Shade Science

    Shade Science

    When Jeremy and Erica Sloan looked out at their backyard pool, they saw opportunity reflected in the water. The Texas natives are familiar with sun-soaked summers but worried about sun exposure for their two young children who enjoyed time in the water.
    The Sloans founded Shade Science, LLC, in San Antonio, Texas, in 2014. The Pool Buoy is their first product.
    The idea for the Pool Buoy, the world’s first floating pool umbrella, came as a solution to long afternoons in the family pool. The Sloans invented the Pool Buoy as a way to keep their daughters out of the sun and bring shade to the pool so they could enjoy their backyard swimming pool longer and worry less about sunburn.
    The entrepreneurs began the operation as a family business, with Erica Sloan leading the market research, outreach and distribution efforts as director of sales.
    “I find so much joy in watching people light up when they realize the benefits of the Pool Buoy for the first time,” Erica explains. “A light comes on. I wish I could bottle that feeling!”
    Instead, they packaged it and their sun-soaked idea for a family pool shade began selling in May 2015. The Sloans recognized that the Pool Buoy was something that had broader appeal than to just their friends and family.
    “I kept waiting for someone to tell me that this was made years ago… and that it failed… and why,” Erica said. “So I would always hold my breath, waiting to exhale. When I realized that this really was a product that all these life-time pool professionals had never seen – but loved the concept of – that was the moment I felt like we had something revolutionary to share with the world.”
    The Shade Science team wishes you happy and safe floating, from our pool to yours.
    Relax. Enjoy. We’ve got you covered.