You can read the full article on TerraCycle which is billed as one of the coolest startups in USA.
To me it illustrates how lead entrepreneurs manage to create buzz , inspire people and run operations on a shoestring. At Terracycle the lead entrepreneur is 23 and has managed to surround himself with talented individuals where no one is paid more than $30,000 a year but have options. He now has 11% of the company.
At one point he gave away 1% of the company for $2000. Terracycle does not buy furniture/computer equipment etc. and their office is in a dangerous neighbourhood.
I am not sure what exact lessons can be learned from this but it is inspiring to read.
On another note. India could lay claim to being the garbage capital of the world ( lots of garbage available). Worms should not be a problem and soda /mineral water bottles are a lot. Would Terracycle’s model of making vermicompost tea work in India?
A couple of issues could be. Is there enough consumer demand for “Miracle Gro” type products ? The regulatory process of getting approval to sell maybe a nightmare. Maybe there could be interesting variations that would work in India.
Vermicompost tea anyone ?
- Community Platform For Ward 103 - November 22, 2012
- Municipal Elections New Delhi-16 days for rolls to close - October 15, 2011
- The next Facebook ? - September 17, 2011
Just returned to B’lore after spending 10 yrs in the US, with the dream of joining a startup. But stopped over for a year at Cornell to get an MBA before returning. Perhaps the best decision of my life, as Prof Stuart Hart who teaches Sustainable Enterprise at the Johnson School happend to invite several entrepreneurs and executives like Tom Szachy of Terra Cycle. We got a bottle of the worm poop (the clear liquid) and the youngster is a really inspiring fellow. We had another entrepreneur/technologist from Burlington Chemical who had pioneered biodegrable chemicals/dyes for textiles. Bill Gates, Larry Page etc are one kind of entrepreneurs in the high tech sector, but entrepreneurship can happen in any kind of area/industry/sector. There are ways in which technology can really help to bridge the digital divide. May be thats where some of the NRIs can really help out. Everything from organic foods to rocket design, there are ways where innovation is possible in India especially because we don’t have problems of ‘incumbents’ which most western countries have to deal with.
pitch for myself – looking for startups with open culture, socially conscious founders, etc.
Sanjay – You are right ! (Smiling)
Krishna,
In general with my posts I hope to stimulate thinking. When I moved out of India my world view changed because of the exposure I got. With blogs/internet etc. it is now possible to replicate a large part of that exposure without leaving India.
If 100 people read somehing that I write and 99 reject it but one finds something useful then for me I have made a small difference.
The environment is much more challenging in India but there are advantages too. To me the biggest is proximity to a fast growing domestic market. I also see more young people wanting to be entrepreneurial or join startups.
I
Krishna,
You are right….but how long would we weep and wail and look to the future…we would be set so much back in time.
The need of the hour is both our Angels & Entrepreneurs will have to shed their rigid posturing and meet mid way….and that’s already happening thanks to the drying up of deal flows in late stage ops for PE players – Courtesy ridiculously high valuations demanded by late stage entrepreneurs and the shrinking kitty of PE players owing to thoughtless investments made by them earlier ( they couch it by saying ” we are fully invested ” ).
Post IPO valuations of these portfolio companies have been pathetic – thereby blocking ideas of any quick exit…!
Circa 2000, it happened at Silicon Valley…it’s happening here now….more things change, more they remain the same, ain’t it….?!
Not sure if based on this inspiring story Sanjay is attempting to draw lessons for Indian entrepreneurs. Having seen entrepreneurship both in the US and (now) in India, I think the only model that can be directly applied to India is one of “true” Angel investing. The pressures on young Indian entreprenuers (college graduates, let alone drop outs) are fundamentally different from that on American young (student) entrepreneurs. Parental backing, availability of credit (consumer credit), ability to resume studies at a later date, fall back options (in case the venture doesn’t pan out), “true” angel network, willingness to create value without seeking too much of structure etc etc create an environment that allows youngsters/students to harbor dreams of following Bill Gates/Dell/Szacky. Cut to India where most of these conditions are not true…
I too found Sinha episode quite interesting…one of these days, it would happen in India as well!