Interview with Tom Szaky,
CEO of TerraCycle
Photo and products © of TerraCycle Inc.
The following is an interview with the CEO of TerraCycle, a company that uses recycled bottles and all natural ingredients in their plant feed:
Q: What inspired you to create TerraCycle?
A: Fall break, freshman year, four of us got in a car and drove from Princeton to Montreal to visit some friends. A couple of months ago my friends in Montreal had started growing tomato plants in their basement, but they were failing because they were just being fed chemical fertilizer. However, by the time I got to Montreal they were doing fantastically well because my friend had started feeding them worm poop. What lit the light bulb for me was that he made the worm poop by feeding waste (for which you can get paid) to worms, who pooped out worm poop which made a fantastic fertilizer. That was the day TerraCycle was born.
Q: What was it like building your organization from the ground up?
A: Building an organization from the ground up is both extremely difficult and extremely rewarding. It’s amazing to be your own boss and work on something you are so passionate about. At the same time, it is hard work because there is so much to worry about, especially for someone so young who really had no experience in this field.
Q: Were there any major obstacles that made you feel like giving up?
A: We have always made lots of mistakes, and I think will continue to make them. The key thing is learning from your mistake, realize what works, and what doesn't and to not do them again. In a sense you can't fall in love with every idea and retain flexibility around it. At the beginning age was an issue, people didn't take a Princeton drop out wanting to corner the market on worm poop seriously – go figure!? However, as we have matured that has become a non-issue. I think the biggest lesson I learnt is that having an idea is great, however building a successful company is all work and lots of it, and you have to be willing to go above and beyond every day to make your dream come true. I wouldn’t say that I ever felt like giving up though.
Q: What advice can you give to others who are trying to do the same?
A: For me discouragement is gold. It is fuel to go prove them wrong. Seriously though, critical advice, advice that states why you should never work on your idea and why it is crazy is the best advice because it will show you all of the holes in your concept. Positive feedback is great for the ego, but it doesn't help make your idea any more refined and less risky. I would go and seek out those who don't think your idea is good and find out why. Then make sure you have those questions answered.
Q: Were your parents supportive of you, especially when you dropped out of Princeton?
A: While my parents weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of me dropping out of school, they have always been supportive of me. Even in high school I was involved in creating some businesses so they knew that this was something I was serious about.
Q: Can you explain the process of creating your TerraCycle Plant Food?
A: Creating our All-Purpose plant food is pretty simple. What we do is mix solid worm poop with water. We brew it for about 24 hours until it becomes a worm “tea”. This tea is our All-Purpose product.
Q: What do you believe is the best way to get the word out about environmental issues?
A: I am by no means an environmentalist but I think the best way to spread the word about an issue is through action. If you see a problem and want to fix it, you need to start by doing what you can to fix it and hopefully others will notice. We are a very eco-friendly business and by doing what we are doing, hopefully we will raise awareness and get other large companies to change their ways.
Q: What do you think the world’s biggest environmental threat is, and how can we combat it?
A: I think climate change is the biggest threat. There are obviously tons of people out there telling us how to combat it but if we all do our part, I think that is the best we can hope for.
Q: If there was one thing you would tell people to change in their daily routines to help the environment, what would it be?
A: I think the little things matter. Turn out the lights when you leave a room, conserve water at home, recycle, etc. Driving hybrid cars is nice but if everyone paid attention to the little things, it could make a big difference.
CEO of TerraCycle
Photo and products © of TerraCycle Inc.
Q: What inspired you to create TerraCycle?
A: Fall break, freshman year, four of us got in a car and drove from Princeton to Montreal to visit some friends. A couple of months ago my friends in Montreal had started growing tomato plants in their basement, but they were failing because they were just being fed chemical fertilizer. However, by the time I got to Montreal they were doing fantastically well because my friend had started feeding them worm poop. What lit the light bulb for me was that he made the worm poop by feeding waste (for which you can get paid) to worms, who pooped out worm poop which made a fantastic fertilizer. That was the day TerraCycle was born.
Q: What was it like building your organization from the ground up?
A: Building an organization from the ground up is both extremely difficult and extremely rewarding. It’s amazing to be your own boss and work on something you are so passionate about. At the same time, it is hard work because there is so much to worry about, especially for someone so young who really had no experience in this field.
Q: Were there any major obstacles that made you feel like giving up?
A: We have always made lots of mistakes, and I think will continue to make them. The key thing is learning from your mistake, realize what works, and what doesn't and to not do them again. In a sense you can't fall in love with every idea and retain flexibility around it. At the beginning age was an issue, people didn't take a Princeton drop out wanting to corner the market on worm poop seriously – go figure!? However, as we have matured that has become a non-issue. I think the biggest lesson I learnt is that having an idea is great, however building a successful company is all work and lots of it, and you have to be willing to go above and beyond every day to make your dream come true. I wouldn’t say that I ever felt like giving up though.
Q: What advice can you give to others who are trying to do the same?
A: For me discouragement is gold. It is fuel to go prove them wrong. Seriously though, critical advice, advice that states why you should never work on your idea and why it is crazy is the best advice because it will show you all of the holes in your concept. Positive feedback is great for the ego, but it doesn't help make your idea any more refined and less risky. I would go and seek out those who don't think your idea is good and find out why. Then make sure you have those questions answered.
Q: Were your parents supportive of you, especially when you dropped out of Princeton?
A: While my parents weren’t exactly thrilled with the idea of me dropping out of school, they have always been supportive of me. Even in high school I was involved in creating some businesses so they knew that this was something I was serious about.
Q: Can you explain the process of creating your TerraCycle Plant Food?
A: Creating our All-Purpose plant food is pretty simple. What we do is mix solid worm poop with water. We brew it for about 24 hours until it becomes a worm “tea”. This tea is our All-Purpose product.
Q: What do you believe is the best way to get the word out about environmental issues?
A: I am by no means an environmentalist but I think the best way to spread the word about an issue is through action. If you see a problem and want to fix it, you need to start by doing what you can to fix it and hopefully others will notice. We are a very eco-friendly business and by doing what we are doing, hopefully we will raise awareness and get other large companies to change their ways.
Q: What do you think the world’s biggest environmental threat is, and how can we combat it?
A: I think climate change is the biggest threat. There are obviously tons of people out there telling us how to combat it but if we all do our part, I think that is the best we can hope for.
Q: If there was one thing you would tell people to change in their daily routines to help the environment, what would it be?
A: I think the little things matter. Turn out the lights when you leave a room, conserve water at home, recycle, etc. Driving hybrid cars is nice but if everyone paid attention to the little things, it could make a big difference.