Jack Kravici-Kramer
Appearances
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Because Candido Jacuzzi now knows that this freaky metal hummocker schlemer of a water tub machine may save his son. And his family business is water pumps, so he's got to whip up one of these for their home. But turns out it ain't as easy as filling a tub. Because remember, yetis, Candido's the salesman. He's not the engineer.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
I feel like you can't get anything done with this crew unless you bring it up at dinner and like half the table's voting on this. So how do his brothers react to this new application of their legendary, famous family farm pumps?
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Now, Jack, becoming a consumer-facing business, a B2C business, that's a totally different strategy.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Just ask Sonos about that. That's a story for another pod. Well, Jacuzzi's current pump and irrigation business, it's doing great right now, Jack. Like, they just built a two and a half million dollar facility in Richmond, California.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
And honestly, it's kind of crazy to think about how close this was to not happening, right? Because if Ken hadn't gotten sick, or if Candido had listened to the skeptics in his family, somebody else would have probably invented this.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Their first sales are via special orders to other pain sufferers like Ken.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Shout out to Glengarry, if you know, you know. Here we go, Jack. For the tired businessman and the harried housewife. For the golfer with sore muscles. For the aches and pains of senior citizens. For frolicking youngsters and for those who just want to relax and pamper themselves with a hydro massage bath.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Besties, those who do benefit now have more disposable income, more savings, and more buying power for products besides the essentials. They have money for their starter home and money for their lawnmower and a stand mixer and a coffee maker, all of that to boot. And Jack, this consumerist environment, that's exactly where Jacuzzi finds themselves as they launch a new product.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
So let's talk about the TAM here, the total addressable market, because the total addressable market of everyone is a whole lot bigger than the addressable market of people with disabilities.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Now, Ray, he's an ex-sports writer from Oakland, California, and he's the in-law of Giocondo Jacuzzi. So Ray joins the gang as the head of Jacuzzi Research Publicity. And when it comes to seeking out product placements, he takes big swings. And he's got his eye on a new game show that's just debuted, Lights Out.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Backstage, four women are getting their hair and their makeup touched up for their big moment. because we're on the set of a new game show where housewives dealing with terrible hardships tell their stories on air. The audience then votes by applause for the woman with the saddest story. And then she wins prizes and a very particular title.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
You get a car. You get a car.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
So Ray Schwartz, he's sitting at home miles away from that TV set. But as he's watching it, he's starting to smile. Because this is the start of something big.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
He persuades the likes of silver screen legends Rita Hayworth, Jane Mansfield, and Marilyn frickin' Monroe to strip down, loosen up, and pose with...
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Oh, and not just posing in, Jack. Talk about that there jacuzzi bathtub. Because they're giving testimonials, too. I mean, Jack, if you think about it, this is really one of the first influencer campaigns in America. Nothing sold the tub quite like a mid-century Kim Kardashian.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
But there is another feature, which we heard Jack Lemmon mention, that will become the source of another major pivot.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Roy Jacuzzi has entered the chat, and he's going to take Jacuzzi in a new, exciting, and, dare we say, Jack, sexy direction. Time to toss on that speedo.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
And he's all in on the Jacuzzi family business even before he graduates from college.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Another innovation from the jacuzzis, which allows them to create unique shapes and sizes within the tub itself.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Okay, so we're talking bigger tubs and smaller tubs and heart-shaped tubs, like in-ground, above-ground, tricked out with lights.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Al Pacino's in a giant round hot tub smoking a cigar and yelling at Michelle Pfeiffer.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
By the late 1970s, there are over 100 grandchildren of Papa and Mama Jacuzzi, and most of them, they actually work for the Jacuzzi company.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Now, this is a key moment because that's when Jacuzzi decides to go public. They want to have an IPO. But then, as we know from covering IPOs, the macroeconomic environment can have different plans for you.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Jack, my takeaway on Jacuzzi is this. The best minds in business change their minds. Yetis, Jack and I first covered this concept with Domino's Pizza on our daily podcast show. For years, Domino's said they would only do their own delivery and would never use a third-party delivery app like Uber Eats. But then last year, Domino's pivoted. They did a 180.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
They changed their minds and they adjusted to a new reality, selling their pizza on delivery apps.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Because they pivoted from airplanes to agriculture pumps to bathtub pumps and then to full-on hot tubs because the best minds in business change their minds.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Also, Jacuzzis are still very much part of pop culture. They've got a recurring role in The Bachelor and Love Island, honestly, like Roy always wanted.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
In fact, back when the J300 Jacuzzi was patented, Ken earned a 1% cut of all the royalties for the use of his likeness in advertisements.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Oh, Jack, I think I know where we got to go celebrate finishing recording this episode, man. Is it a jacuzzi? No, I'm thinking jacuzzi winery. You got to get over here. We got to hit the road, man.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
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The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
You already look fantastic over there, Jack. Besties, we'll see you then.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Ken Jacuzzi's 2005 book, Jacuzzi, A Father's Invention to Ease a Son's Pain.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
We want to get to know you.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Now, after this episode's over, subscribe to the show, The Best Idea Yet, to get episodes just like this every Tuesday.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Now the crowds are oohing and the crowds are aahing as they watch the stunt pilot of one of these aeroplanes in action. But there's one observer who's not so impressed.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
More on them in a minute.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
In the meantime, Jack, let's hit Jacuzzi.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Back in the old country, Rakeli and his family had been known as the Iakutsis.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
You and Molly love popping up to Napa.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
You're so right. But you know what's funny? Like when you're driving up to Napa and everyone's envisioning what it is, like this wine mecca of the world. Yeah. The first winery that you pass, when you make a right off a 101, it says the Jacuzzi Winery. It's got to be a typo. Well, you know, I saw that at first and I was like, well, this sounds like a fun idea.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Like think about Netflix, how it began as a DVD company only to pivot to online streaming once the technology evolved and people started moving away from DVDs.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Remember, Rekele, he's an expert in fluid dynamics. And these skills can also translate from air to water.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
America is sliding into the Great Depression, and yet the big new invention transforming California's economy are these jacuzzi freaking pumps.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Yeah, I would do a wine tasting in a hot tub. Not too shabby.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
I mean, I know Robert Mondavi is pretty famous up there. Jacuzzi sounds Italian as well.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Without Rekele, there would be no pumps. He took the company from the air to the ground. So now everyone is wondering, who will leave the jacuzzis next?
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Yes, it does. Jack, this ain't no translation error. I mean, Jack and I did get curious about this Jacuzzi winery situation. Well, it turns out when you check out the ownership structure of this winery, it actually is the Jacuzzi family, like Jacuzzi Incorporated, Jack.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Candido is married. He's got four kids. Now, unfortunately, the Jacuzzis, they are no strangers to tragedy. And while Candido is in his office one day, he receives awful news. His youngest son, two-year-old Kenneth, has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🛁 Jacuzzi: Legend of the Life-Saving Tub
Well, we should point out, Jack, that almost nothing is working because one of Kenneth's doctors tries a new technology, a little something that hasn't actually been applied yet to kids.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🐂 Oregon Trail: Tricking Kids into Liking School Since 1971
$100,000.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🐂 Oregon Trail: Tricking Kids into Liking School Since 1971
It was our MVP.
The Best One Yet
The Best Idea Yet 🐂 Oregon Trail: Tricking Kids into Liking School Since 1971
I got that feeling again. Something familiar but new. We got it coming to you. I got that feeling again. They changed the game in one move. Here's how they go.
The Best One Yet
🌆 Sesame Street: The Trojan Horse of TV
I can't wait for takeaway on this story, Jack. I can't wait for takeaway on this story, Nick.
The Best One Yet
🐣 Peeps: A Backroom Marshmallow Mystery
I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. Listen to Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky wherever you get your podcasts.