Episode 143: Shasta Pools - Astonishing Customers for 55 Years with Skip and Jeff Ast

Episode Summary:  In this episode, we had the opportunity to interview Skip Ast and Jeff Ast of Shasta Pools. Shasta’s commitment to excellence began in 1966 when Bob Ast founded Shasta and was soon joined by his brother Skip. Today Shasta is Arizona’s most experienced pool builder and the valley’s only Master Pools Guild member, delivering innovative outdoor environments that are built to last with Skip, his son Jeff, and grandson Skip III carrying on the family tradition.  Shasta has completed over 87,000 pool builds, 36,000 pool remodeling projects, and there are currently more than 20 Shasta Customer Care vehicles on the road servicing a 100,000 plus customer base. They also established A&A Manufacturing and Xcel Surfaces out of necessity which is discussed in the episode.  Listen in as Skip and Jeff tell the history of Shasta Pools and how they rode waves of innovation in the pool industry over the last five decades. They also share how they manage to keep their entire team feeling like they are part of a small and intimate family business despite Shasta being the number one pool builder in Phoenix today. Finally, they share how the company navigated both the 2008 Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic and their biggest lessons learned in the face of economic uncertainty.  Topics Discussed:  01:10 - The story behind Shasta Pools  05:40 - How Skip discovered shotcrete  09:01 - Running in-house crews in the early days to ensure a quality product  10:13 - How Shasta became a volume builder  13:08 - Starting A&A Manufacturing