Reading and learning about TerraCycle and Tom Szaky, its founder is fascinating for me. I think TerraCycle is a prototype, a lab, a demonstration, a proof of the way a profitable sustainable business can be built on recycling what some people consider… trash. TerraCycle’s story is a proof that what is trash to me is gold to someone else. It is all a matter of point of view, of thinking outside the box. Tom is an amazing guy. TerraCycle is based in Trenton NJ. No need to fly to California to see what the future looks like. Read on.
TerraCycle’s Tom Szaky, A Green Entrepreneur
What does an Ivy League drop-out, some slimy associates and innovation have in common? How about a truly unique idea that combines a pure act of nature to help Mother Nature and the planet too? Meet Tom Szaky, CEO and Founder of TerraCycle. Tom has managed to do what hippies and amateur ‘green-thumbers’ have been doing for decades-that is, literally use the poop from worms who feed on organic waste to create an incredibly nutrient rich plant food-literally made from waste (poop) and packaged in waste (used soda bottles).
VILLAGE: Before TerraCycle, you had 7 start-ups under your belt. You started your first business at 14; when most kids got allowance, you pulled in a five figure income. Where do you get your gumption?
TOM: With little to lose, little risk, it’s easier to go out on a limb. What drives me is how big can I literally make an idea? Business allows you the power to make change and for me, it’s so exciting to be a part of that change. To watch it happen and know I was a part of it.
VILLAGE: I bet the way you work makes you look at things quite differently than the average person. How has TerraCycle changed your viewpoint on the world?
TOM: I definitely had to change my view and really reconsider the way we view garbage. I mean really, garbage is a manmade idea. It’s a byproduct of the dawn of consumer goods. Every other ecological system out there has a closed loop on how they deal with waste. Humans don’t. I definitely do not see garbage as garbage any more-it’s just raw materials. I look at landfills as a poorly managed pile of raw materials.
VILLAGE: How did a little company in Trenton, NJ break into big box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot? That had to be some type of hard sell.
TOM: You have no Idea how hard it was. For six months I called Home Depot and Wal*Mart buyers every hour on the hour. Stalked them-even called from different phones so they wouldn’t know from caller ID! After literary hundreds of messages I actually got a call back. After that, it still took months to get a meeting. We lucked out at that point because both companies were trying to become “greener” and sell sustainable products right around the time I started to pitch to them. Now, it’s hard to believe but we meet with them (Wal*Mart) for 2 days every 2 weeks! They like the way we look at products so we can get meetings really fast with 15 different departments at most retailers.
VILLAGE: Talk to us about your packaging idea of old soda bottles-did that stem from economics or eco-logics?
TOM: It’s entirely economic. We got our early financing from winning business plan contests. In April of 2003, we had $500 in our account. The only way we could package anything was from trash. We thought it would be a temporary solution. We won a competition for our business plan for $1 million dollars, but they were insistent we move away from what we were doing. We turned them down, stuck to our mission and now we know that how we started became a foundation for what we are doing. We get our bottles from school kids in a nationwide program, the Bottle Brigade™ campaign. The end result is not only a product which rides the wave of environmental concern, but the also provides living proof that business doesn’t always have to be conducted in an earth-scorching, cut-throat manner.
VILLAGE: Not only is your business model unique, but your factory is in an Urban Enterprise Zone, decorated in graffiti and filled with an atypical work force. Can you shed some light on that for us?
TOM: Quite honestly, the building here is insanely cheap. Labor is accessible, affordable and we can give someone a break who needs one. Eco-capitalism can work and it makes good economic and business sense.
VILLAGE: So many entrepreneurs drop out of school to pursue their passion. What advice would you give to our fledgling business savvy folks out there?
TOM: I dropped out my sophomore year to build a company that could prove to the world that eco-capitalism can be successful. As a behavioral econ major, I saw a major opportunity to create a usable fertilizer out of table scraps and garden clippings. I realized, hey I could make this consumer based product out of garbage. Restaurants needed to get rid of food, worms work hard for free-it all made sense.
While yes, it’s good to get an education–but you need to look closely and see what your risks are and weigh them against waiting or delaying the process. What’s the downside of doing your own thing and what will you lose. Again, when you’re in school, you are so young there is not much to lose.
VILLAGE: Life as an entrepreneur is like a roller coaster ride. What do you do for normalcy, or even fun?
TOM: I recently got married and I find having a family and building a family is the only thing that stops me from working. It’s the easiest way for me to step outside of work, shut down and enjoy life. My wife is in Korea now and while she’s away, I eat and sleep work-that will change when she’s here.
VILLAGE: Thanks Tom. Coming Soon: Some Exciting New Reward Opportunities with RecycleBank and TerraCycle!
Source: The RecycleBank’s electronic newsletter: “The Village Green”
