David King

Sticky Lollies
 https://sticky.com.au/

David was born and raised in Sydney’s Inner West, one of two kids to a single mother. He went off the rails a bit after his father died, lost his scholarship to Newington College, went to Balmain High, discovered life, but did poorly in his HSC. David worked in various jobs for a few years, in advertising mainly, and travelled every chance he got. At 23, when David returned from 6 months in India, he was at a bit of a loss, so took a mature age university entry course, did well, and was offered a chance to study Law.

David graduated from an undergraduate Law and Arts degree at UNSW in 1998, whereupon he began practising as a solicitor with Freehills, a large commercial law firm in Sydney. After four years as a practising solicitor, and with a vision of owning and building a business of his own, he came across someone making hand-made, artisanal candy in a unique theatrical retail setting. David fell in love with the process and presentation but was convinced he could do it better and smarter. David borrowed some money, lied about money he didn’t really have, and Sticky was born, operating out of the Rocks in Sydney

Since then, his spent the last 20 years riding the highs, and the lows, of SME business ownership with his wife Rachel, and more recently with their daughter Annabelle.

All Sessions by David King

  • 12 May 2023


  • 12:00  - 12:45
    Located at Sydney’s The Rocks, Sticky Lollies is an iconic family business whose candy creations have entertained many tourists stepping off cruise ships to see what Sydney has to offer over the years. But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they found themselves in a sticky situation. Owners David and Rachel were faced with many difficult decisions due to dwindling sales - their solution was not your obvious pivot. As they no longer had crowds to entertain, it was time to take their talent to social media. The couple’s 17-year-old daughter Annabelle looked to one of the most used social media platforms (TikTok) to increase sales. While this idea led to some initial confusion amongst the team, the business has never looked back. In this session, we will hear from David, Rachel and Annabelle about how the two generations communicated during the crisis and, as exciting as the sales results were, what new challenges they brought with them. They’ll also discuss how they manage dinner table conversations when Annabelle’s sister is not involved in the company and how their business model has changed because of their pandemic pivot. Hosted by Partner and National Head of Family Business Consulting at Grant Thornton Australia, Kirsten Taylor-Martin, the panel will explore how David and Rachel embraced social media and how they will approach future new ideas. What has Annabelle learnt from her idea being adopted and how will she pitch ideas differently in the future? How can family members learn and be inspired by the younger generation? The audience will also be entertained with some of Sticky’s TikToks that have taken the world by storm. Facilitated by Kirsten Taylor-Martin, Client Director at Grant Thornton
    Plenary Session




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David King