Family Business to Industry Leader: Shasta Pools’ Journey with Skip Ast III

Host Dan Bakotic sits down with Skip Ast III of Shasta Pools, a family-run business that has shaped Arizona’s pool industry since 1966. Skip covers the company’s history, including how his grandfather and great-uncle combined complementary skills in sales and construction to build the foundation of one of the country’s elite pool builders.

The conversation moves from history to the challenges of scaling a family business now. Skip unpacks how Shasta balances a close-knit family atmosphere against the realities of high-volume operations, and makes the case for hiring on character rather than technical expertise, documenting processes, and rethinking systems that have worked for decades.

He is candid about the lessons the pandemic forced, and about the tools and strategies used to adapt, with the emphasis on growing without giving up core values.