The power of doing

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 Amsterdam resident, is a true connector who is constantly 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, organising 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 travelled for a year. While staying at an incredibly beautiful beach on Borneo, we woke up one morning to 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. Everything 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 motivated to talk about what I call 'doism', or the power of doing. If you dare to go and ask for help, much more is possible than you could ever imagine.”

What is it that you could not have imagined?

“That we would organise plastic fishing events—more than 500 last year—and that we’d have more than 100,000 paying customers on board. I would have also never imagined starting a skateboard company, an office furniture line, or a project in Ghana. They all came about because I started working with a lot of people. I’m proud that I dared to go ahead and invest.”

Why does your approach inspire people?

“The people I sit around the table with see, feel and hear that I follow my own approach. I can get emotional because I am totally into it, which creates goodwill and inspires people to participate. There are many people like me who want to contribute positively but don’t know how. Plastic Whale has created a platform where individuals can contribute with their own knowledge and skills.”

You have a new project called ‘Cathedrall’

“I like to think up and develop new initiatives. Thanks to the success of Plastic Whale, I now do more managing, something that many company founders suffer from. For a while, I thought about a plan to build a floating pavilion using municipal waste, such as plastic, construction waste, washing machines, jeans—you name it. We’ve started, and spin-offs are being created in the meantime, just like with Plastic Whale. Even before we presented our first boat, plastic fishing was already successful.”

Are you able to foster that enthusiasm in an audience that’s not directly involved in the field?

“My story inspires because I make it personal. I talk about my doubts and setbacks. When I’m finished, there are always people who say they were inspired. However, what I like most is when someone says that they’ve been struggling for a while and now they’re going for it. That’s the effect I hope for.

My lecture is a way of spreading ‘doism’. If at least one person in the room decides that they’re just going to work on the things that they find important, overcome their fears and take the plunge, then I consider my lecture a success.

A high-ranking corporate man who was in the audience in Maastricht for a speech I gave was such a person. After my story, he made a decision and now has a successful company that takes old fishing nets and turns them into raw materials.”

How is your story conveyed internationally?

“Sustainable business is in the spotlight, and Plastic Whale is a good example of it. In September 2024, I’ll be giving a lecture at Ohio University, having been invited by a professor there. I’ve been asked to give lectures in Japan, Spain, Germany, and Belgium—all great fun. It’s also great to see how people deal with waste in other countries. In Tokyo, you won’t find any paper on the street.”

Do you have any special wishes for venues, such as banning plastic bottles?

“I never point fingers. I try to get people to think from a positive perspective. The world is not black-and-white. I’ve noticed that sustainability is getting more attention everywhere. I don’t have an opinion about that, but at most events, the catering is already vegetarian.”

How are the canals these days?

“When I see how happy people are with us, including the tour boats that get much less plastic in their propellers, I’m quite proud.”

 

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Inspired

“I was inspired by President John F. Kennedy’s address to a joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961, in which he said that the United States should commit itself to landing a man on the moon before the decade is out. It was almost impossible, but it happened and created economic and technological spin-offs. We owe baby food and laptops to it, among other things, as by-products that arise from a challenge, which is exactly how I wanted to create Plastic Whale.”

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