A small time Stand up paddling company has made headlines in the US when it was part purchased by billionaire, Mark Cuban earlier this week. 

In what could be a heap of marketing hype for a new entrepreneur's TV show called Shark Tank, an unheard of Stand up paddling company called Tower Paddle Boards has been part purchased by US billionaire, Mark Cuban for the sum of $150,000. Now it doesn't sound like much when you consider the net worth of the big names such as Star-board and Naish, but it does raise a few eyebrows in the business sector. Could SUP be the next big thing to invest in? 

According to both the investor, Mark Cuban and the company owner Stephan Aarstol, Stand up paddling is the biggest thing to hit the watersports industry. Ever. And the universal appeal of the sport makes it the perfect avenue for investors to make it big if they side with an emerging company. They say it's the right time to invest, and the sport of SUP has come along at the perfect time. 

Owner of the business, Stephan Aarstol attributes the success to his strong online performance when it came to searches relating to stand up paddling. He's worked in the SEO industry for 12 years, and immediately knew that to make a company, it first had to have a strong online presence. In keeping with the recent trends, he's adopted for a dealer direct approach. Where customers purchase stand up paddling equipment direct from his warehouse. Take a look at the website and you'll see the discounts they're advertising for such a scheme are around 50% of their supposed RRP. So is the 'sell more for less' approach the right way to go in such an industry? The market is flooded with cheap imports from Thailand and China, and with only 2 epoxy boards, and an inflatable board on offer. How could such a company appeal to the masses? After striking the deal on the set of the TV show, Mr Cuban said: 
"I'm a business builder! I take small things and make them great things!" Maybe the billionaire (who hasn't yet tried SUP) will know how to transform this reseller into the next Naish? 

It will be interesting to see where this goes, will Tower be the new big name in cheap stand up paddling equipment? Or could this be a case of just another small time company, who's jumped on the bandwagon just a little too late? 

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