An economist by training, Axel Plaza (Barcelona, 1991) is a partner in the Coleo textile group, where he began working nine years ago on new models of industrial innovation and textile recycling. He currently heads Wastex Technologies, the group’s start-up, a technology division responsible for providing the physical and digital infrastructure necessary for the sorting of textiles, as well as for the recovery and traceability of waste.

TB: What is the purpose of your project?

AP: To transform the textile industry. In particular, the way we manage and recover textile waste through the development of artificial vision and traceability technologies.

TB: What stage is it at and where do you see it in two years’ time?

AP: In 2025, we have started to close important contracts. In two years, we want to have our traceability systems implemented in several regions around the world.

TB: A good idea you’ve had.

AP: Calling my grandmother every morning. From a totally different perspective, on all levels, she is one of the wisest people I know.

TB: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced?

AP: Coleo’s rapid growth, because ideas were moving much faster than our ability to consolidate teams.

TB: The best advice you’ve ever been given.

AP: ‘Don’t avoid conflict and give honest feedback’. David Puyuelo, CEO of Coleo, told me that. Given my personality, it took me a long time to learn this, but it has helped me enormously.

TB: A role model.

AP: Enric Figareda taught me almost everything I know about the textile industry. If there were an antonym for ‘brown-noser’, it would be him. His feedback is radically honest, and he always thinks about the problems that will arise: essential for things to work.

TB: A technology that will shape the future.

AP: I’d like to say something more original, but Artificial Intelligence…

TB: A start-up or company.

AP: Reju, a company that I think is well focused on the challenge of chemical textile recycling.

TB: What do you do to disconnect?

AP: Read biographies or historical novels.

TB: A book to recommend.

AP: ‘No Rules Rules’ by Reed Hastings (founder of Netflix) and Erin Meyer.

TB: A series, film or song that defines your current stage in life.

AP: Series, “The Office”. And song, “No Surrender” by Bruce Springsteen.

TB: A recipe, a restaurant.

AP: Artichokes with ham, Bar But restaurant, in Gràcia.

TB: A place in the world.

AP: Yellowstone Park in the United States.

TB: Where would you invest 100k?

AP: In Coleo, which is the key to scaling up textile recycling in Europe, with all the regulatory changes that are coming.

TB: If you weren’t an entrepreneur…

AP: I’d be a farmer in Menorca.

TB: What does Tech Barcelona mean to you?

AP: A way to connect with other entrepreneurs and connect with new innovative ideas.