Entrepreneur Arthur Ebeling Talks Grit Over Glamour, Expensive Business Lessons and Bouncing Back From Defeat

Earlier this year, young entrepreneur, Arthur Ebeling decided to start over.

After launching a beverage company and later unceremoniously exiting, Ebeling decided to take a new course in his entrepreneurial ventures, focusing on the impending disruption of an industry and the dawn of the tablet era.

After raising startup capital for his prior company, losing control to investors, and leaving his role as CEO of RTD beverage manufacturer, Warrior Tea, the young entrepreneur decided to move forward despite the emotional and life challenges he faced. “I spent a lot of time licking my wounds and brainstorming with [a friend and fellow entrepreneur] on creating a new company,” said Ebeling.

The entrepreneur had long been interested in the developments of the tablet and e-reader, products positioned to disrupt the future of book publishing. “I saw an opportunity to enter the space and create interactive e-books for children and educational partners,” he said.

Arthtur Ebeling’s love for animation combined with story-telling led Ebeling to launch, SkyInk an interactive e-books and books app development company. Today he aims to bring stories to life with magic and motion and enrich the education experience.

Learn how Ebeling bounced back from defeat in business and why he believes entrepreneurship is a path of grit over glamor.

How I Got Started:

I have an entrepreneurial background. I developed Warrior Tea, a tea-based energy drink that served as a healthy alternative to prevailing brands. We were the first and leading tea beverage for athletes; tea is naturally engineered for athletics but has not been marketed in this capacity.

The beverage industry is considered comparable to the airline industry with regard to barriers to entry. Despite this, I brought the product from my kitchen to mass production and distributed throughout the Mid Atlantic region. I created one of the first beverages to implement stevia, an all natural herbal sweetener, and beat major beverage brands to the punch.

Unfortunately, investors surreptitiously seized control of the company. I had signed faulty paperwork and did not have good legal representation at the time. After investing years of my life building Warrior Tea, I was forced to resign given I could never regain control. It was an expensive and emotionally trying lesson.