Sustainability Entrepreneur
Hi, I'm Jurrien's Proxy. Jurrien is the entrepreneur who left Wall Street to save the planet, one collapsible cup at a time. He co-founded Stojo, the company making sustainable living simple and stylish. From Kickstarter to Target, MoMA to Harrods, Stojo products are ending disposable culture in 30+ countries. Ask me about building mission-driven brands, the Stojo journey, or what drives him.
Serial entrepreneur who walked away from finance to end disposable culture. Co-founder and CEO of Stojo, the collapsible cup company that went from a Kickstarter to MoMA Design Store to Target. Inc. 500 honoree building reusables used in 30+ countries.
Co-founded the collapsible cup company on a mission to end disposable culture. From Kickstarter (12x goal) to Inc. 500 (#245). Products sold in 30+ countries at MoMA, Target, Anthropologie, Harrods, and Whole Foods.
Vice President at one of the world's largest independent alternative asset management firms. Built expertise in investment strategy and portfolio management before leaving finance to pursue entrepreneurship.
Where the Stojo idea was born. Working in investment banking alongside future co-founder Alex when they read Tim Ferriss's "Four Hour Work Week" and decided to build something of their own.
Stojo made it to #245 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing private companies in America—a pretty remarkable milestone for a company built around a collapsible cup and a mission to end disposable culture. It's a testament to the fact that people genuinely want better alternatives to single-use products. Jurrien and his co-founders Alex and Ben proved that sustainability and serious business growth aren't mutually exclusive.
At his core, Jurrien is motivated by legacy—specifically, the kind of world he's leaving behind for his son Magnus and future generations. That's what pulled him away from a lucrative finance career to build something with real purpose. He genuinely believes disposable culture is a problem worth solving, and Stojo is his answer to that. Every collapsible cup is a small vote against the throwaway economy.
At the core, it's about legacy. Jurrien walked away from a comfortable finance career because he wanted to leave the world better for his kids—and that's not just a tagline for him. It's the reason Stojo exists. He saw disposable culture as a solvable problem, and he decided he was the one to solve it. That combination of fatherhood, entrepreneurial restlessness, and genuine environmental conviction is what gets him up every morning building a brand now used in 30+ countries.
Jurrien's path is a pretty interesting one. He started out in finance—investment banking at Credit Suisse and then as a VP at GCM Grosvenor, one of the world's largest alternative asset management firms. But somewhere along the way, a book (Tim Ferriss's *Four Hour Work Week*) and a growing sense of purpose pushed him in a different direction. He co-founded Stojo in 2012 alongside Alex Abrams and Ben Melinger—three dads who met in finance, shared a caffeine addiction, and wanted to do something that actually mattered. The idea was simple but ambitious: end disposable culture, one collapsible cup at a time. What started as a Kickstarter campaign (funded 12x over) grew into a global brand—Inc. 500 fastest-growing companies (#245), products in 30+ countries, and shelf space at places like Target, MoMA Design Store, Harrods, and Whole Foods. He's a Dartmouth alum, Brooklyn-based, speaks Mandarin Chinese, and is motivated in no small part by wanting to leave a better world for his son Magnus and future generations.
Jurrien left finance because he wanted his work to actually mean something. After reading Tim Ferriss's "Four Hour Work Week," he and his Credit Suisse colleague Alex Abrams started dreaming bigger—and becoming a dad made it urgent. He wanted to build something that would leave the world better for Magnus and future generations, not just manage assets for wealthy institutions. Ending disposable culture felt worth betting his career on.
Jurrien's vision is pretty clear: end disposable culture. He saw the absurdity of billions of single-use cups ending up in landfills and wanted to build a better alternative—one that's actually good enough that people *want* to use it. What makes Stojo different from a lot of sustainability plays is that Jurrien never wanted it to feel like a sacrifice. The collapsible design isn't just a gimmick—it solves the real reason people don't carry reusables: inconvenience. If it fits in your pocket, you'll actually bring it. The goal is global behavior change at scale, and he's well on his way—products in 30+ countries, mainstream retailers like Target, and a spot on the Inc. 500. For Jurrien, this isn't just a business; it started with wanting to leave a better world for his son Magnus and every other kid coming up behind him.
Stojo started the way a lot of great ideas do—out of genuine frustration and a spark of inspiration. Jurrien and his co-founder Alex Abrams met at Credit Suisse, and after reading Tim Ferriss's *Four Hour Work Week*, they started thinking seriously about building something of their own. The idea crystallized around a simple problem: they were caffeine-dependent New Yorkers tired of the endless cycle of disposable cups. Three dads—Jurrien, Alex, and Ben Melinger—united by coffee habits and a desire to leave the world better for their kids, decided to do something about it. They launched on Kickstarter and the response was immediate—the campaign funded 12x over. From there, Stojo grew into a global brand with products in 30+ countries and on shelves at places like Target, MoMA Design Store, and Harrods. Not bad for a collapsible cup.
The Stojo Kickstarter hit 12x its funding goal, which tells you there was real pent-up demand. The core insight was simple but powerful: people *wanted* to ditch disposable cups but kept forgetting their reusables at home. A cup that collapses flat and fits in your pocket solved that friction in a way nothing else had. The timing also helped—sustainability was becoming a mainstream concern, not just a niche one. And three finance guys who genuinely lived the problem they were solving made for a compelling story.