Welcome back to HappyPorch Radio: the circular economy technology podcast!

In this episode our hosts Barry O’Kane and Tandi Tuakli are joined by Katie Hanton-Parr, the visionary founder of Baboodle - a circular rental platform specifically designed for baby equipment.

Katie’s story is one of passion, perseverance, and innovation—born out of her own experience as a parent grappling with the challenges of accessing safe, high-quality baby gear without the waste and cost of traditional ownership.

Throughout the episode Katie talks about the many layers involved in running a circular rental business in such a sensitive and highly regulated space.

From managing rigorous safety and hygiene standards to the complexities of reverse logistics, Katie explains what it takes to keep every item in Baboodle’s inventory reliable and ready for the next family. One of the key themes is repairability: ensuring products can be fixed and maintained rather than discarded, which is vital to the sustainability mission but often tricky in practice.

We also delve into the technology that underpins Baboodle’s operations. Katie shares how the team integrates specialised circular economy software for handling rental logistics, inventory management, and refurbishment workflows. She gives examples of crucial tools for digital subscriptions and recurring billing, combined with seamless warehouse and fulfillment operations.

This tech stack allows Baboodle to handle complex customer journeys, whether it’s a simple rental, a rent-to-own arrangement, or a resale option, all while maintaining transparency and control over each product’s lifecycle. Katie emphasizes how crucial it is to have a system built specifically for circularity—not just repurposed e-commerce tech—so that the platform can scale and adapt.

Tune in to hear more about Katie’s blend of practical wisdom, innovative use of technology, and genuine care for families and the environment that makes this episode truly inspiring!

This podcast is brought to you by HappyPorch. We specialise in technology and software development for Circular Economy minded purpose-driven businesses.

Our podcast focuses mostly on: Circular Economy, Digital Enablers, Technology, Software, Circular Solutions, Fashion & Textiles, Circular Strategies, Digital, Reuse, Circular Design, Circularity, Systems Thinking, Economics, Data, Platforms, Degrowth, Policy & Regulation, Collaboration, Materials, Supply Chain, Biological Cycles, Materials, Food Waste, Biomimicry, Construction, Modular Design, Culture & Language, Zero Waste, Digital Passports, Life Cycle Assessment, Recycling, Reverse Logistics, Materials, Sharing Economy, Manufacturing, Efficiency, Environmental Impact and much more!

Welcome back to HappyPorch Radio: the circular economy technology podcast!

In this episode our hosts Barry O’Kane and Jo Weston are joined by Yann Toutant, CEO and Co-founder of Black Winch who are the world's exclusive authority in Product-As-A-Service (PaaS) solutions.

At the beginning of the conversation Yann explains Black Winch’s work and how they engage, inspire and empower intrapreneurs to achieve their PaaS ambitions by building and scaling their in-house recurring revenue models.

Drawing on his experience guiding manufacturers through the transition to outcome-based services, Yann offers a deep dive into both the opportunities and the operational realities of implementing PaaS and discusses the importance of a long-term thinking strategy to make PaaS successful in any business.

Yann also highlights key differences between B2B and B2C adoption of as-a-service models and talks about how technology plays a critical role in enabling these models. He outlines the importance of asset tracking, consumption data, billing complexity management, and reverse logistics—all underpinned by flexible tech stacks that evolve as the business scales.

Looking ahead, Yann envisions that manufacturers will want to retain ownership of raw materials and explains how urban mining and material recovery will become strategic advantages.

Tune in to learn about how new generations of data-driven leaders will continue to accelerate the shift towards PaaS and much more!

This podcast is brought to you by HappyPorch. We specialise in technology and software development for Circular Economy minded purpose-driven businesses.

Our podcast focuses mostly on: Circular Economy, Digital Enablers, Technology, Software, Circular Solutions, Fashion & Textiles, Circular Strategies, Digital, Reuse, Circular Design, Circularity, Systems Thinking, Economics, Data, Platforms, Degrowth, Policy & Regulation, Collaboration, Materials, Supply Chain, Biological Cycles, Materials, Food Waste, Biomimicry, Construction, Modular Design, Culture & Language, Zero Waste, Digital Passports, Life Cycle Assessment, Recycling, Reverse Logistics, Materials, Sharing Economy, Manufacturing, Efficiency, Environmental Impact and much more!

Welcome back to HappyPorch Radio: the circular economy technology podcast!

In this episode our hosts Barry O’Kane and Tandi Tuakli are joined by Ryan Atkins, the co-founder and CEO of Supercycle - a circular commerce platform that enables rental and resale natively in Shopify.

Ryan explains that scaling circular business models depends on overcoming integration challenges between physical product flows (repair, refurbishment, cleaning) and digital commerce (Shopify, customer experience).

In this conversation we learn that while platforms like Supercycle can provide the core technology and integration "pipes," each brand has unique requirements in logistics, customer experience, product flows, and back office systems.

Ryan also discusses collaborations with specialist partners, from 3PLs that can handle circular operations to integration and professional services partners that allow brands to tailor and scale their circular offerings. Without this ecosystem of enablers, it would be impossible to support the variety of customer journeys that circular models demand.

Tune in to learn more about how circularity is reshaping e-commerce, the technology driving it, and why strong partnerships are the foundation of successful circular systems!

This podcast is brought to you by HappyPorch. We specialise in technology and software development for Circular Economy minded purpose-driven businesses.

Our podcast focuses mostly on: Circular Economy, Digital Enablers, Technology, Software, Circular Solutions, Fashion & Textiles, Circular Strategies, Digital, Reuse, Circular Design, Circularity, Systems Thinking, Economics, Data, Platforms, Degrowth, Policy & Regulation, Collaboration, Materials, Supply Chain, Biological Cycles, Materials, Food Waste, Biomimicry, Construction, Modular Design, Culture & Language, Zero Waste, Digital Passports, Life Cycle Assessment, Recycling, Reverse Logistics, Materials, Sharing Economy, Manufacturing, Efficiency, Environmental Impact and much more!