Anthony Flynn

Anthony Flynn is the owner and founder of a customized nutrition bar company called YouBar. He is also an author, lecturer and guest speaker on customization in business and the food industry, and an expert in the field of social media promotions.

Early life and education

Prior to founding YouBar, Flynn attended Boston University and the University of Southern California, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. He graduated in 2006, the same year he co-founded YouBar. He worked as a summer associate for Lee and Associates in 2003, then as an executive assistant for Kosmont Companies in 2005. Flynn also worked at a juice bar to learn AbOUT the food industry while developing YouBar.

YouBar

Flynn's mother, Ava Bise, began making nutrition bars in 1998. Flynn himself began making nutrition bars when he was 18 years old. The Two started swapping recipes, and neighbors and friends began requesting custom bars. Just before Flynn graduated from university in 2006, he suggested to his mother that they open a custom energy bar company and supply their recipes and concept to customers on a large scale. They founded YouBar later that year. The business's kitchen made several moves, starting in Flynn and Bise's kitchen and eventually settling in an 8,000 square-foot facility in downtown Los Angeles. YouBar has 30 employees, averages 1,250 visitors per day, and has received four-million pageviews since 2008. In 2008, YouBar sales doubled every month.

Speaking career

Flynn regularly lectures on the customization revolution and the way that customization is changing the food industry. He has lectured at the University of Southern California, the University of California at Berkeley, and UCLA. He has been interviewed by news outlets such as The Cooking Channel, KTLA, ABC, Fox News, The Today Show, E! News, The New York Times, and Women's Health. Flynn also consults for companies that are in the process of incorporating customization into their business plans.

Custom Nation

In 2012 Flynn released Custom Nation, which became a New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller. The book, co-authored by journalist Emily Flynn Vencat, discusses the popularity and implications of customization in American culture.

Vistaprint commercial

Flynn and YouBar were featured as part of Vistaprint's 2011 advertising campaign featuring small business owners who are actual customers. He was selected after answering a standard survey email from Vistaprint about his experiences with the company. Filming for the commercial included a 50-man crew and 14 hours of filming at YouBar's headquarters in August 2011.