Stephan Aarstol
Stephan Aarstol is an American internet entrepreneur and author of the book The Five Hour Workday.
Stephan Aarstol | |
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Alma mater | Western Washington University University of San Diego |
Occupation | Entrepreneur, author |
Known for | The Five Hour Workday |
Website | www fivehourworkday |
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, such as sunglasses, snorkels and surfboards, 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] Aarstol has given several talks at Harvard Business School on the topics of e-commerce and Amazon's role since its publication.
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][11][12]
References
- "Shark Tank Season 3, Episode 9". ABC. March 16, 2012.
- "Shark Tank's Biggest Winners". People Magazine. November 11, 2013.
- "The Stories Behind Shark Tank's Most Successful Products Ever — and How Much They're Worth Now!". People Magazine. November 25, 2018.
- "Stephan Aarstol's articles | Inc.com". www.inc.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- "Tower Paddle Boards surfs to $30M in sales after 'Shark Tank'". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2019-01-17.
- "Tower Paddle Boards Ranked #1 Fasted Growing Private Company in San Diego". San Diego Business Journal Online. San Diego Business Journal. July 14, 2014.
- "Jeff Bezos' 2015 Annual Letter to Stockholders". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. April 24, 2015.
- "Shark Tank – Beyond the Tank – Season 2, Episode 5". ABC. January 28, 2016.
- "Selling on Amazon at Tower Paddle Boards". Harvard Business School. November 2016.
- Mike Wheeler (January 11, 2018). "Three Years Ago, This Boss Set A $70,000 Minimum Wage For His Employees — And The Move Is Still Paying Off". Harvard Business School.
- "The 5-Hour Workday Gets Put to the Test". Wall Street Journal. October 24, 2019.
- "The case for a five-hour working day". Financial Times.