Wednesday, Apr. 9 2008

Young Guns: Go Behind the Scenes With America's Young Entrepreneurs

FOXBUSINESS.COM PROFILES ENTREPRENEURS AGE 35 AND YOUNGER

Meet Tom Szaky, the 26-year-old founder of Terracycle, whose company's products and packaging are made entirely from waste. From turning down $1 million in seed capital to getting sued by MiracleGro, this fledgling fertilizer firm, which started in 2001, is already making its mark in the business world.

To go inside Terracycle, watch the video and scroll down to check out the Young Guns Six Shooter.

YOUNG GUNS

THE SIX SHOOTER

1. Where were you the moment you came up with your business plan?
I was in a basement among hydroponic plants looking at what worm poop can do.

2. What was the one thing you didn’t know that you had to bluff your way through?
Oh, I didn’t know so much. So pretty much I have been bluffing my whole way through. I guess being 20 [when he founded Terracycle] I never really built a business before, so when I raised money I just went at it and tried to figure it out as I went. You know, selling to big retailers like Wal-Mart, Home Depot or Target, I mean you just sort of wing it and you learn it and then you know what to do.

3. What is one life lesson have you learned that has helped you build this company?
I think that there is nothing you can’t do if you’re willing to try and work hard. I mean, you’re going to fail, no question. But if you’re willing to learn from that and just work from that, pretty much everything is possible.

4. Who is your role model or inspiration?
My inspirations are the people in America--the business people who came from absolutely nothing and built huge businesses. And they’re all around--that’s who really inspired me, who showed me that it was possible.

5. What do you wish you had more of: time or money?
I think that time is the most important thing because you can always get money--that’s something I’ve learned by now. You can raise money, you can find it. Time is the most important thing because if I had time I could do way more.

6. What is the one word your employees would use to describe you and why?
I think the people around me would describe me as thinking outside the box. Just because there is not a problem that we’ve looked at that we can’t solve, and that’s just what we’re about.

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