June 12, 2025 • 28 mins
Are robotics making a splash in the pool cleaning scene? José Vallés, VP and GM of Americas at WYBOT, reveals how the company is using robotics to make pool care effortless, efficient, and even fun. 🌊✨
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Episode Transcript
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Steven (00:00):
Welcome to the Four Worlds Podcast from Tomorrow's
World Today.
We're diving into the latest intech, science, and
sustainability, from nature'smysteries and the world of
inspiration, to the hands-oncrafts of creation, the bold
breakthroughs of innovation, andthe scaled-up wonders of
production.
This is your ticket to thestories shaping tomorrow.
(00:23):
We welcome Jose Valles, VP andGM of WYBOT Americas, right?
José (00:31):
Yes, that's correct.
I took the role to try todevelop these categories in a
bigger, better way across allthe distribution in the United
States, building a team,building the structure, building
the distribution.
So yeah, I'm excited about it.
Some of my background,passionate about robotics, about
consumer, durable goods, 30years experience, even though I
(00:54):
look 18, I'm not 18.
So my passion is consumers.
I've Yeah, it's clear
Steven (01:14):
that you bring a lot to the table about Wybot.
That's why we're excited tohave you on the show.
It's really a pleasure.
And we just want to thank youfor joining us today.
José (01:23):
No, thank you.
Thank you.
And I look forward to provideall the necessary information
for you and for the consumersand for your listeners.
More information about howexciting this category is
getting.
Steven (01:37):
Yeah, so let's jump right into it because I'm not
sure if there's listeners thatare wondering what YBOT is.
So let's get right into that.
Who is YBOT?
What do you do?
And how does it affect andimpact the consumers' lives?
José (01:52):
So...
You know, going into that, I'mgoing to try to work through the
whole thing because there is alot of information.
But Wybot is being focused.
And when you say Wybot, Wybotis the brand that we're using.
The company has been in themarket for 20 years developing,
focusing on developing theseharmonious integration of water,
(02:13):
robotics, and consumers andtransforming the pool cleaning
into an effortless, intelligentexperience.
So we've been doing that for 20years.
We've been focusing on that.
and improving that experienceto their consumer.
The funny part is that, likeyou said, we've been there for
20 years, but unfortunately ourfocus wasn't 100% in our brand.
(02:35):
The brand Wybot is new.
We introduced it 2.5 years agoand we've been developing the
brand in order to bring morethings, easier things, more
intelligent things to themarketplace in the pool cleaning
process.
In the last four years, There'sbeen a change, a drastic change
(02:55):
on technology.
It's much better than before.
Prices have drastically gonedown in the last five years.
So when people pay for a cordedrobot five years ago, $1,200 to
$1,500, it's now probably halfprice.
With a much better technology,100% independent, no hoses, no
(03:19):
cords, AI camera technology,charging inside the water,
better cleaning performance, anda smaller, more compact and
more efficient at half of theprice.
So that's the exciting thingabout YBUD, bringing all that
experience for 20 years and nowputting it into their own brand
(03:40):
and be able to say, here is foryou to enjoy your pool better.
Steven (03:45):
Yeah, and it's obvious that YBOT and YBOTX and your
products have evolved so muchover the years.
So I'm going to test yourhistory a little bit.
Let's take it back to 2005 wheneverything started to come to
fruition.
What was that inspiration?
In our four worlds, inspirationis the start of it all.
(04:05):
Where did that inspiration comefrom and how has it inspired
what it is today?
José (04:11):
Yeah, it's a great question.
And I call it the DNA of thecompany because it's all the
history.
So everything started with abig bulky robot to an
independent one motor robot thathad a 100 foot cord.
You plug it on a transformerinto the wall and you throw it
in the pool and that robot willgo out and pee.
(04:34):
But remember, back then wecreated the technology and we
give that to other brands.
So brands that are in themarket today, brands that have
disappeared from the markettoday, they use that technology
because we were created andsomebody will come in and say,
you know, Stephen Ruffin brand.
Boom, they put the brand in itand let's go.
But now we determined that allthat technology is out So why
(04:58):
we're giving it to somebody elseunder a different brand.
So let's create that.
So the original focus wasdeveloping technology for
others.
But in 2022, we decided tobring our own brand.
And what is exciting?
What is evolving from?
So you have the robot, singlerobot, the funny part in 2010,
we developed the first skimmer.
(05:18):
Today, the skimmer is the onethat floats around the pool.
And it cleans all the debrisfrom the pool.
We developed that in 2010, butthe consumers were not ready for
it.
So we have to put it on theshelf.
In 2018, we developed the firstrobotic pool cleaner, battery
operated.
Nobody was even thinking aboutit.
We developed that.
(05:38):
Then on 2020, we developed thefirst battery operated
self-cleaning robot that climbedwalls.
And it keeps evolving.
I mean, if we look at 2023, weintroduced the first in-the-pool
charging robot.
So you don't have to pull it.
It just ducks itself like aRoomba, if you want to call it
(06:01):
that way.
Ducks itself, charges, and itcomes out and cleans the pool.
And in this year, we introducedsolar panel technology.
So we're going to talk about itand self-charging inside the
pool and a new technology thatwe'll talk through our
conversation that is comingthrough that is going to excite.
So when you look at history, weintroduce AI power debris
(06:24):
detection technology with acamera.
Nobody else has that right now.
So now the robot is moreintelligent, more focused,
navigates better because he seeswhat the dirt is in the pool
and he attacks that.
We introduced the world's firstself-cleaning robot.
We introduced the world's firstin the water charging, world's
first solar charging, dualfiltration, skimmer, the most
(06:47):
compact one, and then sonarsensor technology.
That is an old technology, butwe're bringing it back because
we noticed that by all thealgorithms and all the
technology, that is a betternavigation.
So, again, testing my history,I think I gave you basically our
whole DNA.
Steven (07:06):
I think you are a certified Wybot historian at
this point.
So that was great.
And, you know, you talk aboutthe DNA.
And it's, again, obvious thatinnovation is in history.
taking all of this technology,having to shelve some of it
until the consumer and the worldis truly ready for it.
(07:26):
But within innovation, it'sreally about making people's
lives easier.
And pool cleaning is kind of atthe head of that because the
one thing about a swimming poolis the maintenance that goes
into it.
So Wybot's technology and theproducts, is it really about
making the consumer's lifeeasier, letting them go and do
(07:46):
other things and not having toworry about some of the tedious
things that comes with poolmaintenance.
José (07:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
That's our focus, bringinginnovation, bringing solutions.
And I can give you someexamples of that, bringing all
the possible solutions for theconsumer to focus on why the
pool is in their backyard.
It's enjoying it, right?
So by removing the cord, byremoving the hose, and having an
independent robot, you'realready giving the consumer more
(08:15):
time to enjoy the pool.
Why?
Because I don't have todisconnect anything.
All I have to do is my regularprocess.
I pull the robot out when he'sfinished and I put it in a
corner charging.
My pool is ready to go at anytime, at any time.
I don't have to worry aboutanything.
I just got to worry on jumpingin.
So that's important for us.
But the most important part Ithink it is the rewarding coming
(08:40):
through your eyes that you comeout and you're using your robot
and you see your pool clean,your walls clean, your waterline
clean.
The bottom of the pool, the topof the pool, the floating
debris is out, gone.
I don't have to worry.
I just have to say, hey,family, let's go.
Let's have some hot dogs andenjoy the pool and a beer and so
(09:03):
forth.
So that's the most rewardingthing that we're focusing on.
But we want to give you thesolution at your will.
And I give you a perfectexample in my case.
My pool guy is coming in everyTuesday.
OK, he comes in.
And as of right now, we'regoing to talk a little bit more
about that.
But as of right now, there is aguy that comes to my pool every
Tuesday.
He measures all the chemicals.
(09:24):
He sees everything.
He cleans the water line.
He does it.
Am I wasting my money?
Possibly.
The other day, the pool guyapproached me and said, Jose,
you have that robot.
Why don't you fire me?
And I go, because I don't knowthe chemicals and I don't want
to clean the filter on thesystem, right?
The big pool filter that youhave on the side of your pump.
(09:46):
So I said, there it is.
The guy's seeing the future upto a certain point.
But that's rewarding to me.
So he comes on Tuesday.
Guess what?
On Thursday, I have to throwthe robot back in because my
pool is dirty.
And the guy doesn't come backuntil next week.
So...
That's rewarding.
I have a party on Friday.
I don't have to worry.
(10:07):
I don't have to worry becausethe robot is there to clean it.
Steven (10:10):
Now, when the robot is in use, is it steer clear of the
pool, no swimming, or can therobot kind of work around it?
What does that look like?
José (10:21):
So, great question.
If you have a court, I would bevery concerned of kids
cleaning.
swimming around because theycan get tangled and then a nasty
situation can happen with thehose is the same thing so with
the robot the robot can be inthe bottom of the pool you can
be swimming you can be doinganything the robot is not going
to do anything to you from theelectrical side of things
(10:42):
because people think well thereis a battery in there and it's a
12 volt battery is the same asif you throw a phone inside the
pool nothing is going to happenSo you can swim around it.
It doesn't have enough suctionto create a situation with kids
or dogs or humans in general.
So, no, it can be in the pool.
(11:04):
And I actually have friendsthat they send me videos, the
kids swimming.
And I go like, what is therobot doing in the bottom of the
pool?
And they say, I just leave itthere.
Steven (11:14):
Don't mind it.
He's just another swimmer.
It's
José (11:18):
part of the family.
Steven (11:19):
Yeah, right.
And you talk about that, youknow, just the 12 volt battery
being in there.
But I'm sure that there's somethere's that protective shell
around it.
Right.
So talk about that kind oftechnology, making sure that the
electronics of the robot andthe water kind of don't mix,
because that obviously is aconcern when anytime you have
(11:40):
water and electricity, you know,going hand in hand.
José (11:42):
Yeah.
The only dangers on that is weprotect the battery.
We protect the electronics tobe protected.
swimming in the pool.
That's the most important part.
And we try to keep thosecompartments really not
removable, not really easyaccess to it because we have
DIYers and they think thatthey're mechanics and they get
in and touch things.
(12:03):
If they do, then the robot hasa risk of going bad.
That's it.
Nothing on the electrical side,because like I said, it's
charging from the wall, eventhough it's 110, charges into a
12-volt battery.
which 12-volt doesn't doanything to anyone with water or
without water.
Steven (12:22):
There you go.
I'm sure that is something thatwould be on people's minds.
Just, you know, you know, yougot to cover all bases, right?
Yeah.
So we talk about that, the AIand the sensors that really give
Wybot's technology the abilityto do what it does.
How has AI helped Wybotics andWybot and the products evolve
(12:45):
over those years?
Because it definitely wasn'taround to this extent in 2005.
José (12:50):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I mean, the AI technology, nowwe call it AI, but the camera
technology has been around.
And I go back to my previousexperience.
We introduced cameras in iRobotwhen I was in iRobot.
I think it's like 10 years ago.
Not 10 years ago.
It's probably like seven or sixyears ago.
(13:11):
Charlie can confirm that.
We introduced that becausethat's where where the
technology was going, right?
You need to be smarter in thehouse.
You're trying to humanize theserobots so they're more
efficient into their cleaningperformance.
If I can clean a pool, that is15 by 37 in half an hour and I'm
(13:33):
be happy with it, that's whatwe wanna achieve by introducing
that camera.
Right now, we're the only onethat has a camera with AI
technology.
So that allows you at a specialsetting that if your pool is
clean, but you see spots ofleaves in the pool, you can set
it up, put it in the pool andit's gonna go boom, boom, boom,
(13:55):
clean it up and stop.
And then you're like, okay,it's all set.
I'll pick it up, get it out andmove forward.
Now, the important part withthis is what that AI technology
is.
And this is my vision that I'mpassing to the engineering team.
And this is pretty cool.
It's learning, right?
So from that learning, I'mgetting better, getting smarter.
(14:19):
So if I send the robot that hasa capability of three hour use
and I can send them out, cleanthe pool in half an hour, send
me a text that says I'm done,pull it out.
I can have the party earlier.
I can have the people enjoyingthe pool early.
More importantly, and this ismy final goal.
I have a camera.
(14:40):
If anything falls in the pool,anything, I have to activate the
robot to that point.
that situation, take a pictureand send it to my phone.
That's my dream because numberone cause of kids' deaths in the
United States is drowning inpools.
(15:01):
So if I have a robot that canlive in the water and that's a
safety device that somethingfalls, a bear, a kid, a chair, a
piece of tree, whatever, cansend you a picture and say,
alert, Here's an unusualsituation.
That would be my dream.
So that's where AI comes intoplay into our category.
(15:22):
And I continue to say, when dowe get there?
It's going to be sometime, butthat's the dream.
Steven (15:30):
Yeah, I mean, that's an excellent ultimate goal to have
because obviously protecting notonly the pool, but kids and
family members around the pool,that just takes it to a whole
new level.
another level really.
And it really shows kind ofleading into my next question
that Wybot isn't slowing down.
You know, I was going to askwhat are those next goals, but
(15:52):
clearly it's, it's a prettyclear what, what you want to do.
José (15:56):
Yes, it is.
It is.
It's introducing things thatare customer focused that are
basically going to give you afinal goal of enjoying the pool
more, but you have smallergoals.
Easier to manipulate.
Inside the pool charging.
Solar technology charging.
Camera inside.
(16:18):
And we talk about what my dreamwould be.
And all these things that arecoming in.
But there is more.
Chemical measurement.
Chloro stabilizer.
Algae stabilizer.
All these things.
We want to put that in therobot.
So you have a double sense ofconfidence.
(16:38):
My pool is clean and it'shealthy.
Is my pool guy doing the rightjob?
I don't know if he's puttingclothes.
He looks clean, but I don'tknow what he's doing.
But he sends me a bill everymonth.
Well, I don't want to questiontheir job.
They're pretty honest.
At least my guy is prettyhonest.
But I have a dream.
(16:59):
When I retire, I want to be aDIY pool cleaner.
My pool will be maintained byme.
The chemical side of things isscary, is unknown.
You have to put drops in alittle measuring thing.
If I have a report out from myrobot that says, you need this,
this, and this in order tostabilize your pool.
By the way, there is a PintoPenny or a Leslie's a mile away.
(17:23):
Please press here so they'llhave the order ready for you
when you get in your car and youget there.
That's the dream.
And that's what we're workingnext.
Chemicals is, it's a consumerdemand.
Everybody, everyone that asksme, what's next?
Chemicals.
Oh, that's great.
Finally, I can get this so Ican become a DIYer.
(17:45):
No.
Not really, you don't.
Do you clean your filter today?
And they said, no.
Okay, so you're never going toeliminate your guy because he's
a pretty big filter, heavy.
It's difficult to clean.
You have to do it the rightway.
And if you don't do it theright way, you break your filter
container.
Well, that costs about $1,500if you do that.
So you have to be careful howyou do.
(18:07):
But those are the dream spacesthat we're working on the next
things for the consumer.
Steven (18:12):
Right.
And honestly, it's kind of likesomething as simple as just
alerting if there's a problemwith the filter alerting if
there's problem with thechemicals and then you kind of
take it from there you hire thatpool guy you have your pool guy
still come in exactly so it'skind of like a full circle with
technology meeting the humanhands on So that is great.
(18:33):
Now, can you share, you know,any stories that you have from
whether it's the productionprocess, what that looks like,
or even on a consumer's point ofview?
Have you had any stories of,you know, wow, this technology
is great.
It saves me so much time.
José (18:49):
Yeah, stories are, there are many.
In the last show in CES inJanuary of this year, when we
presented the solar chargingtechnology, the self-cleaning
robot technology, everybodysaid, okay, you guys are going
the right direction.
I needed to clean my pool.
You brought up a self- containrobot that doesn't have a cord,
(19:12):
that doesn't have a hose.
It's a battery operated thatyou throw in the pool.
Then you said, I want to chargeit inside the pool so I don't
have to pull it out of the pool.
So we introduced aself-charging inside the pool
technology.
Now we're putting solartechnology.
Oh, that's pretty cool.
So I don't have to connect itto my electricity.
Even though the electricity fora charging of a robot is like
(19:34):
charging your cellular phone.
And that's a misconception.
A lot of people think, oh, it'sgoing to be a lot of
electricity.
No, it's like charging yourphone.
And then we bring, it cleansitself.
And they all went like, wow,now it's a real Roomba in my
pool.
And I go like, yep, it is.
Because now it charges, itcleans.
All you have to do is just comeout once every week or every
(19:57):
other week and pull the basketon outside of the pool, empty
it, clean it, and put it back.
And the robot keeps operating.
So that's a wow situation.
And when you say, I'm going tointroduce chemicals, they all
go, done.
Where is it?
I really need to do this.
And that's very rewarding forus.
(20:19):
But at the same time, we hearthe consumer on everything.
So we introduce a skimmer thatis solar technology.
It flows around, and becauseit's solar, it charges itself,
right?
But they say, what about if Iwant to clean my pool and it's a
cloudy day?
And the pool was in the shadowfor a day because I had a pool
and he didn't charge 100%.
(20:40):
You guys don't offer a chargerinside your robot.
Originally, we didn't.
But quickly, the factory camein and said, you know what?
The consumer is right.
So let's put a charger insidejust in case.
So we're offering now the sameproduct, same price, no changes.
We're just going to put thecharger inside the unit for the
(21:01):
consumer to be happy.
Steven (21:02):
And not only are you a historian, but you're a mind
reader as well, because you tookthe words right out of my
mouth.
My next question was, how areyou incorporating these real
world feedbacks into yourproducts?
And it's clear just from thatone story that you take.
what the customer has to sayvery, very seriously.
José (21:20):
Yeah.
And the most important part isthe customers know better.
Like I said before, I'm anexpert on consumer, on customer.
I'm not an expert on specificproducts.
I don't know anything of that.
But if the customer is saying,what about this?
We got to listen and we got topay attention because they see
something in their environmentthat fits them and that might
(21:44):
fit them and a million morepeople yeah so bring it back
analyze it consider it see ifit's feasible see if it's
affordable because that's theother thing the guy can be
asking for a solution that costsa million dollars i don't know
that we want to do that but wewe gotta focus on the center of
all planets which is calledconsumer or customer
Steven (22:05):
There you go.
And, you know, hearing thatfeedback and making that change
quickly, trying to get a newproduct that's enhanced to have
that charger onto the productionline.
What does that productionprocess look like?
How long does it take?
And especially when you getfeedback like that, you know,
what's the production line looklike to keep up with this
demand?
José (22:25):
Thankfully, we're a small company in size, so that makes
us humble and nimble and faster.
This was brought up probablytwo months ago.
It's in execution now.
In the S2 solar, which is theunit that has a solar panel, it
charges itself inside the water.
(22:46):
We didn't think about adding acharger to that.
And that takes a little bitmore work because you've got to
redesign the solar panel casingto accept a charger.
It's already in production.
So we brought it up two monthsago.
So changes that are criticalfor the consumer that take
priority.
(23:06):
And we're pretty fast withthat.
If we were a bigger company andI've been in bigger companies,
it might take a year or two.
In this one, it took months.
Fast, nimble, fast, realsolutions.
Very, very little
Steven (23:24):
time.
And, you know, of course, itall comes back to the customer.
That's exactly what you want tohear.
You want to hear about thecustomer service from a company.
So that's really excellent.
So speaking of customers,what's the best way for someone
or a pool owner to get involvedwith YBOT?
How do they get theirtechnology?
How do they get those poolcleaners up and running?
José (23:47):
So very simple.
Call me, and that way we'll doit.
No, there is our website.
We have a direct-to-consumerwebsite.
It's wybotpool.com.
It's W-Y-B-O-T, pool, P-O-O-L,dot com.
You can learn about ourproducts.
(24:07):
You can learn about ourhistory.
You can learn about things, andyou can buy it there.
We're also in broaderdistribution across the U.S.
We are in walmart.com.
We're We're in Amazon.com.
We're in our own website.
And we're expanding into otherretailers as well as fast as we
can.
So the easiest way, don't beafraid of the robot.
(24:29):
It's not complicated.
It's a robot.
That's the important part.
People think, and I getmillions of questions like that.
Do I need to determine thearea?
How do I let them do thesethings?
They learn.
They learn.
They learn quickly.
They have the right programminginside that all you have to do
is charge it after it's fullycharged.
charge, press the button andclean, put it inside the pool
(24:52):
and enjoy how clean your pool isgoing to be.
Steven (24:55):
That's a heck of an elevator pitch to wrap things
up.
I do want to ask you one finalquestion.
We really did touch on it hereand there in the interview, but
what excites you most about thefuture of pool care and the
future of Y-Bot?
José (25:10):
That's a heavy question.
It is.
It is a heavy and trickyquestion.
But what excites me is beingable to have a consumer that is
happy, being able to people thathave always been passionate
about DIYing things in theirhouse.
And I'm giving them all thetools that provides them with
(25:33):
doing that in the pool.
And so much that they enjoythat, that they can enjoy the
use of the pool.
But what really excites me isall related to all this is
bringing those continue consumerneeds into their hands.
And my next frontier, it's apassion of mine, is not only the
(25:55):
chemicals, But if I can get thecamera to look at what falls in
the pool, and I can say, ourrobot helps your safety in your
house, you can enjoy your poolcalmly because your kids are
safe while the robot is in thepool.
So that's what it fills me up.
And that's, I think, the focusof this conversation.
(26:16):
But we have all the solutionsand nobody else has those things
that consumers are being askingfor.
Now they have them availablefor them.
Steven (26:26):
You know, we're definitely excited to continue
to follow your journey andcontinue to follow the future of
YBOT.
How can people do the same?
Where can they connect withyou?
José (26:37):
They can connect with me if they have my name right, Jose
Valles.
They can connect with me onLinkedIn.
We have a LinkedIn YBot.
They can follow us.
They can ask us questionsthere.
But in the YBotPool.com, thewebsite that I provided before,
www.YBotPool.com, they can get alot of that information and
(26:58):
they can get in contact with us.
Somebody will go back to themwith questions, with answers,
with concerns, with any type ofsituation We're available all
the time.
And we also have the capabilityof, you know, while we're
sleeping in the U.S., Asia isworking so they can answer those
questions as well.
(27:18):
So we're here.
We're here.
We're excited about providingyou the information for you to
feel comfortable and evolve intothese all category with new
technology and better pricingout there that you're going to
be very satisfied with.
Steven (27:32):
Once again, very exciting stuff.
Jose, I really appreciate youtaking your time.
I really enjoyed this.
It was a pleasure speaking withyou.
José (27:40):
Steven, thank you so much.
Ladies, thank you so much.
And this is great.
And I hope I can pass all thatinformation and my passion about
pool cleaning performance andgiving more time to the
consumers.
So if you have a pool, pleaseenjoy and let's stay in touch.
And if you have any questionsor any other comments, please
reach out.
Steven (28:00):
Absolutely.
It was a pleasure.
Thank you again.
All right, everyone.
Thank you again.
Until next time.
Thank you so much.
José (28:05):
Thank you.
Steven (28:07):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Four Worlds
Podcast.
Until next time, you can catchup on the latest innovations
shaping our world attomorrowsworldtoday.com, follow
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We're diving into the latest intech, science, and
sustainability, from nature'smysteries and the world of
inspiration, to the hands-oncrafts of creation, the bold
breakthroughs of innovation, andthe scaled-up wonders of
production.
This is your ticket to thestories shaping tomorrow.
(00:23):
We welcome Jose Valles, VP andGM of WYBOT Americas, right?
José (00:31):
Yes, that's correct.
I took the role to try todevelop these categories in a
bigger, better way across allthe distribution in the United
States, building a team,building the structure, building
the distribution.
So yeah, I'm excited about it.
Some of my background,passionate about robotics, about
consumer, durable goods, 30years experience, even though I
(00:54):
look 18, I'm not 18.
So my passion is consumers.
I've Yeah, it's clear
Steven (01:14):
that you bring a lot to the table about Wybot.
That's why we're excited tohave you on the show.
It's really a pleasure.
And we just want to thank youfor joining us today.
José (01:23):
No, thank you.
Thank you.
And I look forward to provideall the necessary information
for you and for the consumersand for your listeners.
More information about howexciting this category is
getting.
Steven (01:37):
Yeah, so let's jump right into it because I'm not
sure if there's listeners thatare wondering what YBOT is.
So let's get right into that.
Who is YBOT?
What do you do?
And how does it affect andimpact the consumers' lives?
José (01:52):
So...
You know, going into that, I'mgoing to try to work through the
whole thing because there is alot of information.
But Wybot is being focused.
And when you say Wybot, Wybotis the brand that we're using.
The company has been in themarket for 20 years developing,
focusing on developing theseharmonious integration of water,
(02:13):
robotics, and consumers andtransforming the pool cleaning
into an effortless, intelligentexperience.
So we've been doing that for 20years.
We've been focusing on that.
and improving that experienceto their consumer.
The funny part is that, likeyou said, we've been there for
20 years, but unfortunately ourfocus wasn't 100% in our brand.
(02:35):
The brand Wybot is new.
We introduced it 2.5 years agoand we've been developing the
brand in order to bring morethings, easier things, more
intelligent things to themarketplace in the pool cleaning
process.
In the last four years, There'sbeen a change, a drastic change
(02:55):
on technology.
It's much better than before.
Prices have drastically gonedown in the last five years.
So when people pay for a cordedrobot five years ago, $1,200 to
$1,500, it's now probably halfprice.
With a much better technology,100% independent, no hoses, no
(03:19):
cords, AI camera technology,charging inside the water,
better cleaning performance, anda smaller, more compact and
more efficient at half of theprice.
So that's the exciting thingabout YBUD, bringing all that
experience for 20 years and nowputting it into their own brand
(03:40):
and be able to say, here is foryou to enjoy your pool better.
Steven (03:45):
Yeah, and it's obvious that YBOT and YBOTX and your
products have evolved so muchover the years.
So I'm going to test yourhistory a little bit.
Let's take it back to 2005 wheneverything started to come to
fruition.
What was that inspiration?
In our four worlds, inspirationis the start of it all.
(04:05):
Where did that inspiration comefrom and how has it inspired
what it is today?
José (04:11):
Yeah, it's a great question.
And I call it the DNA of thecompany because it's all the
history.
So everything started with abig bulky robot to an
independent one motor robot thathad a 100 foot cord.
You plug it on a transformerinto the wall and you throw it
in the pool and that robot willgo out and pee.
(04:34):
But remember, back then wecreated the technology and we
give that to other brands.
So brands that are in themarket today, brands that have
disappeared from the markettoday, they use that technology
because we were created andsomebody will come in and say,
you know, Stephen Ruffin brand.
Boom, they put the brand in itand let's go.
But now we determined that allthat technology is out So why
(04:58):
we're giving it to somebody elseunder a different brand.
So let's create that.
So the original focus wasdeveloping technology for
others.
But in 2022, we decided tobring our own brand.
And what is exciting?
What is evolving from?
So you have the robot, singlerobot, the funny part in 2010,
we developed the first skimmer.
(05:18):
Today, the skimmer is the onethat floats around the pool.
And it cleans all the debrisfrom the pool.
We developed that in 2010, butthe consumers were not ready for
it.
So we have to put it on theshelf.
In 2018, we developed the firstrobotic pool cleaner, battery
operated.
Nobody was even thinking aboutit.
We developed that.
(05:38):
Then on 2020, we developed thefirst battery operated
self-cleaning robot that climbedwalls.
And it keeps evolving.
I mean, if we look at 2023, weintroduced the first in-the-pool
charging robot.
So you don't have to pull it.
It just ducks itself like aRoomba, if you want to call it
(06:01):
that way.
Ducks itself, charges, and itcomes out and cleans the pool.
And in this year, we introducedsolar panel technology.
So we're going to talk about itand self-charging inside the
pool and a new technology thatwe'll talk through our
conversation that is comingthrough that is going to excite.
So when you look at history, weintroduce AI power debris
(06:24):
detection technology with acamera.
Nobody else has that right now.
So now the robot is moreintelligent, more focused,
navigates better because he seeswhat the dirt is in the pool
and he attacks that.
We introduced the world's firstself-cleaning robot.
We introduced the world's firstin the water charging, world's
first solar charging, dualfiltration, skimmer, the most
(06:47):
compact one, and then sonarsensor technology.
That is an old technology, butwe're bringing it back because
we noticed that by all thealgorithms and all the
technology, that is a betternavigation.
So, again, testing my history,I think I gave you basically our
whole DNA.
Steven (07:06):
I think you are a certified Wybot historian at
this point.
So that was great.
And, you know, you talk aboutthe DNA.
And it's, again, obvious thatinnovation is in history.
taking all of this technology,having to shelve some of it
until the consumer and the worldis truly ready for it.
(07:26):
But within innovation, it'sreally about making people's
lives easier.
And pool cleaning is kind of atthe head of that because the
one thing about a swimming poolis the maintenance that goes
into it.
So Wybot's technology and theproducts, is it really about
making the consumer's lifeeasier, letting them go and do
(07:46):
other things and not having toworry about some of the tedious
things that comes with poolmaintenance.
José (07:52):
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
That's our focus, bringinginnovation, bringing solutions.
And I can give you someexamples of that, bringing all
the possible solutions for theconsumer to focus on why the
pool is in their backyard.
It's enjoying it, right?
So by removing the cord, byremoving the hose, and having an
independent robot, you'realready giving the consumer more
(08:15):
time to enjoy the pool.
Why?
Because I don't have todisconnect anything.
All I have to do is my regularprocess.
I pull the robot out when he'sfinished and I put it in a
corner charging.
My pool is ready to go at anytime, at any time.
I don't have to worry aboutanything.
I just got to worry on jumpingin.
So that's important for us.
But the most important part Ithink it is the rewarding coming
(08:40):
through your eyes that you comeout and you're using your robot
and you see your pool clean,your walls clean, your waterline
clean.
The bottom of the pool, the topof the pool, the floating
debris is out, gone.
I don't have to worry.
I just have to say, hey,family, let's go.
Let's have some hot dogs andenjoy the pool and a beer and so
(09:03):
forth.
So that's the most rewardingthing that we're focusing on.
But we want to give you thesolution at your will.
And I give you a perfectexample in my case.
My pool guy is coming in everyTuesday.
OK, he comes in.
And as of right now, we'regoing to talk a little bit more
about that.
But as of right now, there is aguy that comes to my pool every
Tuesday.
He measures all the chemicals.
(09:24):
He sees everything.
He cleans the water line.
He does it.
Am I wasting my money?
Possibly.
The other day, the pool guyapproached me and said, Jose,
you have that robot.
Why don't you fire me?
And I go, because I don't knowthe chemicals and I don't want
to clean the filter on thesystem, right?
The big pool filter that youhave on the side of your pump.
(09:46):
So I said, there it is.
The guy's seeing the future upto a certain point.
But that's rewarding to me.
So he comes on Tuesday.
Guess what?
On Thursday, I have to throwthe robot back in because my
pool is dirty.
And the guy doesn't come backuntil next week.
So...
That's rewarding.
I have a party on Friday.
I don't have to worry.
(10:07):
I don't have to worry becausethe robot is there to clean it.
Steven (10:10):
Now, when the robot is in use, is it steer clear of the
pool, no swimming, or can therobot kind of work around it?
What does that look like?
José (10:21):
So, great question.
If you have a court, I would bevery concerned of kids
cleaning.
swimming around because theycan get tangled and then a nasty
situation can happen with thehose is the same thing so with
the robot the robot can be inthe bottom of the pool you can
be swimming you can be doinganything the robot is not going
to do anything to you from theelectrical side of things
(10:42):
because people think well thereis a battery in there and it's a
12 volt battery is the same asif you throw a phone inside the
pool nothing is going to happenSo you can swim around it.
It doesn't have enough suctionto create a situation with kids
or dogs or humans in general.
So, no, it can be in the pool.
(11:04):
And I actually have friendsthat they send me videos, the
kids swimming.
And I go like, what is therobot doing in the bottom of the
pool?
And they say, I just leave itthere.
Steven (11:14):
Don't mind it.
He's just another swimmer.
It's
José (11:18):
part of the family.
Steven (11:19):
Yeah, right.
And you talk about that, youknow, just the 12 volt battery
being in there.
But I'm sure that there's somethere's that protective shell
around it.
Right.
So talk about that kind oftechnology, making sure that the
electronics of the robot andthe water kind of don't mix,
because that obviously is aconcern when anytime you have
(11:40):
water and electricity, you know,going hand in hand.
José (11:42):
Yeah.
The only dangers on that is weprotect the battery.
We protect the electronics tobe protected.
swimming in the pool.
That's the most important part.
And we try to keep thosecompartments really not
removable, not really easyaccess to it because we have
DIYers and they think thatthey're mechanics and they get
in and touch things.
(12:03):
If they do, then the robot hasa risk of going bad.
That's it.
Nothing on the electrical side,because like I said, it's
charging from the wall, eventhough it's 110, charges into a
12-volt battery.
which 12-volt doesn't doanything to anyone with water or
without water.
Steven (12:22):
There you go.
I'm sure that is something thatwould be on people's minds.
Just, you know, you know, yougot to cover all bases, right?
Yeah.
So we talk about that, the AIand the sensors that really give
Wybot's technology the abilityto do what it does.
How has AI helped Wybotics andWybot and the products evolve
(12:45):
over those years?
Because it definitely wasn'taround to this extent in 2005.
José (12:50):
Yeah, no, absolutely.
I mean, the AI technology, nowwe call it AI, but the camera
technology has been around.
And I go back to my previousexperience.
We introduced cameras in iRobotwhen I was in iRobot.
I think it's like 10 years ago.
Not 10 years ago.
It's probably like seven or sixyears ago.
(13:11):
Charlie can confirm that.
We introduced that becausethat's where where the
technology was going, right?
You need to be smarter in thehouse.
You're trying to humanize theserobots so they're more
efficient into their cleaningperformance.
If I can clean a pool, that is15 by 37 in half an hour and I'm
(13:33):
be happy with it, that's whatwe wanna achieve by introducing
that camera.
Right now, we're the only onethat has a camera with AI
technology.
So that allows you at a specialsetting that if your pool is
clean, but you see spots ofleaves in the pool, you can set
it up, put it in the pool andit's gonna go boom, boom, boom,
(13:55):
clean it up and stop.
And then you're like, okay,it's all set.
I'll pick it up, get it out andmove forward.
Now, the important part withthis is what that AI technology
is.
And this is my vision that I'mpassing to the engineering team.
And this is pretty cool.
It's learning, right?
So from that learning, I'mgetting better, getting smarter.
(14:19):
So if I send the robot that hasa capability of three hour use
and I can send them out, cleanthe pool in half an hour, send
me a text that says I'm done,pull it out.
I can have the party earlier.
I can have the people enjoyingthe pool early.
More importantly, and this ismy final goal.
I have a camera.
(14:40):
If anything falls in the pool,anything, I have to activate the
robot to that point.
that situation, take a pictureand send it to my phone.
That's my dream because numberone cause of kids' deaths in the
United States is drowning inpools.
(15:01):
So if I have a robot that canlive in the water and that's a
safety device that somethingfalls, a bear, a kid, a chair, a
piece of tree, whatever, cansend you a picture and say,
alert, Here's an unusualsituation.
That would be my dream.
So that's where AI comes intoplay into our category.
(15:22):
And I continue to say, when dowe get there?
It's going to be sometime, butthat's the dream.
Steven (15:30):
Yeah, I mean, that's an excellent ultimate goal to have
because obviously protecting notonly the pool, but kids and
family members around the pool,that just takes it to a whole
new level.
another level really.
And it really shows kind ofleading into my next question
that Wybot isn't slowing down.
You know, I was going to askwhat are those next goals, but
(15:52):
clearly it's, it's a prettyclear what, what you want to do.
José (15:56):
Yes, it is.
It is.
It's introducing things thatare customer focused that are
basically going to give you afinal goal of enjoying the pool
more, but you have smallergoals.
Easier to manipulate.
Inside the pool charging.
Solar technology charging.
Camera inside.
(16:18):
And we talk about what my dreamwould be.
And all these things that arecoming in.
But there is more.
Chemical measurement.
Chloro stabilizer.
Algae stabilizer.
All these things.
We want to put that in therobot.
So you have a double sense ofconfidence.
(16:38):
My pool is clean and it'shealthy.
Is my pool guy doing the rightjob?
I don't know if he's puttingclothes.
He looks clean, but I don'tknow what he's doing.
But he sends me a bill everymonth.
Well, I don't want to questiontheir job.
They're pretty honest.
At least my guy is prettyhonest.
But I have a dream.
(16:59):
When I retire, I want to be aDIY pool cleaner.
My pool will be maintained byme.
The chemical side of things isscary, is unknown.
You have to put drops in alittle measuring thing.
If I have a report out from myrobot that says, you need this,
this, and this in order tostabilize your pool.
By the way, there is a PintoPenny or a Leslie's a mile away.
(17:23):
Please press here so they'llhave the order ready for you
when you get in your car and youget there.
That's the dream.
And that's what we're workingnext.
Chemicals is, it's a consumerdemand.
Everybody, everyone that asksme, what's next?
Chemicals.
Oh, that's great.
Finally, I can get this so Ican become a DIYer.
(17:45):
No.
Not really, you don't.
Do you clean your filter today?
And they said, no.
Okay, so you're never going toeliminate your guy because he's
a pretty big filter, heavy.
It's difficult to clean.
You have to do it the rightway.
And if you don't do it theright way, you break your filter
container.
Well, that costs about $1,500if you do that.
So you have to be careful howyou do.
(18:07):
But those are the dream spacesthat we're working on the next
things for the consumer.
Steven (18:12):
Right.
And honestly, it's kind of likesomething as simple as just
alerting if there's a problemwith the filter alerting if
there's problem with thechemicals and then you kind of
take it from there you hire thatpool guy you have your pool guy
still come in exactly so it'skind of like a full circle with
technology meeting the humanhands on So that is great.
(18:33):
Now, can you share, you know,any stories that you have from
whether it's the productionprocess, what that looks like,
or even on a consumer's point ofview?
Have you had any stories of,you know, wow, this technology
is great.
It saves me so much time.
José (18:49):
Yeah, stories are, there are many.
In the last show in CES inJanuary of this year, when we
presented the solar chargingtechnology, the self-cleaning
robot technology, everybodysaid, okay, you guys are going
the right direction.
I needed to clean my pool.
You brought up a self- containrobot that doesn't have a cord,
(19:12):
that doesn't have a hose.
It's a battery operated thatyou throw in the pool.
Then you said, I want to chargeit inside the pool so I don't
have to pull it out of the pool.
So we introduced aself-charging inside the pool
technology.
Now we're putting solartechnology.
Oh, that's pretty cool.
So I don't have to connect itto my electricity.
Even though the electricity fora charging of a robot is like
(19:34):
charging your cellular phone.
And that's a misconception.
A lot of people think, oh, it'sgoing to be a lot of
electricity.
No, it's like charging yourphone.
And then we bring, it cleansitself.
And they all went like, wow,now it's a real Roomba in my
pool.
And I go like, yep, it is.
Because now it charges, itcleans.
All you have to do is just comeout once every week or every
(19:57):
other week and pull the basketon outside of the pool, empty
it, clean it, and put it back.
And the robot keeps operating.
So that's a wow situation.
And when you say, I'm going tointroduce chemicals, they all
go, done.
Where is it?
I really need to do this.
And that's very rewarding forus.
(20:19):
But at the same time, we hearthe consumer on everything.
So we introduce a skimmer thatis solar technology.
It flows around, and becauseit's solar, it charges itself,
right?
But they say, what about if Iwant to clean my pool and it's a
cloudy day?
And the pool was in the shadowfor a day because I had a pool
and he didn't charge 100%.
(20:40):
You guys don't offer a chargerinside your robot.
Originally, we didn't.
But quickly, the factory camein and said, you know what?
The consumer is right.
So let's put a charger insidejust in case.
So we're offering now the sameproduct, same price, no changes.
We're just going to put thecharger inside the unit for the
(21:01):
consumer to be happy.
Steven (21:02):
And not only are you a historian, but you're a mind
reader as well, because you tookthe words right out of my
mouth.
My next question was, how areyou incorporating these real
world feedbacks into yourproducts?
And it's clear just from thatone story that you take.
what the customer has to sayvery, very seriously.
José (21:20):
Yeah.
And the most important part isthe customers know better.
Like I said before, I'm anexpert on consumer, on customer.
I'm not an expert on specificproducts.
I don't know anything of that.
But if the customer is saying,what about this?
We got to listen and we got topay attention because they see
something in their environmentthat fits them and that might
(21:44):
fit them and a million morepeople yeah so bring it back
analyze it consider it see ifit's feasible see if it's
affordable because that's theother thing the guy can be
asking for a solution that costsa million dollars i don't know
that we want to do that but wewe gotta focus on the center of
all planets which is calledconsumer or customer
Steven (22:05):
There you go.
And, you know, hearing thatfeedback and making that change
quickly, trying to get a newproduct that's enhanced to have
that charger onto the productionline.
What does that productionprocess look like?
How long does it take?
And especially when you getfeedback like that, you know,
what's the production line looklike to keep up with this
demand?
José (22:25):
Thankfully, we're a small company in size, so that makes
us humble and nimble and faster.
This was brought up probablytwo months ago.
It's in execution now.
In the S2 solar, which is theunit that has a solar panel, it
charges itself inside the water.
(22:46):
We didn't think about adding acharger to that.
And that takes a little bitmore work because you've got to
redesign the solar panel casingto accept a charger.
It's already in production.
So we brought it up two monthsago.
So changes that are criticalfor the consumer that take
priority.
(23:06):
And we're pretty fast withthat.
If we were a bigger company andI've been in bigger companies,
it might take a year or two.
In this one, it took months.
Fast, nimble, fast, realsolutions.
Very, very little
Steven (23:24):
time.
And, you know, of course, itall comes back to the customer.
That's exactly what you want tohear.
You want to hear about thecustomer service from a company.
So that's really excellent.
So speaking of customers,what's the best way for someone
or a pool owner to get involvedwith YBOT?
How do they get theirtechnology?
How do they get those poolcleaners up and running?
José (23:47):
So very simple.
Call me, and that way we'll doit.
No, there is our website.
We have a direct-to-consumerwebsite.
It's wybotpool.com.
It's W-Y-B-O-T, pool, P-O-O-L,dot com.
You can learn about ourproducts.
(24:07):
You can learn about ourhistory.
You can learn about things, andyou can buy it there.
We're also in broaderdistribution across the U.S.
We are in walmart.com.
We're We're in Amazon.com.
We're in our own website.
And we're expanding into otherretailers as well as fast as we
can.
So the easiest way, don't beafraid of the robot.
(24:29):
It's not complicated.
It's a robot.
That's the important part.
People think, and I getmillions of questions like that.
Do I need to determine thearea?
How do I let them do thesethings?
They learn.
They learn.
They learn quickly.
They have the right programminginside that all you have to do
is charge it after it's fullycharged.
charge, press the button andclean, put it inside the pool
(24:52):
and enjoy how clean your pool isgoing to be.
Steven (24:55):
That's a heck of an elevator pitch to wrap things
up.
I do want to ask you one finalquestion.
We really did touch on it hereand there in the interview, but
what excites you most about thefuture of pool care and the
future of Y-Bot?
José (25:10):
That's a heavy question.
It is.
It is a heavy and trickyquestion.
But what excites me is beingable to have a consumer that is
happy, being able to people thathave always been passionate
about DIYing things in theirhouse.
And I'm giving them all thetools that provides them with
(25:33):
doing that in the pool.
And so much that they enjoythat, that they can enjoy the
use of the pool.
But what really excites me isall related to all this is
bringing those continue consumerneeds into their hands.
And my next frontier, it's apassion of mine, is not only the
(25:55):
chemicals, But if I can get thecamera to look at what falls in
the pool, and I can say, ourrobot helps your safety in your
house, you can enjoy your poolcalmly because your kids are
safe while the robot is in thepool.
So that's what it fills me up.
And that's, I think, the focusof this conversation.
(26:16):
But we have all the solutionsand nobody else has those things
that consumers are being askingfor.
Now they have them availablefor them.
Steven (26:26):
You know, we're definitely excited to continue
to follow your journey andcontinue to follow the future of
YBOT.
How can people do the same?
Where can they connect withyou?
José (26:37):
They can connect with me if they have my name right, Jose
Valles.
They can connect with me onLinkedIn.
We have a LinkedIn YBot.
They can follow us.
They can ask us questionsthere.
But in the YBotPool.com, thewebsite that I provided before,
www.YBotPool.com, they can get alot of that information and
(26:58):
they can get in contact with us.
Somebody will go back to themwith questions, with answers,
with concerns, with any type ofsituation We're available all
the time.
And we also have the capabilityof, you know, while we're
sleeping in the U.S., Asia isworking so they can answer those
questions as well.
(27:18):
So we're here.
We're here.
We're excited about providingyou the information for you to
feel comfortable and evolve intothese all category with new
technology and better pricingout there that you're going to
be very satisfied with.
Steven (27:32):
Once again, very exciting stuff.
Jose, I really appreciate youtaking your time.
I really enjoyed this.
It was a pleasure speaking withyou.
José (27:40):
Steven, thank you so much.
Ladies, thank you so much.
And this is great.
And I hope I can pass all thatinformation and my passion about
pool cleaning performance andgiving more time to the
consumers.
So if you have a pool, pleaseenjoy and let's stay in touch.
And if you have any questionsor any other comments, please
reach out.
Steven (28:00):
Absolutely.
It was a pleasure.
Thank you again.
All right, everyone.
Thank you again.
Until next time.
Thank you so much.
José (28:05):
Thank you.
Steven (28:07):
Thanks for listening to this episode of the Four Worlds
Podcast.
Until next time, you can catchup on the latest innovations
shaping our world attomorrowsworldtoday.com, follow
us on Facebook and Instagram,and be sure to subscribe to our
YouTube channel.
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.