Brandon Butler — 30 Under 40 2026

For years, Brandon Butler drove past an empty building on a busy corner and thought it would make a great hot tub store. Then the property’s owner called him with the same idea. Six months later, Butler was inside testing products for Delaware Hot Tub Co.’s first retail showroom.

“After years of working in the industry, building relationships and growing the business step by step, it felt like proof that all the hard work, risks and persistence had finally led to something real,” Butler says.

After working as a lifeguard at 17, Butler answered a newspaper ad for a pool company the following summer. He went on to work for several pool businesses, gaining experience in maintenance, service, customer care and operations.

Even when the housing crash led him to other jobs around Washington, D.C., Butler continued servicing hot tub customers on the side. He eventually returned to coastal Delaware and turned that experience and those relationships into Delaware Hot Tub Co.

For Butler, the company’s success is clearest in the lives of its employees. Watching team members build careers, support their families, have children and purchase homes has become one of the most rewarding parts of ownership.

“I’ve always believed a company is only as strong as the people behind it,” he says.

That has required Butler to accept that some employees eventually leave. One of his more difficult leadership lessons has been learning to support people’s growth even when their next opportunity takes them elsewhere.

For the business itself, Butler isn’t thinking small. He wants Delaware Hot Tub Co. to remain the state’s largest hot tub retailer while adding locations, growing online services and making the company readily accessible throughout Delaware and surrounding areas.

He also hopes manufacturers keep durability at the center of product development.

Outside the business, Butler enjoys exploring with his jet ski and spending time with his daughter — time he has learned to prioritize even amid the demands of ownership.

Locations refer to company headquarters; honorees may work remotely or live elsewhere.