Episode 201: PUL Products - Disrupting the In-Floor Cleaning Industry with Nick Ghiz & Jim Goettl

Episode Summary: 

Today, we speak with Nick Ghiz and Jim Goettl of PUL Products. 

Nick and Jim have a clear passion for and purpose to what they do, both being sons of successful men in the pool business: Nick (son of Lewis “Buzz” Ghiz) hails from a generation of keen entrepreneurs while Jim comes from a line of highly creative product developers and innovators (his father John has over 100 patents in the pool industry). 

The pair do a deep dive into the disruptive products offered by PUL Products, particularly the PUL Conekt, which takes inspiration from tried-and-true in-floor pool cleaning solutions and incorporates current technologies to help their products stand above the noise. Unlike most in-floor cleaning systems that use a one-size-fits-all design, PUL Products offers technology that “contours” to your individual pool. 

Listen in as they share how both dealers and homeowners can benefit from PUL Products’ in-floor system customer portal and how they intend to continue innovating in this space like their fathers before them 

Topics Discussed: 

• 01:05 - An introduction to Nick and Jim 
• 04:55 - About PUL Products 
• 09:11 - The capabilities of the app 
• 14:18 - Disrupting the in-floor pool cleaning space 
• 16:42 - Addressing the most common in-floor concerns 
• 24:24 - Innovating for dealers via the customer portal 
• 37:19 - How the homeowner benefits 
• 42:42 - A description of each component of the product 
• 47:25 - The future of PUL Products 
• 53:51 - Upholding their family’s legacy 

Sponsors: 

• Skimmer 
• Leslie’s 
• Lyon Financial 

Connect with Guest: 

• Website 

Connect with Pool Chasers: 

• Website 
• Instagram 
• Facebook 
• Facebook Group 
• Twitter 
• YouTube 
• Patreon 

Key Quotes from Episode: 

• [Our products] take the heritage of what’s worked extremely well in in-floor pool cleaning and what’s been tested over decades, but really bringing it up to current technology and leapfrogging what’s out in the market right now. ~Jim 
• Even the very best in-floor systems in the market have been largely the same in the last 25 years. There really hasn’t been any technology advancement at all. So, while this seems like an enormous leapfrog in technology in what our system can do, it’s really bringing it up to what current standards are in the swimming pool industry. ~Jim 
• In-floor was never able to be sold as a true cleaning system because it’s randomized and it’s not a cleaning system—it’s just agitation. So, I think the main concern with in-floor prior to PUL Connect and PUL Products was that in-floor was really just an agitation system. It’s a decent way to clean the pool, but it’s not the very best way to clean the pool. ~Nick 
• With our competitors, it’s cookie-cutter—it’s one-size-fits-all. With us, your pool is customized for you. ~Nick 
• We believe that in-floor is a very interactive process with the builder, and it has to be highly supported. We believe that we can do that better than anybody in the market because this is all we do. ~Jim 
• Whoever thinks they’re the best at everything is the first guy that’s going to fail. ~Nick