Join Apkudo’s Allyson Mitchell (VP of Sustainability) as she welcomes Andrew Kroeger, Co-Founder of CypherBlk. Andrew reveals how his company solved what seemed impossible: testing and grading Apple Watches without a physical port. When Apple removed diagnostic ports from the Series 7, reverse logistics companies faced a crisis. Manual processes destroyed margins. Kroeger's background in data centers and cybersecurity led him to recognize the larger sustainability implications—60 million metric tons of e-waste annually. "We have to do such a better job partnering to keep up," he explains. How did CypherBlk crack the code? What role does Apkudo's platform play in scaling this innovation across the industry? 
 
Andrew Kroeger is Co-Founder of CypherBlk, a company specializing in portless device diagnostics and data sanitization for smartwatches and wearables. With over 25 years in technology, Andrew previously led teams at CDW and worked extensively in data centers and cybersecurity before entering the reverse logistics space eight years ago at Blancco. His work focuses on solving critical gaps in device lifecycle management while addressing the environmental and social impacts of e-waste. Through CypherBlk's partnership with Apkudo's ecosystem, Andrew is helping scale innovative solutions that enable accurate testing, grading, and data erasure for devices once considered impossible to process efficiently. 
 
In this episode: 

• (00:00) Andrew Kroeger and CypherBlk ecosystem partnership 

• (00:55) From VAR sales to sustainability in reverse logistics 

• (10:42) Cracking the Apple Watch Series 7 portless diagnostics challenge 

• (22:09) Scaling smartwatch solutions through Apkudo's platform integration 

• (25:48) Collaborative future of device lifecycle and circular economy 

• (28:43) Industry mindset shift from competition to cooperation 

• Send us your comments, ideas for future shows, and feedback. Subscribe to catch future episodes, and share this episode with someone who might be interested! 

 
Resources:  
Andrew Kroeger LinkedIn 
Apkudo LinkedIn 
Apkudo  
Second Sense Podcast