20 Things You Didn’t Know about Swimply
Have you ever heard of a company called Swimply? Perhaps you’ve heard of them and you’re curious to know more or maybe you’re only hearing about them for the first time right now. Interestingly enough, the company serves as sort of an Airbnb, but only for swimming pools. Before you laugh, consider the fact that people used to scoff at the idea of renting out their own houses so others could take a vacation, all with the goal of making some extra money on the side. That prospect is now so successful that the overwhelming majority of individuals who initially started participating have continued to actively rent out their homes. Some do it on a full-time basis. In the case of Swimply, it’s all about renting out your swimming pool for an afternoon so someone who doesn’t own one can have a good time. The truth is, it’s a lot easier to rent out your swimming pool than it is to rent out your home. If you think it’s a joke, consider this list of 20 things about Swimply that might change your mind.
1. They’ve been in business since 2018
It’s not really that surprising that a lot of people haven’t heard of this company yet, especially when you consider the fact they haven’t really been in business all that long. In fact, they only went into business three years ago, in 2018. Whether you’ve heard of them or not, they have definitely been staying busy. In fact, it would even be safe to say that the pool business is more successful than ever.
2. It’s the brainchild of just two people who had a chance meeting
The two people who are responsible for coming up with the idea are Bunim Laskin and Asher Weinberger. At the time that the two developed the idea together, Weinberger was only 35. Laskin was even younger, only 24 years of age. They were actually attending an event for entrepreneurs in New York City and had a chance meeting. That’s when Laskin came up with the idea.
3. At the time, one of those people was still in college
At the time that the two of them met, Laskin was still a student in college. This was something that he had been thinking about for a relatively short amount of time, but it was also something that he couldn’t really get out of his head. He simply had the deep feeling that if only given the chance, it could easily be one of the most successful ideas to come along since Airbnb. As a result, he was determined to find somebody who was willing to listen, and Weinberger was just the person he’d been looking for.
4. They developed the business by going door to door
They developed their business the old-fashioned way. In fact, they ended up going door-to-door in each of their neighborhoods in order to see who had a swimming pool and if so, who would be willing to rent their pool out by the hour. Once they had accomplished that goal, they sat down and looked at aerial views of Google Maps on their computer, selecting the neighborhoods that had the most swimming pools and then going door-to-door again, asking the same thing of perfect strangers. To say that it took a lot of nerve would be an understatement, but it was also a decision that paid off.
5. You might say they wanted to get their feet wet first
They were determined to test the waters, so to speak. Before they decided to dive in with a full-blown business, they figured out who was willing to rent their pool out and then did some local advertising on their own. Within just a few weeks, business was booming. It was only then that they decided that it was indeed time to create a formal business and do things the right way in order to ensure that they were addressing all of the legal and financial issues that naturally come with operating a business.
6. They had thousands of customers in their first month of business
Not surprisingly, they had an enormous number of customers almost immediately. In fact, they had only been in business for about a month and they already had thousands of customers that were interested in renting pools. They even had to wait-list some of those individuals because they simply didn’t have enough space to go around.
7. They now have more than 500,000 registered users
The company started out relatively small and remained much the same for a year or so. However, things are quite different today. They have a much bigger customer base as well. In fact, they currently have approximately 500,000 individuals who have rented out a swimming pool at least once and are still registered with the company. Most of those individuals are repeat customers and new customers are coming in on a daily basis.
8. They also have more than 13,000 people who routinely rent their pools out
They also don’t have to worry as much about having to put people on a waitlist in order to give them their shot at having a cool place to swim, as they now have more than 13,000 swimming pools registered on their app. If you live in a metropolitan area, there is every chance that you have at least a few options available to you in your own neighborhood. Even if you live in a rural area, you might be surprised how many people actually have a swimming pool registered nearby.
9. They have a presence throughout the United States
As a matter of fact, they’ve developed a major presence in the United States, with swimming pools registered in every single state. Considering the fact that they only started business a few years ago, it’s highly impressive that they are now doing business in every state across the country. That’s not something that happens all that frequently, regardless of the type of business that is in question. It speaks not only to their ability to come up with a creative idea that people will love, but also their method of doing business which has sustained them since day one.
10. They do business in other countries, too
They’ve actually done so well that they’ve expanded to other countries as well. Currently, they have users in both Canada and Australia. There is every reason to believe that they will continue to expand into other areas as well, especially in areas that tend to have warmer climates throughout the majority of the year where swimming is a popular pastime.
11. They thought they might not survive the pandemic
Like so many other companies out there, they were afraid that they weren’t going to survive the pandemic. Remember, they hadn’t been in business for that long when the pandemic struck. Even for a business like this, there are certain expenses that have to be taken care of. That didn’t exactly leave a lot of money available that could be used as a safety net. In fact, they were absolutely depending on the summer of 2020 in order to see them through. When the pandemic struck in full force and they realized that they were essentially out of money with which they could use to operate, they were fearful that they might not have any other recourse but to close their doors for good.
12. They ended up experiencing unprecedented growth
Instead, their company grew more than they could have ever imagined. In fact, they were able to grow the company by more than 500% during the summer of 2020 alone. They quickly found out that in a world where people weren’t able to participate in traditional activities, renting a private swimming pool where they could take their family in order to get out of the house without being in a public setting became one of the most popular things of the entire summer. As a result, their business started booming in ways that they never even thought would be remotely possible under the best of circumstances, and it all happened during a time when no one knew what to expect of anything.
13. Venture capitalists began to approach them
It wasn’t very long after that that a number of venture capitalists started approaching them as opposed to the other way around. As it turns out, people had been watching them and taking note of how well they were doing. When people started to notice that they were making money while everyone else was losing money, they wanted to jump on the bandwagon. Many people saw it as an opportunity to make money during a time when it was very difficult to do so because most business models simply didn’t allow for making a profit when everyone had to stay away from everyone else. While they never would have wished this type of situation on anyone, they also couldn’t ignore the fact that from a business perspective, they were making a great deal of money as a direct result of world events.
14. They’ve recently hired several new employees
For the longest time, they worked with just the two of them at the helm but recently, they’ve hired a number of new employees to help them deal with the demands of having a larger customer base. In fact, they now have a team of roughly 70 people, all of them working to deal with administrative, legal and financial functions as well as keep up with the technical aspect of things. Some of them deal directly with customer service and others are always on the lookout for new swimming pools that can be added to the app in order to provide more options to their customers.
15. So far, they’ve raised $10 million
Remember that part about venture capitalists coming to them because they figured out that what they were doing was worth a great deal of money? To date, they’ve raised in excess of $10 million and that’s only in the first round of funding alone. When you consider the fact that companies typically have three or more rounds of funding in a single year, it seems like the sky’s the limit with the things that this company can accomplish in the future.
16. Everything is handled on an app
As previously mentioned, literally everything is handled on an app. All you have to do is download the app to your smartphone and the rest is a piece of cake. As a matter of fact, you can find a pool that you can use to swim in or you can register your pool so that it can be rented out by the hour and you can do everything through the app. There are no websites to visit and you don’t have to call and speak with some customer service representative in order to set something up unless you have a question.
17. Some residential pools are rented for as much as $100 per hour
It’s worth noting that some of their larger residential pools are rented out for as much as $100 per hour. Of course, it depends on things such as additional amenities, the size of the pool itself and where the pool is located, but when you consider the idea that you could potentially make $100 an hour for renting out your swimming pool, it definitely becomes an appealing way to make extra money throughout the summer months.
18. Others cost as little as $20 an hour
Even if you have a smaller pool or you don’t have as many amenities to offer, you can still register on the site. Some people rent their pools out for as little as $20 an hour. The truth is, you might end up making more than you would make if you rented one out for $100 an hour because individuals who are cost conscious are far more likely to rent a pool that costs them less per hour. Either way, you have the chance to make more than a fair amount of money.
19. The company offers insurance to those who use the app
If you’re worried about property damage or things of that nature, you don’t need to be. The company now offers insurance that will cover these types of things so if someone breaks something on your property, the insurance will cover it. The same is true for someone who slips and falls. You don’t have to worry about assuming responsibility just because you are the one that rented out the pool.
20. They’re expanding
They’re not stopping at swimming pools. In fact, they plan to expand and offer the same types of services for things such as home gyms and even home theaters. If you just happen to have a music studio in your home, that counts too. In short, if you have something to offer such as a space for a dance or art studio, or a place to take a class, you can probably feature that space on the app in the very near future and make some serious extra cash, all while providing people in your neighborhood an opportunity to experience something that they might not otherwise have.
