When Boyan Slat found more plastic than fish on a dive in Greece, he asked a simple question: "Why can't we just clean this up?" He was 16.

What began as a humble project funded with pocket money has grown into a global initiative, removing millions of pounds of plastic from the world's rivers and oceans in the last decade. But simple questions don't always have simple solutions. As Boyan will tell you, simplicity is hard. Fight the temptation attack the biggest problem first. Relentlessly iterate. And most importantly, let your mission, not the technology, guide your engineering decisions.

Read more from Boyan on thefrugalarchitect.com