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Most people think pool guys are either like Walter Matthau in “ The Bad News Bears ,” a scruffy guy in a beat-up Cadillac convertible, or like Jesse Metcalf in “ Desperate Housewives ” — young, hot and shirtless.
But when you’re paying a minimum of $10,000 to install a pool, or in the case of an in-ground pool, $70,000 (probably more than you spent on your car) — you need more than a guy with a net and a funny punchline — or nice abs.
“Most pool guys are like housecleaners. They should be part housecleaner, part mechanic,” said Willan Johnson, a former VP of Yahoo’s publisher network who is now the CEO of pool-management company Vivo Pools .
Willan and a couple of his buddies saw an opportunity in the pool industry, which he says is still operating like it’s the 1970s.
“The pool industry is 99 percent ‘one-polers’ — just a guy in a truck,” Johnson said. And that guy (or lady) is probably thinking how fast he can get in and out, not really about the long-term care and maintenance of the pool. In fact, to make money, he's actually got to get your pool cleaned in 20 minutes or less.
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