Terracycle (A): Building a venture with spineless employees
In 2001 Tom Szaky, a Princeton freshman, founded TerraCycle with the hope of creating perfect eco-capitalism. His idea was a company built on waste – worm waste to be exact. To help fund his fledgling company, Tom entered and won several business plan contests – though he turned down his biggest prize of US$1million because it came with strings attached that conflicted with his aspirations for the firm. Eventually, Tom dropped out of Princeton to pursue his dream of eliminating waste and the company expanded into upcycling – making products from waste that would otherwise have been sent to landfills. Eventually, the company moved into sponsored waste, whereby companies would pay it to set up collection sites, or brigades as TerraCycle called them, for used packaging associated with their brands. TerraCycle would take challenging-to-recycle packaging and turn it into affordable, high-quality products. Ten years later, TerraCycle’s eco-friendly products had received numerous environmental accolades, partnerships with multinationals such as Kraft, SmithKline Beecham and L’Oréal, and the company’s upcycled products were sold at major retailers from Home Depot to Walmart. But profits continued to elude the company, and Tom found himself at a crossroads.
Each case in the five-part series addresses a key managerial issue at a crucial point in the company’s evolution. The series provides an excellent illustration of the transformation process entrepreneurs go through to ensure their company not only survives but also thrives during each phase of its development. The case series lends itself perfectly to active participation by students. The first three cases demonstrate all five principles of effectuation through the decisions as well as some of the successes and some of the mistakes Tom and his team made. Each case in the series ends at a crucial decision point that will push participants to think hard about: 1) the role of resources (investment and non-cash resources) in new venture creation; 2) the tradeoffs of ownership and control; 3) Building partnerships with consumers, multinationals and government; 4) the importance of the role of management as ventures evolve; 5) effectual partnership and contingency. This case series is ideal for a four-hour session (or two 120-minute sessions or three 90-minute sessions). There is also a compiled version of the case, which works well in a single 90 minute teaching session.
TerraCycle, Utilities, Recycling
2001-2011
Cranfield University
Wharley End Beds MK43 0JR, UK
Tel +44 (0)1234 750903
Email [email protected]
Harvard Business School Publishing
60 Harvard Way, Boston MA 02163, USA
Tel (800) 545-7685 Tel (617)-783-7600
Fax (617) 783-7666
Email [email protected]
NUCB Business School
1-3-1 Nishiki Naka
Nagoya Aichi, Japan 460-0003
Tel +81 52 20 38 111
Email [email protected]
IMD retains all proprietary interests in its case studies and notes. Without prior written permission, IMD cases and notes may not be reproduced, used, translated, included in books or other publications, distributed in any form or by any means, stored in a database or in other retrieval systems. For additional copyright information related to case studies, please contact Case Services.
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
The case study delves into strategic transformation and leadership transitions at Unilever since 2009. Unilever has been an industry leader of busi...
The case study examines recent aviation safety concerns at Boeing, focusing on manufacturing issues, leadership decisions and regulatory oversight....
The case is seen through the eyes of the newly appointed supply chain director at a cosmetics company based in Berlin. The general manager has task...
Few Business to Business (B2B) marketplaces have succeeded. Metalshub has successfully combined a software platform as a service, with a marketplac...
The case focuses on Contabilizei, a Brazilian startup providing online accounting services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The case ...
Companies that modularize and externalize their best capabilities are in a strong position to seize unexpected opportunities. Prediction is hard. T...
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in I by IMD 24 June 2024
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Case reference: IMD-7-2457 ©2024
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Case reference: IMD-7-2546 ©2024
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
in MIT Sloan Management Review Summer 2024, vol. 65, no. 4
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications
Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications