Steven Ford

Steven Ford is one of the co-founders of Sand Cloud, an environment-friendly towel and apparel brand that saw $20M in sales in 2019. The company was initially named Cloud Nine, which Ford put up with friend Brandon Leibel in 2013. They sold their products to friends and family, one of which was Bruno Aschidamini, someone they met when they worked at a life insurance call center. Unfortunately, Ford and Leibel’s early attempts of entrepreneurship with Cloud Nine failed.

In 2014, they were reunited with Aschidamini – who suggested a better name – and established Sand Cloud. Then, in 2017, they appeared on ABC’s hit entrepreneur show “Shark Tank.”  This was when they received $200,000 from Robert Herjavec, a Canadian businessman and investor, an investment made in exchange for 15 percent of the company. 

Ford and Sand Cloud’s success were featured on CNBC, Barron’s “Penta,” Business Insider, Inc. Magazine and Good Morning America. Sand Cloud even bagged the bronze in the 2019 FedEx Small Business Grant Contest.

Ford’s hard work and passion were rewarded even more when he made it to the Forbes 30 Under 30 2020: Social Entrepreneurs list. He also received the honor of Philanthropist of the Year in 2018 from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center.  He has a degree in Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Finance from San Diego State University. Aside from growing Sand Cloud, he spends his time traveling.