Episode 154: Thinking Like an Owner with Jack & Kevin of Skimmer + Tagging, Mass Emails, and Billing/Payments

Episode Summary: 

Skimmer is pool service software for business owners that replaces the traditional paper-based system. It allows pool service professionals to track their customers and email personalized service reports; customize and optimize their routes; track repairs, service calls, and filter cleanings; keep a shopping list for parts, and create invoices. 

We sit down with Skimmer CEO Jack Nelson and Head of Marketing and Business Development Kevin Embree. We previously had Jack on the podcast in Episode 138 alongside Skimmer’s Managing Consultant Ryan Hash. In this conversation, Jack and Kevin reflect on their journeys in the pool industry, how they came to be involved with Skimmer, and what’s on the roadmap for the company. 

Listen in as Jack and Kevin share how they entered the world of pools and why they dedicated themselves to developing the technology offered by Skimmer. They go deep into what makes effective software for the pool professional and their owner-centered approach to deciding which features need to be added or further optimized. We also take a deep dive into tagging, mass emails, and the new billing/payments features. 

Topics Discussed: 

• 01:22 - An introduction to Jack Nelson 
• 11:41 - An introduction to Kevin Embree 
• 22:10 - How Jack and Kevin met 
• 27:49 - The most popular features of Skimmer 
• 31:21 - How to know the software is working for you 
• 32:24 - Expectation of professionalism 
• 35:20 - Skimmer dashboard possibilities 
• 37:30 - Focusing on being an owner, not just an operator 
• 50:03 - Skimmer’s new tagging and mass emails 
• 58:43 - Skimmer’s focus on simplicity 
• 1:09:41 - Developing the new billing/payments feature 
• 1:14:17 - Customizing invoices 
• 1:19:43 - What’s on the roadmap for Skimmer? 
• 1:30:21 - How to reach Skimmer and discount 

Sponsors: 

• Skimmer 
• Leslie’s 
• Pool RX 
• CCH 

Connect with Guest: 

• Episode Webpage 
• Website 
• Training Videos 
• Facebook 
• Instagram 
• Twitter 
• LinkedIn 

Connect with Pool Chasers 

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

Key Quotes from Episode: 

• What I found was, there’s not a lot of focus [by the pool professional] on the app. The focus is on their job and that’s what you want. Every time you have a software, you don’t want the person to have to focus on the software. You want them to focus on what they’re trying to accomplish with the software. ~Kevin 
• The expectations that pool owners have are evolving rapidly to where there’s an expectation of professionalism that probably didn’t exist five years ago. ~Jack 
• The key to Skimmer is keeping it simple. It needs to be reliable. It needs to be secure. It needs to be fast. It needs to be simple. ~Kevin 
• It’s not just about the software. It’s about elevating the industry and the people in the industry to accomplish whatever they believe they want to accomplish. And the simpler we make our software and the more features that we add to it without them having to take a class to learn how to use it, the better. ~Kevin 
• Get 50% off of your first 2 months by going to getskimmer.com/poolchasers.  ~Jack