Behind every successful brand is an incredible CEO. And TANDM Surf’s CEO, Juliette Clark, is the best of the best.
Founded in 2019, TANDM Surf has been a family affair since day one. The Clarks grew up in the ocean and when they came up with the idea for their tandem bodyboards, they nominated 17-year-old Juliette (Juju) to serve as CEO. Now, at age 22, Juliette continues to run the brand as it grows and expands and share the stoke of riding a wave alongside a friend or loved one. Here, Juliette shares where the idea for TANDM Surf first came from, the experience of going on Shark Tank, and her plans for the future of the brand.
Has the ocean always been a big part of your family life?
My parents moved from the East Coast to Southern California when my sisters and I were born. For my dad’s birthday one year, our friend Tom Morey, inventor of the boogie board, gifted him a surfboard, and before we knew it, all five of us had caught the surf bug. As a family, we grew up having beach days at San Onofre beach in San Clemente where I caught my first wave. We all competed in stand up paddling and outrigger canoeing, and my sisters and I played competitive water polo.
Where did the idea for TANDM Surf first come from?
Every year, we loved going to the San Clemente Ocean Festival, which hosts surf contests, swim races, SUP races, lifeguard competitions, and more. One year, during the Ocean Festival, we pretended to have our own “tandem boogie boarding contest” and posted the video on Facebook. The event organizer saw it, and the next year we had our very own contest as officially part of the Ocean Festival and it sold out. The San Clemente pier was full of spectators. It was such a hit that people said we should start selling tandem boards as a business. So that’s what we did.
What is your personal background with the ocean/watersports?
Growing up in San Clemente, the water was my second home. Some days I’d spend as much time in the water as I did in class. I have been a beach lover since as long as I can remember, and I learned to surf around the age I learned to read. Anyone who surfs knows that once you start, you don’t stop.
I also would travel with my family to compete in outrigger canoe races, stand up paddle races, and SUP surf competitions during middle school. And for pool water, I started playing water polo at age seven, made the national team at 14, was the captain of my high school team, and continued through college, where I won a national club championship at Cal. No matter where I go, I know I’ll find home by the water.
When was TANDM Surf featured on Shark Tank?
We came up with the idea in the summer 2019. By January 2020, we made our first prototype. Around that time, we saw that Shark Tank was holding open casting call auditions, so we went for it. To my surprise, we got a call back, and soon after that, I got sent home from my freshman year at UC Berkeley due to the COVID pandemic.
During this time, we developed our prototype before doing a one month Kickstarter campaign in June. Then, our official Shark Tank pitch was filmed in August. Since we had such a fast turnaround, we were under a lot of pressure to build a viable business before our film date, and I think that’s why we were able to get so much done in a short amount of time.
What was the application process like for Shark Tank?
The way we applied was through an open casting call. It works similar to auditioning for any TV show. We showed up, got in line with the thousands of other people, and waited our turn to give our 60 second pitch to the producers. It was a lot of fun to go through this process with my family, and my sister Alleanna and I gave that first 60 second pitch.
From then on, we started preparing for the possibility of pitching to the actual Sharks, and it was a lot of work to strive for perfection. I recommend that anyone with a business tries auditioning for Shark Tank, because even if you don’t make it to filming or don’t get a deal, the process teaches you so much about yourself and your business, and it gets you to work so hard because of the pressure of seven million viewers.
What was the experience like going on Shark Tank?
We had worked so hard for this, that I knew we were ready, so I was not nervous at all. Mostly, I was excited and taking it all in. We practiced for hours on end, so I had no doubt that we would nail it. Even if we messed it up somehow, or if the Sharks didn’t like us, at the end of the day I would be walking out of the tank alongside my family, and we’d have accomplished something monumental together.
To go from watching this show in our living room every week to being on it was a life-changing feeling. To do something that I didn’t think was possible shifted my outlook on life and the goals I set for myself. Now I don’t think any dream is too big. Sometimes the hardest part is letting go of the fear of failure and just putting your dreams out there.
What deal did you land?
We did a deal with two Sharks, Robert Herjavec and Daniel Lubetzky: 100k in exchange for 35% equity.
What has it been like working with Daniel and Robert?
I’m so glad we did this deal. While it was a lot of equity to give up, it’s worth it to be able to jumpstart a business that early. We had only done one month of business when we pitched, so we were so excited to get this deal, especially because it was with the exact two Sharks we wanted to work with going into the tank.
They’ve helped us navigate our business post Shark Tank, especially when we had to rebrand due to a cease-and-desist letter we received for our name. They helped put that into perspective and see it as an opportunity to expand into new products. It’s helpful to work with people that have already made it big, because they know what it takes to get there — even on days where we might feel discouraged, our Sharks believe in us.
Where did you go to college and what did you study? How has that helped you run TANDM Surf?
I went to college at UC Berkeley where I got two degrees, one in data science and one in business administration. Education has always been a huge priority for me, and Berkeley was the perfect school to prepare me for the real world. It’s an incredibly competitive school, especially in the fields I studied, but I had so much fun learning new skills and meeting my hardworking and inspiring peers. I also became president of a consulting club on campus which gave me the real-world experience of managing teams and working with clients that I applied to my business.
Having a company while in school allowed me to get more out of both, because I would apply things I learned from TANDM to my coursework, and I could use the tools from school in TANDM. I enjoyed studying both data science and business because I’m very analytical and have always loved working with numbers and technology. While owning a brand, it’s important to me to understand exactly how our tech stack works. Also, the business major at Berkeley had such amazing professors and course work that encompassed all areas of business, so I learned how to be an accountant, an operation’s manager, a product designer, a marketer, and ultimately, the best CEO I can be.
Have you been the CEO of TANDM Surf since its conception?
Yes, I’ve been the CEO since the beginning when I was 17 years old. Now, I’m 22. The moment that defined me stepping into being CEO happened after we got our call back from Shark Tank. I went up to my room and spent hours on my laptop creating a presentation that would essentially be our business plan for the summer leading up to filming. Then I called a family meeting and presented it to everyone. That’s when everyone said I was fit to be CEO.
What has it been like being such a young CEO?
I’m definitely underrepresented in the world of CEOs, but I see it as a superpower. I’ve gained so much experience, knowledge, and networking opportunities while so young. Sometimes I do feel a sense of imposter syndrome, but even if I feel under-qualified to be in a room, I still get to take everything as a learning experience.
It was hard to be going a completely different path from most of my peers, but I think it’s important that other young people, especially young women, can have someone like me to show them that it’s possible and our ideas and innovations belong. That’s why I make content about being a young CEO, so people can see what I do and hopefully feel inspired to follow their dreams as well. In the age of social media and advancing technology, being young gives me a valuable perspective in the business world.
What does a typical day look like as the CEO of TANDM Surf?
It honestly depends. In the spring and summer, I’m making content every single day. I’ll go to the beach with my tripod and get as many people as possible to see the board and learn what TANDM Surf is. In the fall and winter, we start preparing for the next spring by innovating new products, manufacturing them, and planning for growth. Some days I’ll be drawing product designs, and some I’ll be analyzing our ad performance with the team.
No matter the day, there are immediate tasks like responding to customers and shipping boards, there are short term tasks like planning an event, and there are long term tasks like figuring out what I can do today to contribute to my vision in five years. I’m also attending networking events and conferences to stay up to date on what’s going on in the industry and learning from other founders and entrepreneurs.
What’s it like getting to run a business alongside your family?
It’s so much fun. I’m grateful that I don’t have to compromise spending time with family to get work done; it’s actually the opposite! The more I work, the more I get to spend time with my family. It’s also really cool because family beach days and surf trips were a major part of my childhood, and even though we are all grown up now, that’s still a big part of our lives through TANDM Surf. People say if you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life which I’m not sure is fully true, because it still is a lot of work, but I feel very blessed that a day of work includes so much joy.
My favorite is filming content during the summer, because a fun family beach day is also productive. Since our family business came to fruition so organically, we aim to serve other families and friends out there that enjoy spending time together on the water. We want everyone to be able to have fond memories of beaches, lakes, rivers, and pools, just like we have. The way I see it, every time I get a notification that we sold a board, I think of how many fun beach days that customer will have with their loved ones.
What is your vision for the brand?
Our vision for TANDM is to make everyone feel confident that they can have a lot of fun on the water. We want to create products that people are excited to use again and again, that bring people together with shared experiences, and that represent something bigger, so they are proud to bring their TANDM board to the beach, lake, river, or pool and to share it with others. I hope to utilize my creative side to continue to innovate our product mix and product designs so that people can see their board as art. We hope to continue collaborating with other brands that align with our vision to make this possible. We also look forward to working with our Sharks to help us scale up so that more people can know what TANDM is all about.
Do you have any exciting plans or goals looking forward?
Along with our new Margaritaville boards (more info to come), we are also updating the design of our original AIR board for the first time since we launched. This will be the first of many new creative designs that we intend to create, and we’re excited to see the response.
We also have been thinking about expanding our line of pool floats, because we believe that there’s a need for more high quality, durable floats with artistic designs. As we grow, we would love to do more events and in-person experiences to connect with beachgoers, because our brand started as an event in the first place. We also look forward to creating more content for social media to build our community and let people into the world of TANDM Surf!
