preserve the 'space' for thinking and idea generation gained from remote/distanced work, while also maintaining 'proximity'—frequent connection and unity with the team—since disunity can paralyze a business.
How do you build internal team buy-in for big, ambitious ideas?
Stay connected to the day-to-day front line rather than only operating at a high level, share big ideas incrementally rather than all at once, and consistently link proposed changes back to the organization's unchanging 'true north' so people can see the logic and get on board.
Daniel describes how after over a decade running Thankyou, his wife and co-founder Justine was told by doctors she needed a break or her body would stop; it stopped anyway, leading to three months in bed and a nine-month recovery, prompting their move to New Zealand.
Daniel recounts a CEO of a major competitor telling him that launching gets harder once an idea actually works and is taken seriously by the industry, which Daniel found both a compliment and painful to live through.
Just before the pandemic, Thankyou faced a mini financial crisis when a customer claimed a large sum was owed due to an accounting error that had compounded over time, forcing Daniel and Justine back to their core values while staring down the company's worst financial year.
When pandemic demand caused sales to spike, Thankyou's supply chain fell apart and production dropped to 50% of normal; the team found new suppliers and countries, compressing six-month processes into days through what Daniel calls measured risk-taking.
Drawn from the episode transcripts.
After more than a decade building Thankyou, they were nearing burnout; doctors told Justine her body would stop if she didn't rest, and she ended up needing three months in bed followed by a nine-month recovery, prompting an 18-month relocation to New Zealand to rest and rethink the business.
From episode 881→Mentioned on 1 episode Danielwasn’t on.
Every episode featuring Daniel Flynn on The Daily Talk Show.
