Episode 169: Sutro - The Future of Pool Water Chemistry Controlled by an App & Professional Reagents with Jim Conti

Episode Summary:  Jim Conti is the Head of Sales at Sutro. The brainchild of founder Ravi Kurani, Sutro began with a focus on ORP technology before the company made the pivot to reagent-based testing with photometry, resulting in Sutro’s flagship product, the Sutro Smart Monitor.  Jim explains the limitations of ORP and what led the team at Sutro to home in on incorporating Reagent Cartridges by LaMotte into their current technology.  He compares the evolution of Sutro to that of the iPhone and that the future of the product will see the addition of even more features that add to convenience such as one-tap remote chlorine checks.  “We’re an absolute extension of smart home technology,” says Jim. He goes on to share the many exciting plans the company has to make Sutro an indispensable tool for pool service professionals of any size.  While he accepts that some service pros will always prefer old-school, analog systems over what’s cutting edge, he hopes that Sutro will change the game by looking at the product’s development as a “two-way street”, where customers have a say in how the technology will continue to evolve.  Topics Discussed:  00:55 - An introduction to Jim and Sutro 07:47 - Why reagents are a better choice over ORP 15:56 - How the Sutro Smart Monitor works 26:28 - The evolution of Sutro’s technology 35:18 - How to set up the Sutro Smart Monitor 37:58 - Why it’s important to embrace new technologies 46:26 - How to introduce Sutro to your routes 52:47 - What the future holds for Sutro 1:00:14 - How to get more information on Sutro Sponsors:  Sutro  Pentair