Stephan Aarstol

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Stephan Aarstol
Stephan Aarstol.jpg
Alma mater Western Washington University
University of San Diego
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, author
Known forThe Five Hour Workday
Website www.towerpaddleboards.com
fivehourworkday.com

Stephan Aarstol is an American internet entrepreneur and author of the book The Five Hour Workday.

Contents

Life and early career

Aarstol grew up in Bellingham, Washington. In September 1999, Aarstol developed a web portal for the medical imaging community. In 2003, he launched a venture producing and selling high-end poker chips. Aarstol quit his day job the following year, by which time his venture was generating $50,000 per month.

Tower Paddle Boards

Aarstol founded Tower Paddle Boards in 2010. Aarstol pitched his business on Shark Tank in 2011. Mark Cuban made an offer and invested $150,000 for a 30% stake in Aarstol's company. [1] In 2013 and 2018, Aarstol was featured as one of Shark Tank's biggest winners by People Magazine . [2] [3] In addition to selling beach products, Aarstol is also the Editor-in-Chief of Tower Life Magazine, [4] a biweekly publication that discusses beach lifestyle. [5]

His company, was ranked San Diego's number one fastest growing private company in 2014. [6] Jeff Bezos' 2015 annual letter to stockholders singles out Aarstol and his company. [7] Aarstol was featured on ABC's Beyond the Tank in January 2016. [8]

In November 2016, Harvard Business School professor Thales S. Teixeira published a case study on Aarstol and Tower Paddle Boards titled "Selling on Amazon at Tower Paddle Boards". [9]

The Five Hour Workday

In June 2016, Aarstol published The Five Hour Workday, a book about switching his company to a five-hour workday and the benefits this change yielded in productivity. [10]

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References

  1. "Shark Tank Season 3, Episode 9". ABC . March 16, 2012.
  2. "Shark Tank's Biggest Winners". People Magazine . November 11, 2013.
  3. "The Stories Behind Shark Tank's Most Successful Products Ever — and How Much They're Worth Now!". People Magazine . November 25, 2018.
  4. "Stephan Aarstol's articles | Inc.com". www.inc.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  5. "Tower Paddle Boards surfs to $30M in sales after 'Shark Tank'". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
  6. "Tower Paddle Boards Ranked #1 Fasted Growing Private Company in San Diego". San Diego Business Journal Online. San Diego Business Journal. July 14, 2014.
  7. "Jeff Bezos' 2015 Annual Letter to Stockholders". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . April 24, 2015.
  8. "Shark Tank – Beyond the Tank – Season 2, Episode 5". ABC . January 28, 2016.
  9. "Selling on Amazon at Tower Paddle Boards". Harvard Business School . November 2016.
  10. "The case for a five-hour working day". Financial Times.