By now we all know the amazing work that the brand Thankyou does. What began as an impossible idea, dreamed up by Daniel Flynn, his best mate Jarryd Burns, and Daniel’s girlfriend (now wife) Justine, is now backed by a passionate team of over 50 and a consumer movement of thousands. They’ve given over $5.8m to fund water, sanitation, food and healthcare programs for over 785,000 people in need.
What you might not know is that whilst the idea of Thankyou started 10 years ago with three mates, Daniel, Justine and Jarryd have not only grown their social enterprise into something amazing, but they’ve grown their own little amazing families at the same time! Jarryd saw his second child, Josie (sister to Jordan), born earlier this year whilst Justine and Daniel are kept busy with their three-year-old son Jedediah whilst they juggle the start-up of Thankyou New Zealand across the Tasman Sea!
To celebrate Father’s Day we chat to Daniel about all things parenting and what’s been happening in the Thankyou hood.
Congratulations on the launch of Thankyou in New Zealand. You’ve spent quite some time based over there leading up to the launch. Did you have Justine and Jed with you or were you doing the big juggle/commute without them?
We’ve been back and forth to New Zealand over the last couple of years and Justine and I just fell in love with the place. We’re the type of people that are either 100% in or out so we moved over as we felt it was the best decision for the family (I don’t love all the travel that keeps me away from them) and for Thankyou.
How do you manage when work takes you away from family?
It’s really important to Justine and I that we maintain a good work-life balance, but when work does take me away, I’ll make sure I keep in touch with Justine and Jed constantly.
I definitely find it hard but things like Facetime are awesome. It might be between meetings or when I’m on the way to the airport, but my goal is to speak them at least once daily. We’re also really proactive about making sure we schedule in family time and holidays so we can enjoy uninterrupted time together.
Jed is three now. How time flies when you’re having fun! What’s been the most rewarding thing about becoming a dad?
The most rewarding thing about becoming a dad is being given the privilege of shaping a little human and championing them to know their own unique fingerprint and leave their mark on the world. I’m probably biased but Jed is the best kid. Sure, it’s a little confronting when he says things like, “Let’s make a deal” at 5am in the morning but I love seeing his personality come out. Just the other day he said, “Mummy, Daddy” and we said, “Yes, Jed” then he said, “I just love you”.
The introduction of the Thankyou baby range and nappies came as no surprise with you and Jarryd having kids! But it’s much more than that. Tell us about where the profits of these items are being spent and who we are helping.
We created our Thankyou baby range to tackle some pretty crazy statistics. Every 103 seconds a mother dies in childbirth (with 99% of these deaths happening in developing nations) and globally 2.7 million babies don’t reach their first month of life because they don’t have access to basic health care. Our Thankyou baby range has just turned two and in that time we’ve funded safe births and healthcare for 94,477 mums and bubs in need including building two new birthing centres in rural Western Nepal.
What’s the thing that surprised you most about being a parent that no one warned you about?
I think what has surprised me the most are the deep questions I’ve been asking of myself. It’s confronting being a parent. Jed has curly hair and everyone was always asking where he got it from. Justine, my beautiful wife, would say it was from me and then follow up with, “Daniel straightens his hair”. My best-kept secret was out! But then one day, I saw Jed pick up the hair straightener and I thought – why have I hidden this one part of me for most of my life? What is this really saying to Jed? So now, Jed and I rock the curls – even though some people think I have a perm! I think this one’s going to take years to recover from.
You ran a recent campaign (which we loved btw!) promising that if Thankyou nappies didn’t get your child through the night you’d send them a box of Huggies. Genius! And Mums loved your nappies so much that only 344 people claimed it and you ended up with 280 boxes of leftover Huggies nappies!
Tell us what you did with these.
We launched our ‘We’ll get you through the night’ campaign to really back the quality of our Thankyou nappies. Our research told us that Aussie parents would recommend Thankyou among the leading brands so we were confident with our offer but to see it all unfold with only 0.08% of customers redeeming a box of Huggies was a really humbling win for the team. But it did leave us with one problem – heaps of Huggies stock left over! So we decided to donate these to St Kilda Mums, and their sister sites Geelong Mums and Eureka Mums, who will sort and distribute the nappies, along with other essential baby items, to local support services. As parents, we spend so much on baby items and equipment that they quickly grow out of – it’s estimated that parents spend $3,000 on nappies and wipes alone. So to be able to pass these onto families who really need them is something we’re really proud to be part of.
Now that Thankyou New Zealand is off and running, what can we expect next from Thankyou?
We’ve had such a positive response from New Zealanders so we’re really looking forward to building on this momentum and continuing to share the Thankyou story with our kiwi mates.
Check out and shop the full thankyou range, including their new look personal care range, at thankyou.co