“What I think is really special about the US is the way the US encourages business and then is not shy of failure.   Probably the latter being more important than the former.” – Tom Szaky, Founder and CEO, TerraCycle

KissMyCountry continues Part 2 of our interview with Tom Szaky, following Part 1 posted earlier this week.  Today we hear Tom talk about his positive views of America as a place for entrepreneurs to succeed, his connections to other countries, and the places he loves.  Enjoy!

Lexy:  You’re originally from Hungary.  Eastern Europe and the former Soviet republics often call on successful émigrés for advice and sometimes even political appointments.  Any phone calls or emails from the Hungarian government?  Have they recognized you or reached out in any way?  What about Canada? 

Tom:  No, not yet.  In time I’m sure it will happen, you never know, but not yet.  But there has been recognition.  Let’s see, last year I won the Hungarian–American of the Year award.  That’s happened.  We have offices in Canada and all these countries and we are there in some capacity with people and there are local jobs and all that.  People understand and just want more of the programming and that’s what we try to focus on and bring out as many additional options as possible.  Keep checking in and hopefully it will keep coming.

Mr. K: You’ve been very positive about America, especially when it comes to business.  The business world is globalizing.  In your opinion, is America still a land of opportunity when opportunity seems to be moving to other parts of the globe?   What does America offer to entrepreneurs in a global business environment? 

Tom:  Oh, by far.  By far there’s not even a close second still.  There may be down the line.  What I think is really special about the US is the way the US encourages business and then is not shy of failure.   Probably the latter being more important than the former.  There’s a good book out there, something about the Immigrant Entrepreneur I think is what it’s called, and it talks about how in foreign countries the rate of entrepreneurship is very low.  For example in Germany if you open a business and fail you can’t open another one.  You’re barred.  To fail here is no big deal, it’s not a big deal to have failed and gone on and started something else.   I don’t think anyone would look down at that.  One of the reasons TerraCycle has been able to go global so fast is because of leveraging the multinationals, and the fact that they’re global makes it incredibly easy for us to open globally as well.  So there’s this irony of globalization having actually helped us grow in a very, very big way.  But really if you look at it the real virtue of the United States is its ability to support business in every way, from how incorporations are done, to how money is raised, the culture of it.  That’s the key is the American culture is all about, it almost defines itself in a way by the ability to live the American dream which I think is to start a business and become really rich.  That’s one way to look at it, and that probably may be the more stereotypical way.

Mr. K: At KissMyCountry we talk about the places we love.  Tom, you’re from Hungary and Canada, and your company is in New Jersey.  That’s a lot of places to be connected to.  What are some of your favorite places?  Where do you love?

Tom:  That’s a great question.  One of my favorite places is Holland.  It’s one of my favorite countries in the whole world.  From the little subtleties – like for example there’s a bike road beside every main road, it’s built like a normal road, things like that.   The people there are unbelievable.  So I think first Holland would be up there and then Brazil is something that’s become amazing recently.  We’ve been very blessed by having an office there and moreover being able to spend more time there.

Mr. K:  Is there a place you’ve been that surprised you in any way – good or bad?  Why?

Tom:  I’ll actually hold on the bad.  There has been bad but I don’t want to knock a country negatively.  The good is really in developing countries we were incredibly surprised by how much more the people are into business.  We thought it would be very difficult to get going and the whole thing, and it was amazing.  So Brazil was a great case study and we were actually encouraged in Brazil because we thought it would be a much harder road to climb and there are obviously bigger issues than saving a wrapper and so on.

Lexy: You seem to appreciate urban areas and urban life, and accept things about cities – like graffiti – that most people want to change.   That’s interesting.  What about urban life appeals to you?

Tom:  I think that what really strikes me about especially the American inner city is how it’s all opportunity really.  It can only go up, it’s very hard for it to go down and it’s just an amazing opportunity for business.  And what I love is when you can do something – this is what makes it even more compelling – because when you can do something and make total financial sense, even almost more than normal, but then still do the right thing – help society, help the environment, then it’s the ultimate and you can’t lose.  And I love that that opportunity exists right here in Trenton, which is an hour away from New York City, an hour away from Philadelphia.  It’s not even in the middle of the country, in some random city.  It’s right here.

Lexy:  TerraCycle is in Trenton, New Jersey and you’ve lived and worked in New Jersey for a number of years.  Do you have some favorite places in New Jersey?  What about Trenton?  Any suggestions for someone visiting or passing through?

Tom:  In Trenton one of the things to always do is pizza and there’s a little joint famous for its pizza.   It’s called De Lorenzo’s and it’s really world famous.  I’ve tried pizza all over and if you’re in Trenton you have to treat yourself.  You have to try De Lorenzo’s.  I’d stick with pizza in Trenton.

Lexy:  Tom, thank you very much.  It’s exciting for us to have had the chance to talk with you, and we’re hoping to stay in touch with you. 

Tom: Very, very nice to meet you and nice to talk to you guys.