Failure™ Magazine

Worm War I

Sued by Scotts, worm poop start-up makes a stink on the Web.

Written by Jason Zasky   Filed under Business, Science & Technology

TerraCycle even chose to locate its headquarters in Trenton’s Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ), which Szaky matter-of-factly describes as an “urban ghetto.” While TerraCycle’s motivations for putting down roots in Trenton’s UEZ were selfish (tax breaks, inexpensive labor), the company is providing jobs in an area famous for its crime and economic challenges.

Scotts’ public relations challenge is further complicated by the fact that overtly “green” products are on the way “in,” and hardball business tactics are on the way “out.” Regardless of the strength of Scotts’ legal claims, consumers are likely to perceive the lawsuit as a corporate giant using the legal system to try to put a fledgling competitor out of business.

Perhaps that explains why plant food users are now aggressively supporting TerraCycle with their wallets. While the PayPal donation box at suedbyscotts.com has collected a mere $515 for the “TerraCycle Defense Fund,” sales are up dramatically since the lawsuit was filed. “In the past five weeks our in-store sales have gone up 122 percent,” reports Szaky, who is well aware that this trend must continue indefinitely if TerraCycle hopes to pay its anticipated legal bills. To date, TerraCycle has incurred approximately $50,000 in legal fees, but costs could ultimately exceed a million dollars.

“The best case outcome is that there is so much publicity generated and so much negative will generated [toward Scotts] that they drop the lawsuit. The next best case is that we win in court and recover our legal fees,” says Szaky. But despite the already acrimonious relationship the young Princeton University dropout claims that TerraCycle is open to mending fences and collaborating with Scotts. “We’re a very flexible company—very open to collaboration,” he begins. “But that’s something that Scotts doesn’t seem to be interested in.”

In the meantime, Szaky is doing his best to avoid the distraction of the lawsuit and focus on his daily responsibilities, which include steeling himself against the inevitable poop jokes. “The jokes get a little old sometimes but I love worm poop,” he admits. “I’m glad it’s funny and that people enjoy talking about it.”

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