Harvard Should Start Teaching Plumbing

“Harvard should start teaching plumbing instead of computer science.” That’s what an investor tweeted after an obscenely high quote for a water heater. So I reached out and said “we’re a couple Harvard guys starting a plumbing company.” He invested.

As a homeowner, you look up the cost of hardware, which seems reasonable. And then you’re absolutely floored when you get the real price including installation. You feel like you’re getting fleeced (and you often are).

The price of installing a water heater is so high because:
1) there’s a trade shortage,
2) there’s a lot of red tape to jump through even for basic plumbing work, and
3) there’s too much information asymmetry when it comes time to get plumbing work done. You’re smart, but how much time do you have to think about plumbing?

At Reservoir we’re going after all three issues.
1) We’re engaging trade schools to build a tech enabled workforce that builds excitement with a new generation (yes, plumbing is cool!).
2) We’re standardizing the home review, install and permit process and digitizing as much as we can to cut time, friction and costs.
3) We’re publishing transparent pricing because we’re not afraid to. We know we're competitive in Boston.

Our goal is to be the most reliable, comfortable and affordable way of enjoying hot water. We’re just getting started.

Thanks for just “getting it”, AJ S..