What does it take to build a profitable, purpose-driven company without venture capital?

In this episode of Innovator Insights, Henrik Johansson sits down with Dan Dicker, Founder & CEO of Circular, to unpack a 23-year journey of building a design-led business rooted in sustainability, long before the circular economy became mainstream.

Dan shares how his background at Dyson shaped his approach to product design, why dyslexia became a hidden entrepreneurial advantage, and how Circular grew organically from a backyard shed into a global leader in reusable and returnable drinkware.

You’ll also hear a deep dive into Circular’s Tap & Reuse system, an RFID-powered platform designed to eliminate single-use cups by making reuse seamless, habit-forming, and measurable. From consumer psychology to return-rate data, Dan explains why systems, not guilt, drive real behavior change.

Key themes covered:Why organic growth beat venture funding for Circular

1. Designing products from waste materials, before it was trendy
2. How constraints fuel innovation
3. The psychology behind reuse vs. deposits
4. Building technology around physical products to unlock scale
5. Why failure isn’t just acceptable, it’s essential
6. If you care about product innovation, sustainability, or building a business that lasts, this episode is packed with insight.
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If you care about product innovation, sustainability, or building a business that lasts, this episode is packed with insight.

Patrick Bishop didn’t start with a pitch deck. He started with a truckload of agave straws, and a decision to bet on himself.

In this episode, Patrick, Founder & CEO of Reroute Americas and Reroute AI, shares how a sustainability insight turned into a fast-growing hospitality supply business, and why inefficiencies in restaurant inventory management pushed him to build an AI platform from scratch.

We talk about:

• Why sustainable products don’t have to cost more
• How a hurricane wiped out 40% of the business, and forced a pivot
• What hospitality gets wrong about inventory, forecasting, and waste
• How AI can reduce over-ordering while improving ESG reporting
• The moment Reroute shifted from distribution company to tech company
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A candid look at building in a legacy industry, and redesigning systems most people accept as “just how it works."

Patrika Alis Cheston joins Innovator Insights to break down a topic every founder needs but few talk about: how to market products that aren’t naturally “sexy.”

From legal tech to compliance tools to infrastructure no one ever sees, Patricia has built a career turning complex, overlooked, or “boring” offerings into memorable, experience-driven campaigns. In this conversation, she shares how brands can stand out by focusing less on funnels and more on how people feel when they interact with you.

We dig into:

• Why experiential marketing works even for the driest industries
• How to create emotional relevance for technical products
• The danger of over-focusing on features instead of the human problem
• The rise of authentic, human-led marketing in an AI-saturated landscape
• Patricia’s journey through startups, agency life, and women in tech
• How democratized entrepreneurship is reshaping access and opportunity

Whether you're building a tech platform, a hardware product, or a service company, Patricia’s insights will help you rethink how your brand shows up, and why the experience around your product might matter more than the product itself.