Internet Entrepreneur

Stephan Aarstol

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Stephan Aarstol is an entrepreneurial thought leader and online marketing expert. With over 15 years of experience leading cutting edge Internet firms, Stephan has worked with a large variety of startups, from ecommerce and medical imaging to educational toys and youth backpacking. As the CEO and founder of Tower Paddle Boards, Stephan attracted an investment from billionaire Mark Cuban on ABC’s “Shark Tank," and today is one of Cuban's best investments from the show. In 2016, Tower was named one of the top 10 success stories in the history of ABC's "Shark Tank" by Forbes Magazine. With only eight employees, Stephan has grown Tower from $3000 revenue in 2010 to a projected 2016 revenue of $9 Million. Before founding Tower, Stephan started a number of niche ecommerce businesses, including high-end poker chip company BuyPokerChips.com. The site began as a solo venture side job and resulted in $2.5M in sales over its first five years. Stephan is an avid backpacker and has a passion for leading revenue-increasing initiatives for startups and high-growth organizations. In June of 2015, Stephan did a three month experiment moving his entire company to a five hour workday, 8am-1pm. The experiment went so well that Tower Paddle Boards never went back and is thriving. In 2014, they were named the #1 fastest growing private company in San Diego. In 2015, they ranked #239 on the INC 500 list of America's fastest growing companies. Stephan holds an MBA in New Venture Management from the University of San Diego and lives in San Diego today.