Ryan Pietrzak

My journey started on job sites across Chicago in 2009, learning the plumbing trade from the ground up. I spent years crawling under houses, running pipe, and understanding how water systems actually work. That hands-on experience gave me something most marketers don't have — I know the trade from the inside out.

In 2014, I earned my official Illinois Apprentice Plumber license from the Illinois Department of Public Health. That card validated years of hard work and early mornings. But it also sparked something bigger — I started seeing how the plumbing industry was falling behind in marketing and technology.

That realization led me to teach myself web design, SEO, and digital marketing. I built my first plumbing website, then another, then another. Before long, I'd built over 250 plumbing websites for companies across the country. Each one taught me more about what works and what doesn't in this industry.

Plumbing taught me that everything in life runs on the same principles — the human body, a business, a marketing funnel. A plumbing system is like the human body: pipes are the veins, water is the blood, and the water heater is the heart. You have to understand all the parts, how they connect, and build on a proper foundation or the whole thing falls apart. As the Bible says, “the wise man built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24). That systems-thinking mindset is what I bring to every project.

Today, I co-own ThePlumbingDirectory.com — the most comprehensive plumbing directory in the U.S. — and leverage AI, automation, and cutting-edge technology to build systems that generate leads, streamline operations, and help plumbing companies scale.