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They say one of the most courageous things you can do is to fail… If that is true, we have quite a courageous story to tell! When Marty Metro left “Corporate America” in 2002 to pursue his crazy idea of buying and selling USED moving boxes, he had it all. He earned an MBA and had “Big Six” consulting experience from Andersen Consulting. He was an expert in distribution and logistics software and had sailed through the .com era, rising to become the Senior Vice President of an international consulting firm. The world was his oyster. With nothing but opportunity, Metro launched Boomerang Boxes, an eco-friendly retail store… with plans to expand locations nationwide. He ignored both laughter and nay-saying from friends, family and even investors… as long as he could. He worked tirelessly, 7 days a week for 3 a full years, trying to build (what he thought) was the future of earth-friendly retail. In 2005, Marty was no longer able to overcome the adversity. He simply couldn't cover his costs and was forced to admit defeat, shut down his entire operation (at that point, 4 stores) and absorb the entire company's debt, personally. By far, these were the darkest days of Marty’s life. He risked it all, and lost it. He worked for 3 years, never took a salary and had nothing to show for it (except for the $300,000 in debt he was not able to repay!). Reluctantly, Metro took a sales job, went back to the drawing board and in less than two years, had raised venture capital, rewritten the business plan, launched a pilot in Los Angeles and expanded his company nationwide. Today UsedCardboardBoxes.com is the #1 organic response on Google for "cardboard boxes," can deliver eco-friendly moving kits to any residential address in the US and works with some of the largest companies in the country.
Today, Marty travels the country sharing his story of putting it all on the line to build a green business, losing it and trying again. Filled with real life examples, lessons learned during the worst of times and a humorous slant to a very serious situation, Marty has entertained, inspired and educated thousands. |
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| Marty Metro’s passionate and thought-provoking topics include: |
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“Teach a Man to Fish and he MIGHT be able to Save the Whales"
To create a successful business model (let alone GREEN business model),
you must build a model that sustains itself first, before it gives too much to others.
“Startups (Even Green Startups) are as Easy as 1, 2, 3… Yeah, Right!”
Critical components to a successful startup are: Idea, Execution and Cash Flow.
If you can’t generate cash flow, don’t waste your time on the first two!
“Step Away from the Vehicle"
To succeed in business, you MUST look at your company from the outside, in.
Strategic partners can help (or hurt) you with this.
“The Business of Reuse”
Recycling is all the rage, but reuse costs less and has less environmental impacts.
And it’s easy to get real value. |
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About Marty Metro |
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Marty Metro is the Founder & CEO of UsedCardboardBoxes.com (UCB), a national, venture-funded company tackling the gratuitous $49+ Billion cardboard industry in the US, where most cardboard boxes are used only once, then recycled or simply thrown away. Metro developed the “Rescue, Resell, Recycle” model and led UCB’s expansion across the US and into Canada. A former “Big 6” consultant, Metro is a passionate eco-entrepreneur with over fifteen years experience in enterprise technology, supply chain consulting and business development.
Through UCB, Metro works with large manufacturers, distributors and retailers to “rescue” quality used boxes from within their supply chain, rather than having them simply be recycled3 or even worse, thrown away. UCB then inspects, sorts, re-palletizes and inventories those boxes to be resold via their website, at deep discounts. Quality
used shipping boxes are sold by the truckload to companies, nationwide. UCB also makes convenient moving kits, complete with all the necessary accessories, for residential customers. These kits are delivered via UPS in just 1-2 days to any address in the US, and UCB provides free shipping on all consumer orders.
Just after the fall of the .com era, Metro began a retail business model called Boomerang
Boxes. Enduring 3 long years of bootstrapping, yet not able to turn a profit or even take a
salary, Metro was forced to cease operations and absorb over $300,000 of personal debt.
Devastated but not discouraged, Metro took a “day job” and went back to the drawing board. Within on year, Metro was able to raise venture capital, rewrite the business plan and launch the technology-centric model, known today as UsedCardboardBoxes.com.
Prior to boxes, Metro held executive roles at leading technology and consulting firms. He oversaw sales and operations worldwide as VP of The EDCO Group, an enterprise technology consulting firm. As Global Project Manager for AT&T Solutions, he managed large-scale process improvements across this international telecom giant. Metro began his career as at “Big 6” consultant with Andersen Consulting, where he worked with Fortune 500 clients to implement enterprise technologies and manage the large-scale changes that ran parallel.
Metro holds an MBA from the University of Arizona, with concentrations in Information Systems and Management. Metro graduated Cum Laude from the University of Maryland and currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife Tracy (a TV host and producer) and their rescued Italian Greyhound “dogger” named Sasekele.
Download Marty Metro’s Executive Biography
Book Marty Metro to speak at your event
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