Young Change Makers: How Collin Flynn of UniMovers Is Helping To Make A Difference In Our World
An Interview With Sonia Molodecky
I believe that businesses have a role to play in society beyond profits. That’s why we only help start moving companies with owners who have an initiative they truly care about, owners who dedicate a portion of their revenue to a local initiative or nonprofit, as well as to our scholarship fund. As business owners and community leaders, we have the opportunity to make a real difference. Our organization strives to take advantage of that opportunity.
As part of our series about young people who are making an important social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Collin Flynn.
Collin is the 23-year-old founder of UniMovers, a tech company that helps community leaders and entrepreneurs start their own moving companies. It all started when his friend mentioned that opening a moving company could be a good way to make some extra money during college. Collin went on to open his own moving company and wanted to make it easy for others to do the same. Now, UniMovers operates in 13 different locations across the nation while donating a portion of every move both to its scholarship fund for working students and to a local non-profit. Aside from being a young entrepreneur, Collin is also a hitchhiker, triathlete, and dog dad to his german shepherd, Maya.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us about how you grew up?
I grew up in Racine, WI as a part of a big family full of entrepreneurs and social leaders. My mother is a special education teacher and my dad is a small business owner. Even though it was my parents that raised me, I think it was my extended family, my community, and my teachers that made me into who I am today.
For middle and high school, I went to a small public school, named Walden. Walden was more of a community than a school. It was a haven for diversity and inclusion with messages like “march to the beat of a different drummer” written on the walls of our hallway. The sense of community stretched beyond the classroom and poured into the city — something I think every school and organization should strive to do the same.
After graduating from Walden, I moved to Cedar Rapids, IA where I attended Coe to pursue a degree in physics. Although I had fantastic opportunities, doing research all four years with the physics department and getting an internship with NASA, I wasn’t satisfying my entrepreneurial urges. When I graduated from Coe, I found myself faced with the decision to either pursue graduate school, work in industry, or take a gap year. I opted for the gap year. I spent my year off working to build the moving company I had started my junior year, taking breaks to backpack through Europe, hitchhike across the country, and visit friends around the world. I had every intention of going back to school, but I found my work as an entrepreneur to be too exciting and fulfilling to stop.
Is there a particular book or organization that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I’ve found a few books to be quite influential on me and my organization, one, in particular, is Bring Your Human to Work by Erica Keswin. I read her book at a time when we had not firmly established who we were as a company. Although it affirmed a lot of the ways I felt a business should be run, it forced me to consciously think about the role my business could play in society, and the positive influence I could have on the community. The biggest insight I gained from her book was that we, as a company, need to deliberately think about how we utilize technology. That we should use tech not to just make day-to-day tasks easier, but to use it to build more opportunities for human interaction. Since reading her book, we’ve made it one of our core values to “Stay Human.”
You are currently leading an organization that is helping to make a positive social impact. Can you tell us a little about what you and your organization are trying to create in our world today?
There’s no question that contract labor is going to put a dent in small businesses. We saw it with Uber, which disrupted the taxi industry, putting tons of small companies out of business. What we are trying to do is to enable people to utilize the savings that the gig economy allows, but still keep business small, local, and human.
At UniMovers, we recognized the effect that technology is going to have on small companies in the future, and instead of using tech to undercut small companies, we utilize it to help local entrepreneurs and community leaders start their own high-quality moving company for under $1000. We aim to keep start-up costs low because we want to be able to offer the opportunity to anyone with an entrepreneurial drive and a desire for social impact. It’s really been a balance for us because we want to get ahead of the competition in different markets, but finding the right people, people who really care about their community takes time.
I believe that businesses have a role to play in society beyond profits. That’s why we only help start moving companies with owners who have an initiative they truly care about, owners who dedicate a portion of their revenue to a local initiative or nonprofit, as well as to our scholarship fund. As business owners and community leaders, we have the opportunity to make a real difference. Our organization strives to take advantage of that opportunity.
Can you tell us the backstory about what originally inspired you to feel passionate about this cause and to do something about it?
Coming from a family full of entrepreneurs, I grew up appreciating the sense of community that local small businesses bring. My Aunt Chris and Uncle Mark are my real inspiration when it comes to building community. I swear if you asked anyone in downtown Racine if they knew Mark and Chris, they would know, and they’d be sure to comment on how great Chris’ hugs are, about one of the community gardens she helped put together, or mention that Mark taught them to brew their very first beer. Mark and Chris are small business owners who are active in their community, are avid volunteers, and are people who truly care about their community. So when I saw online shopping, big business, and tech companies undercutting small businesses, businesses that could be run by community leaders just like Mark and Chris, I knew I wanted to do something about it.
Our scholarship fund is a little bit closer to home. When I started UniMovers out of my dorm room, I was in school and working other jobs. Even though I had worked multiple jobs throughout school, by the time I graduated, I still left with 5-figure debt. I wanted to do something to offset the financial burden students like myself face. So in 2019, we scraped together $378 for our first scholarship. In 2020, we had almost 8 times the impact, giving away three $1000 scholarships to working students!
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
Oh man, when we were first starting, I was working most of the moves that were coming in. Let’s just say, you meet a lot of interesting people as a mover! It’s probably best not to go into too much detail.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
One of the first people we helped get started as a business owner was Nathan. Nathan had just graduated from UNCW when he asked if we could help him open his own moving company in Raleigh, NC. My business partner, Danny, and I were excited about this for two reasons. We knew that Raleigh would be the perfect location for a new moving company, and having worked with Nathan previously, knew he was a great candidate. Having this opportunity has given Nathan the tools to grow as a person, a business owner, and a community leader. And the impact goes beyond Nathan.
Nathan is passionate about education, especially providing educational opportunities to those who don’t necessarily have easy access to it. So this year, in addition to having a portion of his revenue donated to our scholarship fund, Nathan is donating a portion of his revenue to a non-profit local to Raleigh, 10Eighteen, an organization that provides educational opportunities and safe housing for teen moms in Uganda.
How do you define “Making A Difference”? Can you explain what you mean or give an example?
Making a difference means leaving a lasting impact. When we impact an individual, it’s not just the individual that is affected. It trickles down. With Nathan, we provided a business opportunity. Through his business, Nathan provides high-paying jobs and leadership opportunities to college [or Uni] students in the Raleigh community. His company then gives back to a local non-profit and our scholarship fund. When we make a difference, it goes beyond the individual.
Many young people would not know what steps to take to start to create the change they want to see. But you did. What are some of the steps you took to get your project started? Can you share the top 5 things you need to know to become a change-maker? Please tell us a story or example for each.
- Do What You Love
It’s tacky, but it’s true. If you don’t love what you’re doing, or the cause you’re backing, your heart will never truly be in it. Identify what you’re passionate about, and go from there.
2. Love The One(s) You’re With
Stephen Stills said it best, love the one your with! When you’re building an organization, make sure you surround yourself with a diverse team of people who are passionate about your cause. Get to know and love them, after all, your change starts with your team, and your team represents your impact. The team you build is crucial to your overall happiness and success.
3. Expect Hiccups
The road to change is tough, and no great change came without opposition. Expect hiccups, but don’t get discouraged. Remind yourself why you started on the journey to change and what made you passionate about the cause in the first place. Most people don’t like change, even if it’s positive, expect resistance.
4. Continually Learn
The world today is constantly changing and we need to learn to adapt with it. The best thing you can do to stay with the times is to continually learn. Learning leads to a better understanding of the world and the people in it. Make it a point to listen in conversations and be open to new and different ideas.
5. Have Fun
Within my first year as an all-in entrepreneur, I suffered burnout. Bad. I worked 70 hours a week, I didn’t set strict times to stop working, and it hindered my work-life balance. I. Was. Miserable. Make sure you always take time for yourself. Have fun, take a break, and enjoy life a little bit!
What are the values that drive your work?
Our core values have been our guide and I would highly recommend, to any organization, to identify your core values. Our core values are: Stay Human, Uplift the Community, Be Transparent, Grow Together, and Have Fun!
Many people struggle to find what their purpose is and how to stay true to what they believe in. What are some tools or daily practices that have helped you to stay grounded and centered in who you are, your purpose, and focused on achieving your vision?
Deciding on our core values was pivotal. Any time we start a meeting, we start with our core values. Anytime we make a decision, we look back to our core values as a guide. In addition to this, I think it’s important to make a commitment in line with your vision early on. When we first started, we didn’t have a lot of money to donate to a scholarship fund, but it was something that I knew was important. So, we made the commitment early on by donating a portion of our revenue to our scholarship fund. Now as our revenue grows, our commitment to the scholarship stays the same. I think it would be much harder to donate thousands of dollars now, versus when we had our first scholarship of just $378.
It is also important to stay away from bad goals. One goal we had early on was to be in every major metropolitan area in the country within five years. We thought this was a good goal until we started to grow too fast. Wanting to maintain quality, we decided to pump the brakes, slow our expansion, and get rid of that “bad goal.” Goals that counter your vision are bad goals.
In my work, I aim to challenge us all right now to take back our human story and co-create a vision for a world that works for all. I believe youth should have agency over their own future. Can you please share your vision for a world you want to see? I’d love to have you describe what it looks like and feels like. As you know, the more we can imagine it, the better we can manifest it!
I dream of a world where anyone that wants to receive a quality education should be able to, without having tens of thousands of dollars of debt. A world where anyone can become an entrepreneur while pushing their social impact. And a world where businesses come together to uplift the community and other small businesses. It will take a lot of work to get here, but with open-source technology, local non-profits, and organizations focused on free education, I think we’re en route to getting there. Whatever it takes, you can bet we’ll be doing everything in our power to get us there just a little bit quicker.
I see a world driven by the power of love, not fear. Where human beings treat each other with humanity. Where compassion, kindness and generosity of spirit are characteristics we teach in schools and strive to embody in all we do. What changes would you like to see in the educational system? Can you explain or give an example?
I’m really glad you asked this because this is something that has been bothering me for a long time… Schools should be more involved in the community! Universities, colleges, and schools have this fantastic opportunity to become a part of their community, and too often they squander it. I want to see art teachers working with students to beautify their environment. I want to see government teachers teaching their students how to invoke real change in their local government. I want to see a community within and outside of schools. Even things like a school-sponsored community garden, or a neighborhood mural can make a big difference.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
It feels good! Try it, what do you have to lose?
Is there a person in the world with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
You caught me halfway through reading his book, “A Promised Land” so I’ll have to say Barack Obama. His road to the presidency was paved with grassroots organizing, something he started doing long before the presidency. I would love to ask him about his organizing years both while campaigning and prior to. I’d ask how he was able to bring together such a diverse community of adults, students, and activists, and how he mobilized those people to get behind his cause especially because of how quickly and on such a large scale he managed to do it.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Check us out at UniMovers.com, and give us a follow on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Instagram!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
