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'sBeyond 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]
