How did your business start?

Pelé Sports is a collaboration of a global team of designers, sales/marketing executives and Pelé himself. The seed was planted in 2009 and the brand was launched in June 2010. The core mission of the brand is replicate the creativity and innovation that Pelé represented as a player and design game changing products.

What do you sell?

Pelé Sports sells soccer footwear, apparel and accessories.

What positive lessons did you learn during the recession?

Nothing is more powerful than excellent products, customer service and employees. This combination has helped us start a global business in challenging economic conditions.

What strategy do you use to hire good people?

Never underestimate the quality of people in the Roaring Fork Valley and look for people with a history of vision and positive result. And everyone needs to be a fan of the beautiful game!

What is your strategy for growth in the next year?

Our main goal is to expand our customer base. We have 100-plus retail locations and hope to have 200 by the end of 2011. We just hired sales employees on the West Coast and we hope to see good growth.

What is the best thing about running a business here?

Apart from the skiing and summer activities, we can walk to the airport and offer our employees a great quality of life.