Conference Matters 142

Former marketing expert Marius Smit founded Plastic Whale, which focuses on collecting waste from Dutch canals and ports in order to make new circular products. Smit, an Amster dam resident, is a true connector who is con stantly launching new initiatives. You call yourself an ‘impact entrepreneur’. What does this mean for you? “I try to contribute positively to this wonderful world by starting companies and projects, orga nising activities and developing products that set something in motion. Fishing for plastic is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.” What pushed you to start doing this? “The road to it was a personal quest. Marketing and strategy were never really my cup of tea, but I didn’t really know what was my thing until I travel led for a year. While staying at an incredibly beau tiful beach on Borneo, we woke up one morning to The Power of Doing By Evelien Baks

Marius Smit

a shore full of plastic after a tropical storm. Can you imagine how much plastic is floating around if this is what washes up after one storm? Once I was back in Amsterdam, I started seeing plastic floating everywhere, too. I decided to start in my backyard, with its beautiful canals. Until then, I had a life like many people my age: married, children, flat. I always walked around with ideas but didn’t do anything with them because I was simply afraid to fail. At the age of 38, I left the gilded cage.” What was in your business plan? “Awareness of the problem. I’m a connector. Eve rything Plastic Whale has become was created by making myself vulnerable - I don’t know it all either - and asking people for help. I think many people are afraid to fail because we’re stuck with business models, processes, etc., while we need change more than ever. I’m motiva-

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