Interview with CEO of Tower Paddle Boards

Pixel Productions had the opportunity to interview Stephan Aarstol, internet entrepreneur, founder & CEO of Tower Paddle Boards, to discuss the history and success of his company. Stephan gave us amazing insight into the history of Tower Paddle Boards; from its humble beginnings as a start up, to becoming the fastest growing company in San Diego. Tower Paddle Boards was featured on ABC’s hit show “Shark Tank” and is now dominating the online marketplace for buying paddle boards and paddle board accessories.

In the summer of 2010, Stephan Aarstol spent a day paddle boarding with a friend in San Diego. With a background in online marketing and SEO development, Aarstol was constantly on the look out for his next big idea. Riding on a stand up paddle board, or SUP for short, is a fun and relaxing outdoor activity. You feel a connection with the Earth and the ocean. Stand Up Paddle boarding helps you with coordination, balance, and core strength. Without realizing it, an hour on a SUP quickly becomes a workout.

With the sun on your face, and the Pacific Ocean beneath your feet, you feel a natural release of endorphins, and a sudden combination of calmness and confidence. If you can SUP, you feel like you can do anything.

Aarstol used his background and experience quickly to catapult Tower Paddle Boards to the top of any online search engines. Therefore, instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on marketing, Aarstol’s expertise kept the company’s advertising costs low, allowing the company to allocate it’s revenue into building inventory and cutting down production costs.

A few months later, the producers of “Shark Tank” invited Aarstol to be a participant on the show. Aarstol knew appearing on the “Shark Tank” could help his company gain a lot of publicity. With only six weeks to prepare, he crafted a pitch that he thought would gain the attention of the investors: offer a high percentage of equity in exchange for a relatively small investment. Shark Tank is known for creating huge spikes of sales for companies on the show, and Aarstol planned on using this momentum to help his company grow into an international brand.

On March 16^th, 2012, Tower Paddle Boards appeared on “Shark Tank” in front of 5.97 million viewers. Aarstol received an investment from notorious entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and together they had a vision to build Tower Paddle Boards into the next big thing.

Tower Paddle Boards is located on Garnet Street in Pacific Beach, San Diego, one block away from the beach.  Check out the video to see Stephan talk about his experiences before starting Tower Paddle Boards, his experience on Shark Tank, and how he wants to continue the success of his company.