Behind the Business

Building Water Confidence & Community with Ronjiny Basu

• Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce • Season 3 • Episode 15

Share episode

Ronjiny Basu is the founder of Puddles Swim School in Kitchener, a program dedicated to helping children develop confidence, safety, and joy in the water. After years in corporate program management and marketing, Ronjiny followed her passion to create a high-impact, safety-focused swim school that combines Montessori-inspired teaching with sensory-friendly design.

In this episode, we go behind the business to hear how she built Puddles from the ground up, how she leads a small but mission-driven team, and how she’s partnering with the Waterloo Region community to make water safety and confidence accessible for all children. 


Let’s go Behind the Business with Ronjiny Basu of Puddles Swim School.

Get a look Behind the Business in Waterloo Region with Ian McLean, President & CEO of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.

Ian McLean:

Welcome to another episode of Behind the Business, presented by Gore Mutual. I'm your host, Ian McLean, President and CEO of the Greater Kitchener Waterdoo Chamber of Commerce. This podcast is recorded on the traditional territory of the neutral Anishinabe and Hoden Ashone peoples. Each week I sit down for candid conversations where we go beyond the boardroom and behind the business to uncover the real stories of Waterdoo Region's business community. Today I'm Behind the Business. We're joined by Regini Basu, co-founder of Puddle Swim School in Kitchener. Regini traded a traditional corporate path for entrepreneurship, creating a swim school, a sensory-friendly, high-trust swim program focused on building water confidence and safety for kids. We'll hear why she made the leap, how she designed Puddle's small class and heated saltwater program, and how she's building a team and culture families can trust. We'll also explore her connection to the Waterloo Region community and the leadership choices that keep her business running safely and successfully. So join me as we go behind the business with Regini Bassi. Well, we're excited to have you here, Regini. Thanks for joining us today.

Ronjiny Basu:

Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Ian McLean:

So let's start with the story. I mean, this this podcast is always about the stories and the bit and the people behind the business, but also about leadership journey. So we kind of intermix those those things in all of our conversations. But let's start with your story. You have an MBA and years of experience in program management and marketing. But what was the moment that convinced you to break out on your own and start a swim school instead of following the more traditional path? If you get an MBA, usually people say, I'm going to go and work for a big company and get into the corporate mill. How did you go from what probably looked like that was the path to a swim school?

Ronjiny Basu:

Well, Ian, you hit it on the nail. Post my MBA, I did follow that conventional route of joining the corporate world. But I think there was always that itch post an MBA to being an entrepreneur. And I just needed that push to manifest and make it a reality. So you have an idea, I was sitting on it, and my partner, my business partner and my husband, he um and my friends was a guiding kind of force for me. And I said it's either now or never. Um and just just I said, just do it. And I applied my years of experience in the corporate world, coupled with um the passion, what I've learned in MBA schools, and um just went ahead and did it. And I I saw a problem in um you know swim schools. Aquatic education is lacking, it's limited, but there's a high demand for it. So I thought that would be a great area to invest in and to really um yeah, apply my background to.

Ian McLean:

So so the it is kind of, you know, swim schools are, you know, swimming pools in generally in the northern climate are are very expensive to maintain. You know, so how did you how do you manage to get the the pool time? I mean, though that's got to be one of the main issues that of making sure you've got you've got the access to the the you know the facility that you need.

Ronjiny Basu:

Absolutely. So we just said let's um let's just build our own facility. Uh we went through um a lot of fun challenges of the traditional route again. Um we wanted to um we explored franchising. Uh so we did go through two different franchises and um it didn't work out, and then everything happens for a reason. We said let's just start our own brand. And I think that was a fun challenge when you're building not only a business, an opening, when you're building a brand too, and you you need to sustain it. So um that was all part of the journey, and we created an above-ground pool, something very unique, and um just launched it.

Ian McLean:

Wow. Okay, and and so you know, as you think back on what was the single skill or lesson from your MBA um and prior roles that have had the biggest impact on the either the formulation and the success uh in helping you run puddles. That's the name of your company, puddles.

Ronjiny Basu:

Correct. Um I love that question because having um I'm all about connecting with people. I love learning about a person, their background, and um their just their the culture and community. And uh something that resonated with me during my um business uh days is uh we would read a lot of Harvard business review and cases. Um there's a concept you you hear about business to business or business to consumer, B2B or B2C. There's something called H2H. So it's human to human or heart to heart. And um at the end of the day, it talks about emotional intelligence and the genuine power of when you empower people and how that leads to uh retention, um, success, higher performance, and just a stronger um business overall. So, really um again, the human-to-human connection, that element, that is something that I lead with and I apply in all of most of my app facets in running the business.

Ian McLean:

So, what specific problem? So you said you came up with the idea, you wanted to apply your MBA, you know, all the training you'd got there. What was the specific problem that you saw in swimming education that you wanted to fix? Like, like, and what makes the approach to teach to you the way you do it teaching differently from other swim programs? Because I mean, some of us would have gone to the YMCA back in the day to learn how to swim. Um there there are different, there's you know, uh swim clubs like Roe and others. I mean, there's there's all level of of things in here. What what's the specific thing in swimming that you that you wanted to fix?

Ronjiny Basu:

Great question. So, you know, being um a parent, I I saw with the rapidly changing demographics, especially in the Waterloo region, there is a high demand for uh swimming. It's a life-saving sport, but there is a low supply. So community centers, there are so many, but they are limited. And the Waterloo region had no private swim school. So that was immediately like a red, a light bulb just went off. Like, hey, let's just let's launch the first uh private swim school, let's build build that facility, bring water safety education to kids but also to parents. Because what's really important and a lot of people don't realize is swim um safety education, it doesn't just um apply to a swim school, I mean swimming pool or even a lake. It can it can occur in even in a bathtub. So um it's all about prevention and and educating people on that.

Ian McLean:

So it's swimming and the uh and the safety aspects of it, all of it together. No, you start it starting a new business in a new community is not simple at the best of times, or it's not easy, certainly at any time, but it's not it's not simple either when you're kind of uh dealing with all of the the newness of not only the business but but the community. But why Waterloo Region? What made this the right place to plant roots?

Ronjiny Basu:

I think when my my husband and I were doing research, um we're originally from we're in Mississauga, the GTA region, and it's quite saturated in terms of private swim schools. So Cambridge, Waterloo, Kitchener, there are no private swim school facilities. And we researched the changing demographics of young families that are moving in, and there is definitely a spike in the need. And uh we said, let's go ahead and um build a swim school. The community has been inviting, warm, it's a fabulous community, and um we're here to help spread the first into a marketplace is also a good place to be when you when you when you've got uh when you've got market need.

Ian McLean:

Um you've spoken about working with um local safety groups. And what is one specific partnership or program that you're pursuing or would like to pursue with public agencies or schools? Because I imagine there's got to be a crossover there, like I as I mentioned, whether it's the YMCA or or there are there are programs already in either swim lessons and swim safety. Um schools, um they used to, I don't know if how much they have now, but schools, you know, uh pulling those pieces together to make it the the business operationally a uh viable and and a success. How do you put all those pieces together?

Ronjiny Basu:

Right. We are looking to explore uh partnership with uh elementary schools specifically. Uh myself and my aquatics director are looking to conduct in school sessions on water safety, and we also uh will um provide schools the option to opt into uh coming to our facility and host swim sessions, you know, where the children can build and experience water safety. A few of our SP USPs include we are heated salt water, um which is gentle on a child's skin and hair. Um, it's a warm, shiver-free learning environment. So these factors help a child feel comfortable, and it's really about feeling confident and comfortable in the water before anything else. So those are definitely some um critical partnerships we're looking to explore in the uh very near future.

Ian McLean:

Well, I think when you get to my age, it's you get back to being a baby, we're a nice warm bath, and swimming is uh it's gotta be the right temperature for you to get in. So um it it's um it's it's important to uh to make sure that people are comfortable in that environment. So listen, given the rise in concerns, I mean, and we hear here unfortunately we every summer you see, especially the summer, um, or in in you know the spring when when there's there's you know rivers and other things that are um are swollen, we hear the all the concerns about drowning and we see too many of those. What role do you see private swim schools like puddles playing alongside the public service part, the public service announcements uh and the and the public campaigns? How do you think the two fit together?

Ronjiny Basu:

Um very uh very well. Uh I think private swim schools like puddles play an incredibly critical role in spreading the word. Uh we are looking to involve ourselves in public outreach and campaigns and getting the words out to messages out to families, to parents, uh, to children, um, launching campaigns and outreach, basically campaigns across the board. Um we're here to educate from the very, you know, uh starting with your child, get them into a water education, like aquatic system environment as early as possible. And uh for parents as well, there are a lot of adults who also may not know how to swim swim. So equipping them with the knowledge but also the skills as well. Um, something we've also launched recently is uh we have now introduced adult swim lessons because due to a demand and something we did not um it was a pleasant surprise. So we are here to educate everyone, uh, but our instructors are, you know, we have various levels, every level covered. They are there to instruct children at different level, um, you know, their their backgrounds and their skill set. And um it's it's a very important message just to um help you know as a prevention, um, driving preventive campaign to run that.

Ian McLean:

The Behind the Business Podcast is made possible through the support of our title sponsor, Gore Mutual. Proudly Canadian, Gore Mutual has stayed true to one purpose for more than 185 years: insurance that does good. It's the reason they exist. They believe that when we focus on being good, doing good, and spreading good, we all thrive together. We're grateful for their continued commitment to our local communities and the positive impact they make every day. For more information, visit goremutual.ca. Um, you lead a you know, a passionate team, but but a mission-driven team of trying to deliver on both the lessons but also the safety, safety part of it. Um, how would you describe your leadership style? I mean, you you know, anyone that runs an organization like like mine, a small business, large business, leaders need teams. So how do you how do you um describe your leadership style with your team and how does it shape the culture at puddles? And I mean, this is like, you know, in traditional sense, command and control, or you know, devolving. I mean, there's there's always different variations of how much control or how much uh um leeway a leader gives to their team. How do how do you kind of how would you assess your own your own style?

Ronjiny Basu:

Um, I love that question. It's it's all about team puddles and empowering them. We are blessed to have a fantastic team. I call it the A team. Um and I love that they are part of our journey. So when we brought in our instructors and our front desk staff, our customer experience team, um, they came into the facility right before it was where our doors were opening. So they saw it from the construction you know phase. Then they came back when we're opening the doors and they were so excited. We have a think ideas uh ideas box in our staff room, which is we call it the Google um staff room of our the, you know, it's fully stocked with pizza, everything that the you know the young instructors would love. And they contribute with their ideas because I I tell them this is your brand too. My partner and I may have built the infrastructure, but they're fueling, you know, they are the heart and the soul of the brand, and um, I want to hear about their ideas. So they bring the great ideas. We we they contribute, they feel confident too, and we credit them. So it's it's really just a holistic team um effort, and um, it's a beautiful experience. And I think at the end of the day, my biggest win is hearing our staff, our team members saying, I love coming into work. And it's all an open door policy because literally I have my tiny desk in the staff room.

Ian McLean:

So they come to me and they're like, Hey, and um yeah, it it's it's and I well when you when you get staff that are invested in the success of a business, because you know, you're the entrepreneur, you're the business owner, and it's and it it is it's not always easy to get your team to be as invested in the success of when it's not their their their part. You know, we see that it in in this in the chamber in the not-for-profit is like we all feel a sense of ownership that we're to to deliver for the members, and everyone feels an obligation to say, how can we do things better? And that's that's not an easy thing to do. So uh good for you to to to especially when you're dealing with some of your staff will be young, right? But this will be their either part-time or it's an or it's their first first uh in a career that's a good experience for them to have. In safety critical businesses, delegation's tough. I mean, so you think of anything where you're dealing with transportation or food, or I mean, there's a whole bunch of safety things. Hard to delegate that when they ultimately that you're responsible for the six the success and the the safety of the of the whole organization and customers. How do you balance your hands-on oversight with empowering the instructors to make real-time safety calls? Like that that that's not something you can always say, well, we'll park that and come back to it. You're you're you're in the safety environment every moment that you've got you've got a someone in the pool.

Ronjiny Basu:

Absolutely. It goes back to our A team. Um, we start off with our fantastic aquatics director. Her name is Marina, she comes with 17 years of experience. We have a fabulous deck supervisor, his name is Sam, um, and there are different layers, uh, and then we have our instructors all equipped to make real-time safety decisions. Um, we're covered at each layer, and at the end of the day, they come in motivated and very, I guess they have the autonomy. So, and that resonates with also the children in real-time decisions. So, when they're happy, let's say the children are happy if they're not anxious, you know, it's calm. The children perform well, parents are happy, and we we're hearing that from parents on a daily basis. But ideally, um, having that expertise, and that's you know, with our rigorous interview process, um, we build bring in a team that has that um experience.

Ian McLean:

Pull on that a little bit. I mean, finding the right talent is is not a, I mean, that's that's a that can be a challenge, right? Getting the right fit, right? Uh talk about that, you say you called it a rigorous um uh interview process. What what does that look like? I mean, I I think there's lots of business owners, people that are running businesses, big, large, and everything in between that are um are always looking for what's the best way to get at the real parts that you want to know about someone before you hire them. Um how what what does it look like for you when you're doing those interviews?

Ronjiny Basu:

For our instructors, it's about a three to five-step process. And it should start off with uh the first interview with myself, and it was virtual because we were building the facility. And I just wanted to get kind of a personality assessment, just you know, if they um a personality check, uh the cultural kind of um check with them. And um, you know, it would we would transfer the next step, they move on to speaking with our uh aquatics director, Marina. Then she would invite them to come into the facility when it was built, and she would um see how they are in the water with children of different ages. Um so it really is just a whole again, a whole holistic kind of process. But um I attribute a lot of it to Marina. She's amazing when it comes to selecting strong instructors. And of course, a lot of it is trial and error, but we've been very lucky to, you know, uh attract a very strong team and retaining them. Although it's only been two months, but they they're happy. Um and uh I I we're we're strong.

Ian McLean:

We're close. Well, and some of it hiring is is I would say it's it's always a little bit of the feel, like what do I do I want to spend time with that person or can I see them sort of fitting into the rule? And then there's the expertise, like you know, do they have the skills and and the and the the the the practical part of actually being on the water or on the deck?

Ronjiny Basu:

Aaron Powell Of course. And of course there are the certifications that are required. So that is definitely the first check that we have to go.

Ian McLean:

If so, okay, so so I mean you you've started the uh I won't say passion project, I guess, but you came up with an idea, you took your MBA training, you said something would be you know we we want to take a kick at. Um if someone there's lots of entrepreneurs who've got great ideas and they they not quite pulling the hammer on it, because those are big momentous decisions to take on the risk and and uh to you know the uncertainty of of starting something new. If someone is out there with a great idea, there's something they're passionate about, and they're sitting on an on this idea, what's the single most or what's the single what's the most practical piece of advice you'd give them to move from that concept to opening the door? Because I think there's a series of things, decisions you have to make, but what's the most w most uh practical piece of advice of how you get to the decision?

Ronjiny Basu:

Right. You know, uh you can sit on an idea, build a business plan, you know, just think about it. But if you're not going to um, if it's not going to manifest, um there's really it's about that, I think that transition, moving forward. So share your idea, involve others, test it out. You know, these momentum, this will build momentum, and that's when it starts becoming more of a reality. And it gives will build a confidence in you to move forward and take the next steps. Of course, share it within your closeness networking and also external um expand extended network. And um, yeah, every little step kind of moves forward towards manifesting.

Ian McLean:

Well, and I guess that that's actually helpful is that it is a you know, in many cases, it's a whole series of smaller decisions that keep keep you know that that build on one another. Interesting. Okay, well, we're almost out of time. Um, but before we wrap up, as we always do, um, you know, we we get to our um our rapid fire questions. But before we do that, uh maybe just wrapping up, what's the long-term vision for puddles? Like uh you are you thinking of expanding? You talked about franchising, is it scaling in other ways? What what is it what's the what's the vision, what's the plan for for puddles?

Ronjiny Basu:

Well, um our our my long-term vision and and dream would definitely be to expand. We'd love to open up new locations and again targeting locations that don't have um that have very limited private swim school accessibility. So um I I I won't share too much, but we are looking at certain regions um outside of GTA that have that need.

Ian McLean:

Well, I was hoping to break news here on the on the behind the business podcast, but you've you've kept a tight lip, so there you go. Okay. Uh and and this is the part where where I mean you've told the story of Pottos, you told a little bit about your you know approach to leadership, but here, you know, this rapid fire sec section is asked the same series. It's always fascinating to see how leaders respond uh to these questions. So um if you could go back and tell your younger self something, what would it be?

Ronjiny Basu:

Just do it. Take the next step, make uh take a thought and make it into reality. Just um do not lead with fear, lead with heart.

Ian McLean:

Well, and just do it. It's a it's remarkable that that that that you know that that fits in so many ways, not just for Nike, but uh but but for entrepreneurs. Uh what or who inspires you most?

Ronjiny Basu:

This it may sound cliche, but um my grandmother, um, she was a very self-driven woman, and she always had a very holistic um perspective towards life paradigm. So she would look at the bigger picture rather than kind of micro um vision. And um I think she taught that to me, look at the big picture, and that really helps take a step back when I'm assessing a problem.

Ian McLean:

Um if you weren't in your current career, so you, you know, and I guess it comes back, you were an MBA, then you've you've become an entrepreneur. But if you weren't doing those things, what what do you think you'd be doing instead?

Ronjiny Basu:

So the unrealistic uh dream would be playing in Wimbledon, but um since that didn't uh materialize, uh I would launch an e-commerce venture.

Ian McLean:

Really? Yes. Wow. Well, you it sounds like you got all the experience and you'll need that some of that e-commerce, at least for from on the sales and marketing side for uh uh for the business you're going. So good for you. What uh are you reading a book? Do you listen to podcasts? How do you kind of either let go and let your mind go, or or how do you, you know, uh take in your your new ideas? Is it a book you're reading or a podcast?

Ronjiny Basu:

So definitely um I've invested in a few books that have you know that would help me with this business, um, and having um you know, being a mom of two kids. Uh self-driven child, it's all about um equipping, empowering children, uh age-appropriate children with decisions that help them to become leaders themselves. Something as small as like my son, when he comes from home from school, he's eight, he will uh he makes a smoothie for himself and my his sister. Uh small tasks like that, you know, they they feel like they're leaders and that autonomy. Yeah.

Ian McLean:

That's good. Um do you have a favorite business or a restaurant or coffee shop or some sort of business that here in Waterloo Region that that uh that you're you're big on?

Ronjiny Basu:

Oh, Waterloo Region, the the business community is so warm, uh heartwarming and close. Since we've launched our neighbors in our plaza, they are fabulous. One of them I have to uh do a shout out, Esther Chocolates. They're one of the finest. We are lucky to be neighbors with them. They sponsored um our goodie bags for our grand opening.

Ian McLean :

Yeah.

Ronjiny Basu:

Um, Cafe Demonde, uh, we had their creps at a grand opening and um Cafe O, they're down the street, a small family um run um business. But I've just I'm just befriending all the delicious to be able to do that.

Ian McLean:

Well that's a good that's a good thing, and Esther has been a good partner of ours as well over the years. So um just as we wrap up, what's the best place for listeners to either connect with you or learn more about your work?

Ronjiny Basu:

Absolutely. I mean, uh definitely welcome to visit our website, puddleswim.com, with two S's. Uh, my email, Ron Genie, R-O-N-J-I-N-Y at Puddleswim.com. But more importantly, we'd love for you to just come by visit us. We are down the street at 1381 Victoria Street North, and I would love to give you a tour of the facility. Um, yeah.

Ian McLean:

Yeah, I'll look forward to doing that because I think it's uh it's a fascinating thing. Listen, um one of the most valuable commodities that anyone in business has is time. And certainly if you're a small business owner or an entrepreneur, time is is uh is most certainly the most precious thing you have. So thank you for spending some of your time with us today.

Ronjiny Basu:

Thank you. It was an absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Ian McLean:

Thank you for joining us for another episode of Behind the Business, proudly presented by Gore Mutual, insurance that does good. New episodes drop every Thursday, so be sure to tune in next week. You can also visit greater kwchamber.com to catch up on past episodes anytime. We'll see you next time as we continue to go behind the business.

Head Shot

Ian McLean

Host
Head Shot

Ronjiny Basu

Guest