Thomas Dufraisse & Eric Amiel – founders of BananaLab; on creating a successful side-business whilst each working for a major corporation.

Human Potential

Thomas Dufraisse & Eric Amiel jointly came up with the concept of BananaLab on their way back to Melbourne after spending the day surfing in Torquay. The two Frenchmen are both very active people who love travelling, the outdoors, trying new things and generally living fun, fulfilling lifestyles.

In this episode of the Human Potential Podcast Thomas & Eric talk with our host, Oliver Freer, about meeting whilst working for large corporations and a shared desire to do something better with their lives. They explain the disruption to the Gift Market in Australia and how they do it; how they have created a new concept in Australia. They discuss what they thought being an entrepreneur would be like and what it really is like!

More about Thomas Dufraisse & Eric Amiel

Thomas Dufraisse & Eric Amiel asked themselves the question “Why not work for ourselves, in an industry that allows us to be happy and to make others happy?”

They agreed that they wanted to find a way to share their passion for trying new things, being active and going on adventures. BananaLab was born.

They both use extreme exercise to stay centred and focussed in a challenging stage of business start-up and a competitive market.

They are just two normal Frenchmen trying to make the difference in Australia. They started with no network and no knowledge, but we were able to build both, they try every day to get better at this!

More info on BananaLab

Eric and Thomas noticed there were no good options to offer fun experiences in Australia; going online to buy someone a $100 voucher and print it on a piece of paper to give them isn’t very “sexy” The same applies to gift cards – having the price written right there on the card is a bit of a gift killer, isn’t it? They wanted to create something that would allow anyone to offer experiences in a creative way. They wanted to preserve that magical moment when you receive a gift and your eyes start sparkling, and a smile lights up your face. This is how they came up with the idea of Multi-Choice Experience Gift Boxes.

As the idea blossomed, they also wanted to create a business that was eco-friendly, supports small businesses and helps people explore the best experiences in their own community. That’s why the experience providers they’ve chosen to partner with are all unique – you won’t find the experiences that they offer through their gift boxes anywhere else.

This concept currently exists in Europe and has transformed the gift market in Europe. The Experience gift boxes in Europe has reached an annual turnover of 1billion euros in 2017. There is currently double-digit growth in the concept in Australia. Apparently 78% of Millennials value experiences over material possessions.

Eric Amiel’s book recommendation

Unlimited Power by Anthony Robbins

Thomas Dufraisse’s book recommendation

Latitude Zero: (40 000 km pour partir a la rencontre du monde) by Mike Horn