Tower Paddle Boards in Pacific Beach recently was listed as tops on the list of Fastest Growing Private Companies in San Diego for 2014.
“It was for our growth of more than 1,000 percent revenue between 2011 and 2013 — not bad for a surf company,” said Stephan Aarstol, founder/CEO of Tower, which started in 2010.
Paddleboarding is a surface water sport in which participants are propelled by a swimming motion using their arms or a paddle while lying, kneeling or standing on a paddleboard or surfboard in the ocean.
One key to Tower’s success, said Aarstol, was catching the wave of popularity — and opportunity — early on in the new water sport and riding it as it began cresting.
Paddle surfing in the waves is less than 5 percent of the much larger “paddle boarding” market, said Aarstol noting paddle boarding is actually far bigger than the surf market, just as a sport like kayaking is, “and the difference isn’t insignificant.
“There are about 25 million people who kayak in a year in the United States, and only about 2.5 million people who surf in the United States in a year, Aarstol said.
Besides being relatively easy to learn, Aarstol said paddleboarding provides a number of attractive recreational and athletic opportunities.
“It can be a competitive or a social thing,” he said adding, “One hour of standup paddleboarding is equivalent to eight hours of surfing in the waves, because it’s constant action and it’s a whole-body workout.”
Finding a way to cut costs is one reason why Aarstol’s company has thrived through creating, manufacturing and direct marketing its own brand.
“We sell direct to consumers through our website, www.towerpaddleboards.com,” said Aarstol noting that can allow his customers to save hundreds of dollars on paddleboard purchases, which at Tower are in the $600 to $1,000 range.
Aarstol said paddleboarding is also growing in popularity because it’s a multi-dimensional experience.
“There’s the surfing element,” he said adding, “Another element is the outdoor adventure. Then there’s the exercise element for both men and women.”
Online commerce is growing every year. Paddleboarding is growing every year. For Aarstol, it’s a perfect match.
“We’re just eating up market share,” he enthused.
Aarstol said he’s profited from doing things a little differently.
“Nobody else sells paddleboards through their website, and our brand is not available in any retail store,” he said pointing out his new online business model is actually returning to the “basics” of retail.
“We have a personal relationship with our customers,” he said noting “Most other brands are far removed from the ultimate end customer. We’ve grown our brand one customer at a time. They have direct access. They can call us, and I’ll pick up the phone and they can talk to me. It’s a modern version of Old School business, to know your customers. With social media and direct marketing, we’ve gotten back to that small town-type of business. That’s what we are.”