073: Why Mark Cuban didn't Paddle by this Offer… Stephan Aarstol of Tower Paddleboards

Background on Stephan Aarstol of Tower Paddleboards:

Stephan Aarstol is the CEO and founder of Tower Paddle Boards, a direct to consumer brand that focuses on the beach lifestyle niche. Tower was named the “Fastest Growing Company in San Diego” by the San Diego Business Journal in 2014, and ranked #239 on the 2015 INC 500 list of America's Fastest Growing Companies.

Stephan is the author of the The Five-Hour Workday: Live Differently, Unlock Productivity, and Find Happiness. Stephan and this widely acclaimed book have been featured on CNN, CNBC's Power Lunch, Fox & Friends, The List, the Huffington Post, Fast Company, INC, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes, The Adam Corolla Show, and many leading newspapers, TV stations, and radio shows worldwide. He's been dubbed “World's Best Boss” by multiple leading newspapers in Germany, and “America's Best Boss” by the Daily Mail, the UK's #2 newspaper.

Stephan holds an MBA in New Venture Management from the University of San Diego and lives in San Diego today. In 2017 Stephan was named as San Diego's top 10 most influential business leaders.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[0:42] Stephan Aarstol is the CEO of Tower Paddle Boards and the author of the 5 Hour Workday.
[2:09] The 5 Hour Workday is based on the idea of getting more productivity by compressing work time into just 5 hours.
[7:40] Stephan’s productivity tools for his 5 Hour Workday method can be found in fivehourworkday.com.
[8:28] Panjiva.com is a valuable sourcing tool for Stephan, providing him critical information to get ahead in the business.
[12:06] Learning and researching is important for Stephan. “Education is a critical thing, if you’re not spending probably 20% of your time educating yourself, you’re gonna fall apart.”
[15:28] Stephan gives more emphasis on trying new things and experimenting on new ways.
[18:40] In 2003, Stephan created his own company and first internet business called BuyPokerChips.com.
[23:21] A friend of Stephan took him paddleboarding, which was the catalyst to starting the Tower Paddle Boards business.
[25:15] He was asked to pitch his paddleboard business in the Shark Tank show in ABC.
[29:15] Mark Cuban of Shark Tank invested on Stephan’s pitch, which became a success, and it was considered as one of the top 10 investments in the show.
[33:26] Stephan explains that you may think that you’ve created a good business, but if there is no demand, it could fail.
[35:15] He started an educational toy business, but it failed because there is no demand for it.
[39:00] He learned from Mark Cuban about being conservative, not overextending the business, and getting out before the business goes to zero.
[41:29] He has created a company that is all about beach lifestyle and not just about paddleboards.
[42:11] He advices entrepreneurs to get into Direct to Consumer business, because he sees it as the future.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖📚 Favorite Book(s)? The Five Hour Workday by Stephen Aarstol… because I wrote it ;).
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Xmas gifts every year as they can ship them to where I'm going.
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that's GROWN your Business? Panjiva for sourcing.
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Competition.