Pools have a unique way of bringing people together. It’s hard to imagine now, but picture yourself surrounded by friends and family in your own backyard—the sun is shining, music is playing, kids are splish-splashing in the water, and you’re soaking in the sight of a gorgeous patio and deep blue pool.

This is what Nate Rothchild, owner of Inception Pools, creates for families all over Columbus with the business he’s been successfully running for 10 years. He moved to Columbus from Cincinnati five years ago, where he started the company, meeting his wife (they married in September of last year), quickly doing service renovations and new pool constructions for both residential and commercial properties.

His love affair with water, pools, and the great outdoors began when he was just 15 years old, obtaining his first job as a lifeguard at a community pool. Nate quickly began managing municipal pools across the Greater Cincinnati area, doing buildouts for children’s swim schools, seeing construction phases through, and training lifeguards. 

Working within every point of the pool industry gained Nate enough experience and connections to branch off on his own.

“The smaller the company, the better the outcomes,” Nate says of his company. “Because you get to work directly with me, there is no disconnect or fumbling of communication or performance of issues. I have direct communication with our field guys 24/7, and we get things done right.”

Providing a range of options for customers, from high-end and custom to affordable and turnkey, Nate and his team of five have put in stunning pools across the region including in the backyards in Upper Arlington, Bexley, Westerville, Delaware, and New Albany.

Specializing in gunite (concrete) and fiberglass pools, Inception Pools can customize anything from fire features and water scuppers to LED bubblers and automatic covers, adding bath houses and pavilions for guests’ ease of use to serene landscaping lighting for those impromptu, late-night swims.

“I’ve really been able to master the industry as a whole in a short period of time,” Nate tells me. “From client communication and interaction to construction and design, electrical, plumbing, management, and sales.”

His deep understanding and expertise is paying off. Inception Pools is the preferred vendor for Ohio Health hospital, also doing maintenance and service for McConnell Heart and Health on Olentangy River, not to mention putting in pools for some of Columbus’ well-known sports figures.

The best time to start contacting your preferred pool installer is now, during the winter, “or even late fall,” Nate says. “You want to make sure you have the full swimming season to enjoy your pool.” As for turnaround time, that depends on the complexity of the project, but expect anywhere from two weeks to three months.

“We don’t just build the pool,” Nate explains. “We do the entire service. We want to be close to our customers’ hearts. We don’t just want to make it an easier process for people to select someone to build their pools—we want to be the obvious choice. Our customers never feel alone in the process.”