USD Magazine Summer 2012

AROUND  THE PARK

The sucess of Stephan Aarstol ’99 (MBA) on the TV show “Shark Tank” served as an inspiration to business students looking for angel investors.

SOMETHING VENTURED [ r e s o l u t e ] W o u l d - b e e n t r e p r e n e u r s f a c e a n g e l i n v e s t o r s

LUIS GARCIA

or a while there, it looked like an entrepreneur’s dream had turned into a nightmare. It started off well enough: Stephan Aarstol, ’99 (MBA), the founder and CEO of Tower Paddle Boards, strode confidently into a plush boardroom setting, wearing beach duds and accompanied by an eye-catching, bikini-clad blonde. by Sandra Millers Younger F

Internet marketing expertise cen- tered on advanced search engine optimization skills, combined with his MBA education in new venture management at USD. “You’ve got to have a really good product and the best value propo- sition out there,” he says. “And then you’ve got to make what you’ve created findable online.”

Selected to pitch his 3-month- old start-up company to a panel of investors on the ABC reality show, “Shark Tank,” Aarstol him- self quickly tanked, forgetting his presentation and fumbling around helplessly for several long moments. One “shark” called him “the worst presenter” she’d ever seen.

But Aarstol bounced back to win the confidence and cash of billionaire Mark Cuban. Now the two are business partners, navi- gating their way to success in an exploding new market. What convinced business- savvy Cuban to look beyond a botched pitch? Aarstol describes his “secret sauce” as a blend of

10 USD MAGAZINE