How to Build Circular Commerce Infrastructure with Bob Jansen

What makes a rental or product-as-a-service (PaaS) business model work, and what role does technology really play in making that happen?

In this episode of HappyPorch Radio, we’re joined by Bob Jansen, founder of Firmhouse, a recurring commerce platform enabling subscription, rental and PaaS business models. Bob shares lessons from his journey, from building MVPs as an agency to helping major brands like Philips pilot rental models and now supporting a wide range of circular and subscription businesses across Europe.

We explore the operational complexity of rental and PaaS businesses, the ongoing challenge of accessing capital, and why convenience and service are often bigger customer drivers than sustainability alone.

✨ In this episode:

• Bob reflects on the financing challenges that continue to block scale for circular rental models
• We hear examples of real-world companies using Firmhouse, from kids’ bike subscriptions to coffee and consumables
• Bob explains how hybrid models like revenue sharing are emerging to address financial barriers
• We discuss how Firmhouse is using AI to both speed up internal development and enable smarter, simpler features for users
• Bob shares how the team is building “digital teammates” that help customers operate more efficiently and with fewer resources
• We explore the nuts and bolts of the Firmhouse platform, from logistics and localisation to return management and ID checks
• Bob talks about building toward “planet positive” business infrastructure and what progress, not perfection, looks like in circularity

Firmhouse: https://firmhouse.com

Bikeflip: https://bikeflip.com/

Tiny Library: https://tinylibrary.nl/en

Baboodle: https://www.baboodle.co.uk

The Good Roll: https://thegoodroll.nl/

Boldking: https://www.boldking.com/en

Coolblue (NL): https://www.coolblue.nl/en

Ayden: https://www.adyen.com/

Swapfiets: https://swapfiets.com/

Mollie:https://www.mollie.com/gb/

👤 About our guest:

Bob Jansen is the founder of Firmhouse, a recurring commerce platform supporting circular and subscription models across Europe. He brings a decade of experience building digital products and enabling sustainable business models. Firmhouse powers rental and subscription businesses in durable and consumable categories, offering tools for checkouts, logistics, ID verification and more.

Connect with Bob on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobjansen

Learn more about Firmhouse: https://firmhouse.com

🌍 About HappyPorch:

HappyPorch is a purpose-driven software engineering consultancy focused on the circular economy. We believe technology plays a vital role in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, from climate change to biodiversity loss.

If you're working on circular economy solutions, we’d love to support your journey, whether through fractional CTO services, full product teams or practical guidance.

Learn more at https://www.happyporch.com

💌 Subscribe to HappyPorch Circular News:

Our monthly newsletter explores the intersection of circularity and digital tools

• Discover inspiring people and ideas
• Be the first to hear about new podcast episodes
• Explore tools, articles and trends shaping circular tech

🎙️ Explore the Circular Economy Podcasts Guide

We’ve curated a growing list of the best podcasts exploring the circular economy, searchable by theme, region or topic.

Browse the guide at https://circulareconomypodcasts.guide/

🎧 Listen and subscribe:

Stream this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Deezer, iHeart, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Visit https://www.happyporchradio.com to explore more episodes.