Our Story
Three pools. $750K+. And a promise that the next homeowner wouldn't go through what I did.
It started with a phone call I'll never forget
In 2018, I was standing in my backyard watching a crew tear up plumbing lines they'd installed three weeks earlier. The pipes were in the wrong place. The grading was off. And the builder's response? A shrug and a change order for $14,000.
This was my second pool. I'd already been through this once — the budget overruns, the finger-pointing between the plumber and the electrician, the “allowances” that turned out to cover nothing. I'd spent over $250,000 on my first pool and still ended up with problems I'm fixing to this day.
“This is how payment terms are, and we cannot change them. Everyone does it this way.”
That's what a builder told me during my second project. Take-it-or-leave-it terms. No room for negotiation. No transparency about where the money went between milestones. I was a consultant who'd spent 25 years helping Fortune 10 companies evaluate vendors and negotiate contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars — and here I was, powerless in my own backyard.
Then I found a builder who was different. Transparent pricing. Milestone-aligned payments. Willing to walk me through every decision. The experience was transformative — not because the pool was fancier, but because I finally understood what it felt like to be treated as a partner instead of a check.
By my third pool, I wasn't just a homeowner anymore. I was taking notes. I was comparing contracts clause by clause. I was calling references and asking the questions most people never think to ask. And a thought kept surfacing:
“What if every homeowner had someone in their corner — someone with no ties to the builder, no commission to earn, no reason to say anything other than the truth?”
That's why AquaSteer exists.
From personal frustration to professional mission
AquaSteer Advisors brings Big 4 consulting rigor to an industry that has operated without independent oversight for decades. We don't build pools. We don't sell equipment. We protect the people who are writing the checks.
The Team
Advisors who've been on both sides of the table
Our team combines Fortune 10 consulting experience, decades of construction oversight, pool technology integration, and award-winning design expertise. Every homeowner deserves guidance from specialists in their field — not a single sales rep focused on his own numbers. We're here to change this industry and help you protect the second-largest investment you'll make in your home.
Abhi Kulkarni
CEO & Co-Founder
Abhi spent over two decades in Big 4 consulting, advising Fortune 10 clients on vendor evaluation, contract negotiation, and risk management. After building three pools of his own — and learning the hard way what homeowners are up against — he founded AquaSteer to bring professional-grade advocacy to an industry that desperately needs it.
Jangul Aslam
Co-Founder & Technology Evangelist
A modern pool isn't just a hole in the ground — it's a connected ecosystem. Variable-speed pumps, LED lighting, sheer descents, heaters, chillers, AOP sanitation systems — every one of these components needs to talk to the others, and when they don't, you get a pool that's expensive to run, hard to maintain, and potentially unsafe. Jangul brings over 25 years of technology integration experience to ensure your pool is built for zero-touch operation: balanced, safe, and delivering drinking-water quality from day one. Most builders will spec whatever equipment earns them the best margin. Jangul specs what actually works together — because your family's safety isn't a line item to optimize for profit.
Wyatt Gibson
Partner, Construction Services
Wyatt brings over 20 years of experience managing multi-billion dollar construction engagements. His background in large-scale project oversight translates directly to pool construction — where the same principles of milestone verification, contractor accountability, and change order discipline apply, just at a different scale.
David Croston
Partner, Plumbing & Electrical Advisory
With over 30 years in plumbing and electrical systems and more than 100 pool and spa installations to his name, David is the technical backbone of AquaSteer. He reviews equipment specifications, plumbing layouts, and electrical plans with the eye of someone who has seen every mistake a builder can make.
Dmitry Hooker
Chief Legal & Contracts Advisor
Most homeowners sign a pool contract without ever having it reviewed — and most of those contracts are written entirely in the builder's favor. Dmitry is a licensed attorney specializing in real estate and construction law with over 20 years of experience redlining construction agreements. He serves as an advisor on the AAA arbitration board for construction and legal matters, which means he's seen exactly how disputes end when contracts aren't balanced. Dmitry reviews every clause, payment schedule, and liability provision to ensure you're not signing away your rights before the first shovel hits the ground. Because by the time you realize the contract was one-sided, it's already too late.
Tina Dressler
Chief Designer
Tina is an award-winning outdoor living designer whose work has been featured in regional design publications. She reviews pool designs not just for aesthetics, but for livability — ensuring your investment creates a space your family will actually use for decades.
Our independence is non-negotiable
Every recommendation we make is based on one thing: what's best for you. We don't accept referral fees from builders, commissions from equipment manufacturers, or incentives from anyone in the supply chain.
This independence is what makes our advice trustworthy. When we tell you a bid is fair — or that it isn't — you can trust the analysis is unbiased.
Credentials that protect you
CPO (Certified Pool Operator)
Demonstrates technical knowledge of pool systems, water chemistry, and regulatory compliance.
E&O Insurance ($1M/$2M)
Errors and omissions coverage protects you if our advice doesn't meet professional standards.
PHTA Member
Pool & Hot Tub Alliance membership ensures we stay current with industry standards and best practices.
CPI Certified
Certified Pool Inspector training provides the technical foundation for construction oversight.
You shouldn't have to become a pool expert to protect a six-figure investment
Book a free 15-minute call. We'll listen to your situation, share what we've learned from hundreds of pool projects, and tell you honestly whether AquaSteer is the right fit.