They made one small change though.
Not satisfied with raising a mere million they thought let's try to raise $30 million over five years to fund frontline conservation projects.
People and businesses saw the merit of the idea and pitched in to help.
Their hard work culminated with the launch of the Endangered Species Foundation in Wellington this week.
"It was terribly exciting," Mr Thorsen said from his Napier home.
Growing up on a Te Awamutu dairy farm gave him a good grounding in conservation.
As a young lad, he used to collect bird eggs with his brother and even remembers making an omelette out of a blackbird egg.
When he became a father he shared his love for the outdoors with his sons.
There were many days spent down at the beach, at Lake Taupo or catching fish.
Mr Thorsen said it was special working on such a momentous project alongside his son.
There are more than 4000 species currently endangered in New Zealand, and just 250 of them were in conservation programmes, Foundation chairwoman Kerry Prendergast said at the launch this week.
New Zealand has thousands of native species that are in real danger of extinction.
"There's a great need for this organisation, if New Zealand is to protect its most vulnerable indigenous species and habitats from extinction," Mrs Prendergast said.
"It's not just the pretty ones that need protecting.
"The Endangered Species Foundation is committed to focusing support where it's most urgent, rather than on what has the most public appeal."
The foundation released a list of the 10 most endangered species in New Zealand, topped by the Maui's dolphin.
The foundation had already received more than $1 million in donations but there was still a way to go to reach $30 million, Mr Thorsen said.
The group is about to start fundraising assisted by a network of ambassadors across the country.
Mr Thorsen hoped to find an ambassador in Hawke's Bay to help raise the profile of the foundation and in turn help raise money.
It has a part-time support officer which ensures nearly all money raised goes directly to conservation projects.
Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said this week the initiative gave her heart for the future of conservation.
"It gives me hope for the future when we focus our attention on plants and animals, especially those that are the most critically endangered, and, along with DoC, we all combine our efforts and our talents to turn around the tide of threatened extinctions."
