Josef Werker is the co-founder and CEO of Humble, a circular economy startup making returns and excess inventory the hero. They have two platforms: Humble Sustainability, to earn high revenue from aging or returned products and Thrift, to buy top quality products, sustainably sourced with unbeatable prices. Oh, and they've recently closed a seed round led by Seedstars.

👋🏼 How would you explain your job to someone outside tech?

We make returns and excess inventory the hero, helping logistics, e-commerce and retail companies earn high revenue from the products that are often forgotten, such as claims and aging items. We bring them back into circularity by selling the top quality products on Thrift by Humble, our own e-com store, while everything else goes to our network of B2B resellers and recyclers.

🧐 What's something about you or your job that would surprise us?

I don't have any experience in the industry that I've built a company in!

No prior roles in e-commerce or logistics, just a fiery passion for impact and innovation. I'm not really good at anything actually — but I do believe that asking for help is a superpower, and that's one thing I do a lot... Surround myself with people infinitely better than me (not difficult), and find a way to extract brilliant things from their minds and implement them.

🏆 What has been the biggest highlight of your career so far?

When the people in our team tell us they love what they do and they are driven to create an impact with us. I know I'm probably supposed to say a raise or an award here, but nothing makes the hair on my neck stand on end, like hearing genuine emotion from our team that we've positively impacted their lives.

🔍 What's a startup trend or space you're watching this year?‍

I'm slow out of the blocks with this one, but I'm watching e-commerce. We're tackling a part of e-commerce that seems to have been forgotten about (returns, excess inventory), so I've needed to get stuck in and feel how the industry breathes and how the various players interact with each other - it all fascinates me.

💼 What advice would you give someone starting out in your industry?

I'll frame this more towards someone starting out in the startup environment.

Meet as many people as possible and ask for their help, advice and feedback as often as possible. I don't personally learn quickly by reading books, listening to podcasts or watching talks — I learn by talking to people. The startup industry is amazing. People are so willing to give and help each other. Without this, I wouldn't have even gotten off the ground.

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🗣 What's one thing you can keep talking about for hours?

Psychological safety.

🎥 What's your favorite movie/TV show?

Friends (I'm from that era where nothing else mattered during childhood... My sister and I can literally repeat any part of the script.)

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🍨 What's your go-to ice cream flavor?‍

Vanilla (I refuse to believe this is a boring answer... Remember the MASSIVE vanilla cones you could get from McDonald's for next to nothing?!)