Rancho Mesa’s Drew Garcia, Vice President of the Landscape Group, interviews Jared Rice, Executive Vice President of Weathermatic, as they discuss smart water tech for landscape professionals and the company’s narrowed approach to irrigation and water management.

Show Notes: ⁠⁠Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠Weathermatic⁠⁠

Director/Host: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Drew Garcia⁠⁠

Guest: ⁠⁠⁠⁠Jared Rice⁠⁠

Editor/Producer: ⁠Megan Lockhart⁠

Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, "Hiking" by Silent Partner

© Copyright 2024. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Transcript

Drew Garcia: Hi, this is Drew Garcia with the landscape group. Thank you for listening to today's interview brought to you by our safety and risk management network StudioOne. Welcome back everybody today I'm with Jared Rice Executive Vice President of Weathermatic, a leader in smart water technology for landscape professionals. Jared and I’ve seen each other at Multiple industry events over the last couple of years, but we were really excited to partner with you guys and sponsor SmartCon recently in Austin about maybe three weeks or four weeks ago, and happy to have you on, excited to have you on. I kind of want you to give our listeners a quick story of how you got into the industry and then where you're at today with Weathermatic.

Jared Rice: Yes, sounds great. Drew, yeah, first off, just thank you for your participation in SmartCon. We definitely couldn't do it without you, so thank you and it's seemed like everybody had a good time, so I appreciate that. I don't know how far back we want to go, but I grew up in Kansas, so I always say I'm just a hay farmer, so I've always been kind of in and around the blue collar service industry. I worked for a plumbing electrician company through college and post college worked in a commercial laundry industry as well, went through a management training program with that company, and so kind of closer, now where I am, we're in water conservation, and I think it started then, as far as my career goes. That was one of the number one costs in that business is water and energy, and always looking for ways to better utilize. So 2008, I was recruited into the landscape space by one of the national brands and at the time they were looking, they had an initiative, they were looking for people outside the industry just to add different vantage points, a little bit different experience, those kind of things and so jumped at that and moved from Kansas City to California and for the next 12 years I worked with that company in the landscape maintenance space, moved from branch manager in California to Texas and then when I left there I was a regional in Northern California so I moved back to California at that point and so throughout that entire career worked on operation improvement and processes, building out teams for the different branches and regions. So really, kind of how I came to Weathermatic was, we were a customer utilizing Weathermatic products for those 12 years. Got to know the team, the leadership team, our CEO, and on multiple times throughout those years, we would talk and different ideas hey, you know, different ideas on product improvement or, you know, software improvement and those type of things. And so it was nice to be a voice of the customer. And then kind of one thing led to another and, you know, every single time that, you know, I utilized Weathermatic was always about process efficiencies or in and around the software. The inspection tool was one of the things I was a big fan of. And so when I came to Weathermatic, it was it was with that in mind right it was hey how do we take that tool to market how do we take this platform both hardware and software so as you mentioned we're a technology company and so how do we take this platform to market to landscape maintenance professionals so that they can better manage and operate the irrigation side of their business so from remote access to alert management, just that visibility, and then also the inspection part of this. So, you know, every single maintenance contract has a component in it that you're obligated or part of the scope is to do irrigation inspections, and then our platform has that tool built in. So inspections, proposals, and then working on integrations with other CRMs here in the landscape industry.

 DG: Excellent. You know what really got my attention with you guys? You've been on my radar, Weathermatic's been on our radar for a long time. We have a lot of customers that there's some synergy between who we work with and who you guys work with. So I've heard the name, and what I really like about the approach is how specific you are to irrigation. You just get to hone in on, you know, basically one element of commercial maintenance or, you know, however far that extends. But when you look at landscape and the operations that can be done under that umbrella, it's pretty infinite. So what's really exciting to me is to see how narrowed your approach is, you know, where you're focused on irrigation and water management, because there's the commonality for us where we only insure landscape, lawn care, tree care companies. So I feel like there's a connection with that approach and it's something that I really appreciate because someone's taken the time to just become the expert, so to speak, on one subject. And when I was out at your conference, out at SmartCon, the energy and the way that people talked about Weathermatic and how they're using the system and how it was more about, you know, we're water managers versus, you know, versus irrigation. I just liked the terms and, you know, everything that you guys were using. So talk to us a little bit more about SmartCon. I think that's the, maybe the third year that you guys have done it, but based on, you know, the number of people that showed up to the event, you had multiple tracks running and it felt like you were, you know, you had something for everybody, somebody who was actually more of the operator or the inspector who would use the system versus owner, CEO, CFOs, maybe in the executive level where you had separate tracks for them. Talk to the group about why you guys decided to have your own annual conference and kind of how that's starting to really take off would be would be great to hear more about that.

JR: Got it. So yeah, glad you felt the energy too. It always is very energetic. It's a lot of fun bringing that group together and we feel like our industry is pretty awesome and full of great people and then you bring it even narrower and that group of customers for us is we probably don't even know how to put it in words like what those three days are. We're gonna work with them all year but bringing them all together for those three days is pretty powerful for us too, and for me personally. So yeah, it's year number three for us. And three years ago, we were coming off of a sales kickoff and we just kind of started the conversation and one of the breaks and we were trying to figure out how do we one, raise the level of customer experience and to, like, help and drive utilization and through the entire organization for our customers? So from the person that made the decision at the top, the business owner to the person that's using it in the field, how do we get everybody on the same page and move that ball as quickly as possible? And so that's what hatched the idea of SmartCon. And so every single year we've added to it. And this last year we've took the approach of we wanna, if you come one time, what brings you back? I think the hook is a little bit easier. It's still tough to come for the first time, but then if you come one time, how do you still be fresh and relevant? And so it started off as a user conference. And I think we've migrated to a hub of thought leadership. And so how do we bring likeminded people, how do we bring sponsors that are in the same niche or are cutting edge with some of the ways they're going to market, whether it's technology or the value proposition. And then also, it's how do we build an environment where you can grow at a personal level, a professional level, and then learn from other people. that are getting business results from the tool, from the platform, and share those best practices. So that's been really awesome to see. Probably my two favorite parts of that are that collaboration, even competitors, right? You have people from the same market coming together, sharing what they're doing, open book, and then, they're, you know, iron sharpens iron, or the rising tide rates is all ships, put whatever analogy that you want there, and that's what's happening. And then the other part too, that I'm looking forward to expanding on is you mentioned multiple tracks, and so we called it an executive track, but it was kind of professional development, was what we were after there, led by the Exec Ed from UT there in Austin. And then we also introduced for the first time, ever the Spanish-speaking technical track. So our thoughts for next year will continue to make that exec track a little bit bigger, and then I want to expand that exec track into the Spanish track as well. So how do we continue just to build that out so that this conference is a must go to for our customers?

 DG:  I think, yeah, you guys are well on your way to doing that. The, you know, everyone goes to the conferences looking to network and man, I don't know. I mean, it was getting done at your event. And I thought that the one session that really stuck out to me, and I'm gonna blank on his name, but you basically had a landscape professional from Oregon who led everybody through about an hour's worth of time from how he's brought SOPs into his business to help really manage this technology and get the best usage from his employees and then get the best product for the customer. And I mean, I saw a million people scribbling things down as he was going through, and then he was basically a celebrity after that because I don’t think he had a moment to himself where he was coming up and asking him questions. I thought that firsthand experience and he did a really good job of putting together his presentation and tying things all back. I think a lot of people were able to relate to it. And like you said, there's people in his direct market that we're kind of hearing his secrets. But what I really like about that and what I appreciate what you guys are doing, you're bringing in a level of professionalism into the industry that's pushing the envelope for expectations in the future. So if you've got people who are taking this approach of water management and raising the level of education to their customer and how this can happen, you're doing more than just fulfilling a service contract, you're educating, you're building the credibility of the industry which is ultra-important and that's the main piece, my main takeaway was why you're really arming people with the ability to elevate their level of service to their customers, drive more value with what it looks like to work with a particular company that's really utilizing your service as well. And you know, there's an element of risk and safety here too and I think I'm just probably scratching the surface of how this probably could relate to me and my end and to the commercial insurance market. But talk to us a little bit about how could this be, how could, and I had to bring in risk and safety into the conversation to tie it back into what we're doing here at Rancho Mesa. But how could the system help a business? And you and I talked offline a little bit about you know, some scenarios that obviously could create havoc for a landscape company when they're under contract as a commercial maintenance company for a commercial building or an HOA. Many times you know we'll see the irrigation system fails or there's some line break or a sprinkler break and now we've got water going where it shouldn't go. Is there an element here where Weathermatic can help maybe alert somebody a little bit faster than a phone call coming in at midnight? Is there something that you think your system does to potentially prevent some of these things from becoming a bigger problem and being able to address them a little bit quicker?

JR: Yeah, no good question and safety first. So you have to bring it up. So I think there's a couple of components, right? And for some of our customers, the landscape professional, and then we also have some customers that are some national portfolio management asset managers. And, you know, one of the things that they look at kind of a couple of different ways to look at this, right? Is, you know, we shouldn't be irrigating when temperatures are, you know, freezing, right? And so there's that component, which, you know, is a risk and safety thing and a huge liability. And then the other piece that you mentioned, so with flow, water should stay in the pipes and stay spraying the landscapes. And when it breaks, depending on how big and where, I think you're in San Diego and you get a leak on a slope and all those houses up on the slopes, right? That's a huge liability. And so any wash out, those type of things definitely. And so our system, if equipped with the right infrastructure has a flow sensor, and master valve will be able to, you know, the controller knows when it's supposed to be water and knows how much water is supposed to be going through the pipes when calibrated. And then when it's above that, above that threshold, it knows that shuts down and shuts down the system to prevent, you know, further and then also alerts the landscape professionals so that they can go make the needed repairs.

DG: Perfect. Yeah, I think that ties it in right there. I didn't think about the, in the cooler weather when yeah You have an automated system that is set to go off at a certain time and without the ability to you know from anywhere shut that system off due to cooler weather that could create that ice, that's another really good point for you know for a different market. And San Diego gets down to freezing You know where I'm at so believe it or not. Yeah, we're all getting these these crazy temperature swings. ell, I like I said, I think we're scratching the surface on risk and safety and the value that you guys are bringing there, but again, I appreciate you joining us today on our podcast and really appreciated having the opportunity to support you guys at SmartCon and we look forward to future opportunities to see you guys at different events and continue to build this relationship.

JR: Thank you, Drew. Thanks for having me on.

DG: You bet. Thank you.

Alyssa Burley: This is Alyssa Burley with Rancho Mesa. Thanks for tuning in to our latest episode produced by StudioOne. For more information visit us at RanchoMesa.com and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.